BARRY M. KAMINS NOMINATED TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK CITY BAR ASSOCIATION

New York – Barry M. Kamins has been nominated as president of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. If elected, Kamins will succeed Betsy Plevan as the 62nd president in the New York City Bar Association's 136-year history. The election will take place at the city bar’s annual meeting on May 23, 2006.

Kamins, a partner at Flamhaft Levy Kamins Hirsch and Rendeiro LLP, has been in private practice for more than 30 years, after leaving the position of deputy chief of the Criminal Court Bureau of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. He is an adjunct professor at both Fordham and Brooklyn Law Schools and has written widely on criminal justice subjects, most notably as a leading authority in the area of illegal searches and seizures.

Leadership roles in the legal profession have been a mainstay of Kamins’ career. He has served as president of both the Brooklyn Bar Association and the Kings County Criminal Bar Association and as Chair of the Grievance Committee of the Appellate Division, Second Dept. 2nd and 11th Judicial Districts. Currently, he is co-chair of the Advisory Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure to the Chief Administrative Judge of New York.

His dedication to and excellence within the legal profession has been recognized through, among other honors, a Pro Bono Public Award from The Legal Aid Society, a Person of the Year Award of the Kings County Criminal Bar Association, a Sybil Hart Kooper Award from the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and a New York State Bar Association Award for Attorney Professionalism.

Kamins’ presidency would break with recent tradition as he hails from a small firm outside of Manhattan. According to City Bar President Betsy Plevan, “For a bar association that represents the public interest throughout all five boroughs and consists of a membership that ranges from solo practitioners to members of large Wall Street firms, Barry Kamins is the perfect choice.”

The city bar has played a central role in many of Kamins’ public service efforts. In his years of active membership at the Association, he has served as Chair of the Judiciary and Executive Committees. According to City Bar Executive Director Barbara Berger Opotowsky, “Barry brings not only strong leadership and legal acumen, but an unwavering commitment to the New York City Bar Association and its goals of maintaining the high standards of the legal profession and promoting access to justice for all. We will be thrilled to welcome him as our new president.”