Alphonso David will present the 2017 Clifford Scott Green Lecture, Redefining Liberty: The Pendulum Swings Again!
In 2015, Mr. David was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve as Counsel to the Governor. In this role, he functions as the Governor’s chief counsel and principal legal advisor, and oversees all significant legal and policy deliberations affecting New York State including evaluating proposed legislation; implementing laws and policies; and formulating the State’s posture in both affirmative and defensive litigation.
Prior to his appointment as the Governor’s Chief Counsel, Mr. David served for four years in the Governor’s cabinet as the Deputy Secretary and Counsel for Civil Rights, the first position of its kind in New York State. In this capacity, he was responsible for a full range of legal, policy, legislative, and operational matters affecting civil rights and labor throughout the State. Mr. David also previously served as Special Deputy Attorney General for Civil Rights for the Office of the New York State Attorney General, where he managed up to a dozen Assistant Attorneys General on a variety of investigations and affirmative litigation, including employment and housing discrimination, fair lending, reproductive rights, and anti-bias claims.
Prior to working in the public sector, Mr. David served as a staff attorney at the Lambda Legal Defense and Educational Fund. At Lambda Legal, Mr. David litigated precedent setting civil rights cases across the nation affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals as well as those living with HIV. In addition, Mr. David served as a litigation associate at the law firm Blank Rome LLP. He began his legal career as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Clifford Scott Green in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.