Mr. Borkowsky is the former Chief Counsel to the New York State Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department.  

 

For over twenty years, Mr. Borkowsky ascended the ranks of the Grievance Committee’s professional staff, rising from financial auditor to staff counsel to Deputy Chief Counsel and, finally, Chief Counsel.  During his tenure with the disciplinary authorities, Mr. Borkowsky conducted, or was involved in, thousands of investigations and prosecutions of complaints alleging ethical or professional misconduct by attorneys.

 

Mr. Borkowsky also worked in the Attorney Matters Division of the Law Department at the Appellate Division, Second Department, where he reported to the Justices of that court on attorney disciplinary and reinstatement proceedings and drafted disciplinary decisions. In that capacity, Mr. Borkowsky observed, first-hand, the seriousness and deliberate manner in which the Justices and their staff report on, and decide, disciplinary, admissions, and reinstatement matters.

 

As Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief Counsel to the Grievance Committee for eleven years, Mr. Borkowsky provided legal advice and guidance to the Committee, its chairpersons, and its individual members, while overseeing the operations of the Committee’s professional and administrative staff.  He reviewed and made determinations concerning the merits of just about every grievance complaint filed with the Grievance Committee and every report or pleading generated by the staff, while at all times maintaining his own caseload of complex matters.

 

Prior to joining the staff of the Grievance Committee, Mr. Borkowsky engaged in the general practice of law for both small and large firms, and as a solo practitioner concentrating in the areas of real estate and commercial transactions, general litigation, and trusts and estates. As a practitioner, Mr. Borkowsky handled many of the same kinds of legal matters and issues giving rise to the majority of grievance complaints filed by clients and others.

 

In addition to disciplinary and general legal work, Mr. Borkowsky has represented individuals suffering from mental health issues and assisted families in guardianship proceedings before the Supreme and Surrogate’s Courts, pursuant to Article 81 of the Mental Health Law and Article 17-A of the Surrogate’s Court Procedures Act. Mr. Borkowsky is on the United Court System's Part 36 Fiduciary List and is regularly appointed as a Court Evaluator and Attorney for Alleged Incapacitated Persons. With lawyers under more stress than ever, the profession’s mental health has become the focus of increasing concern, as evidenced by numerous articles and bar association initiatives combatting depression and substance abuse. Through his personal and professional experiences, Mr. Borkowsky has a keen understanding of the effects that stress and family crises can have on a lawyer’s well-being.

 

Mr. Borkowsky was admitted to practice in May 1994, having received his Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Borkowsky worked as an accountant/auditor for a large New York City public accounting firm and as a mortgage loan originator for a major New York lending institution.

 

Mr. Borkowky has taught courses at Hofstra University and at the Real Estate Training Center of Greater New York, and regularly lectures on attorney ethics and disciplinary matters at various Continuing Legal Education programs sponsored by the Nassau, Suffolk, and New York State Bar Associations, local law schools, and other venues.

 

Having spent the majority of his professional life in the disciplinary field, and with a wealth of other experiences, Mr. Borkowsky has the essential background to represent attorneys facing grievance complaints or disciplinary charges, provide practical guidance to those in need of advice, and assist those seeking admission or reinstatement to the Bar.