One Judge, Two Alums Named to Board of Governors

Dean Elena B. Langan is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to the Touro Law Center Board of Governors: Daniel J. Baker ’92, Neil B. Fang ’93, and the Hon. George J. Silver (retired).

“Our Board of Governors plays an important role in supporting Touro Law students and the community,” said Dean Elena Langan. “Dan, Neil and Judge Silver are long-time supporters of Touro Law and I am confident that they will make significant contributions on our Board as they further enhance their commitment to us. I look forward to working together with them.”   

The Touro Law Center Board of Governors is a group of distinguished individuals who are dedicated to supporting the growth of the Law Center. The Board consists of more than 35 lawyers and non-lawyers who are regional and national leaders in the legal, business, philanthropic and academic communities.

Daniel J. Baker ’92 is a shareholder at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP where he serves as co-chair of the Long Island Land Use Practice and represents clients in land use and zoning matters, general real estate transactions, industrial development agency (IDA) and municipal benefits, environmental matters, tax certiorari and condemnation, corporate law, and civil litigation. With deep local business, government and community roots, Mr. Baker advises clients on local laws and customs, helping them navigate the real estate and municipal processes. He serves as the Tenth Judicial District representative to, and a member of the executive committee of, the Real Property Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Baker is a co-vice chair of the executive board of Touro Law Center’s Institute on Land Use and Sustainable Development Law and a member of the WE CARE advisory board (the charitable arm of the Nassau County Bar Association). Greenberg Traurig is the only global law firm with offices on Long Island and in Manhattan, Westchester, and New Jersey, providing global legal resources across the New York metro area, across the country, and across the globe.

Neil B. Fang ’93 is a partner of the law firm of Schwartz, Fang & Keating, P.C. Mr. Fang is a recognized authority in the areas of estate and income tax planning, estate administration, family-owned business succession planning, charitable planning, elder law and real estate. He successfully represents clients in contested estate and trust proceedings in addition to federal and state tax audits. He is a member of the New York and New Jersey bars and has served on the Trust & Estates committees for the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, and Nassau County Bar Association. Additionally, Mr. Fang is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in New York and is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs. In addition to obtaining his law degree, Mr. Fang has earned a Masters of Law in Taxation, Masters of Business in Accounting and Bachelors of Arts in Economics. Mr. Fang has lectured extensively on Estate and Tax Planning issues and has published articles on various tax related matters. He has co-authored the tax section of the Treatise entitled Elder Law and Guardianships in New York.

The Hon. George J. Silver worked as in-house counsel for five private bus companies until joining Fields & Rosen, where he eventually became an equity partner. In 2004, Justice Silver was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York, assigned to Civil Court, Kings County, until he was re-assigned in April 2009 to Family Court, Bronx County. In January 2010, Judge Silver was appointed a Supreme Court Judge by designation and assigned to the Supreme Court, New York County where he presided over the Trial Assignment Part from April 2011 until October 2015.. In 2012, he was also asked to handle potential early settlement of Medical Malpractice cases as part of a specialized grant program. In 2012, Justice Silver was elected to the Supreme Court of the State of New York. In October 2015, Justice Silver was asked to preside over a newly created Mediation Part called J-Med, in addition to his other assignments-the Medical Malpractice Early Settlement Part and an IAS Part- handling general matters. In 2016, Justice Silver was assigned a limited Matrimonial caseload. In July 2017, Justice Silver was appointed by Chief Judge DiFiore to the new position of Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts. He was responsible for handling the day-to-day court operations for the Trial Courts in New York City. In addition, Justice Silver served as the interim Administrative Judge for New York County until December 2017. Thereafter, in addition to his role as the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts, he served as the interim Administrative Judge for Bronx County from January 2018 until December 2018. Justice Silver also served as interim Administrative Judge for Queens County in 2019 and part of 2020. In October 2021, Justice Silver retired from the bench to open his mediation company- Silverstar Mediation and Arbitration LLC.  

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Patti Desrochers

Director of Communications

pattid@tourolaw.edu

(631) 761-7062