Committed to Excellence in Attorney Ethics

Michael S. Ross serves as principal of the Law Offices of Michael S. Ross, concentrating his practice in the representation of attorneys in ethics and professional responsibility matters. The practice also involves the representation of New York State Judges and Justices before the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Mr. Ross formerly served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Southern District of New York (May 1978 through November 1981) and as an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County (August 1974 through May 1978). He was formerly a principal partner in the law firms of LaRossa & Ross (1998–2001), LaRossa, Mitchell & Ross (1986–1998), and LaRossa, Cooper, Axenfeld, Mitchell & Bergman (1984–1986).

Since 1979, Mr. Ross has been an Adjunct Professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, having taught courses in Trial Practice, Advocacy, Judicial Administration, Professional Responsibility, and Ethics in Litigation. He currently teaches Litigation Ethics (Fall Semesters) and has served as Faculty Advisor of the Cardozo Law School Moot Court Program from 1978 through 2004. He co-founded and served as Executive Director/Team Leader (1984–2012) of the Law School's annual Intensive Trial Advocacy Program ("ITAP"), and continues to serve as an instructor.

Since 2005, Mr. Ross has simultaneously served as an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School, teaching Professional Responsibility (Fall and Spring Semesters). In January 2026, he served as Adjunct Professor at Hofstra Law School for the Trial Techniques Program.

Mr. Ross frequently lectures on ethics topics for the Appellate Divisions (First, Second, and Third Judicial Departments), the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has been an Instructor at NITA's Northeast Region Summer Program at Hofstra Law School annually since 1980, and at NITA's Building Trial Skills Program in Boston. He has co-authored a chapter on "Client and Witness Perjury" for the ABA's Section of Litigation ethics training course book, developed for national distribution.

He served as Chairperson of the American Bar Association's Grand Jury Committee (1988–1990) and Chairperson of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Committee on Criminal Advocacy (1988–1990). He served as the ABA Criminal Justice Section's liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (1994–1997) and as a member of the ABA Criminal Justice Council (1990–1993). He completed a five-year tenure as an appointed member of the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board (2000–2005), chairing its Subcommittee on Pro Bono Credits and Subcommittee on Internet Issues.

Mr. Ross is a longstanding member of the NYSBA Committee on Professional Discipline (1991–1994, 1998–2004, 2005–present), the New York County Lawyers' Association Committee on Professionalism and Professional Discipline (1992–present), and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York Committee on Professional Discipline (various terms). He served on the NYSBA Task Force on Lawyer Advertising (2005–2007), the NYSBA Committee on Technology and the Legal Profession (2017–2018), and the NYSBA Task Force on Remote Notarizations (2023). He is a member of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers (1987–present) and was elected to the National Order of the Barristers in 1981.

Eugene Gormakh is an associate at the Law Offices of Michael S. Ross, where, for over fifteen years, he has concentrated his practice in representing lawyers, law firms and judges before disciplinary authorities. Mr. Gormakh has represented over a hundred lawyers and law firms in disciplinary and sanction matters in multiple state and federal jurisdictions, including many accomplished practitioners in highly complex matters involving litigation misconduct, attorney advertising, fee sharing, solicitation, conflicts of interest, escrow accounting, retention agreements, and other high risk issues.

Mr. Gormakh is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, where he teaches Professional Responsibility. He has lectured at multiple law schools and bar associations, including the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers; and he has authored, co-authored, and assisted in the preparation of CLE materials on legal ethics issues.

Mr. Gormakh's practice includes providing proactive guidance on the application of ethical rules to the day-to-day practice of law, and the firm regularly provides outside professional responsibility counsel to multiple AM100 law firms. As part of his practice, Mr. Gormakh also represents law firms in fee dispute matters. In addition, Mr. Gormakh has extensive experience assisting law school graduates in connection with bar admission matters and attorneys seeking reinstatement to practice law after suspension or disbarment.

Mr. Gormakh is a member of the Professional Discipline Committee of the New York City Bar Association, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has been selected to the New York Metro Rising Stars lists by Super Lawyers magazine each year since 2016.

Mr. Gormakh joined the Law Offices of Michael S. Ross in 2009 and earned his JD/MBA from Western New England University School of Law in 2012. While in law school, Mr. Gormakh served as a law clerk at the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.