Pace University News

Law Professor Bennett Gershman provides expert legal analysis to amNewYork on the distinction between New York City’s corporation counsel and chief counsel. Gershman explains that while the Law Department represents the city in litigation, the chief counsel serves as the mayor’s personal legal adviser, operating under attorney-client privilege on sensitive policy and legal matters— and New York Metropolitan Magazine has the story.

Pace President Marvin Krislov is featured internationally for his leadership in global higher education. Multiple outlets, including The Wire, Bar and Bench, and India Education, report that President Krislov participated in the launch of the World University Leaders Forum at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The forum brings together university leaders from around the world to advance collaboration on sustainability, innovation, and international engagement.

Dyson History Professor Joseph Tse-Hei Lee writes a piece in the Taipei Times on how historical lessons—particularly from civic resistance movements like Hong Kong’s 2019 protests—can inform Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen democratic institutions, legal safeguards, and international partnerships amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.

In her recent op-ed published in the Albany Times Union, Pace Haub Law Professor Bridget J. Crawford examines a new federal tax rule that would allow tipped workers to claim a deduction—unless their tips come from what the Treasury Department defines as “pornographic activity.” Professor Crawford argues that this exclusion is not a question of morality, but of labor and tax fairness, warning that it disproportionately harms the modern digital workforce, especially women who earn income through subscription-based platforms. She notes that creators on sites like OnlyFans and Fansly are already taxed as independent contractors and receive 1099s like other freelancers, raising a critical question: why should one group of tipped workers be denied a benefit available to everyone else? “Tax policy should meet women where they actually work, not exclude them from deductions,” writes Professor Crawford. “The IRS’s job is to review income, not to judge women’s bodies or the way they earn a living. Women working in digital creator spaces deserve the same neutrality, fairness and access to deductions that the tax code offers other workers.”

The Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic is featured in a recent Sierra Magazine article examining the successful effort to protect the 1011 2nd Avenue Forest, one of the last remaining waterfront forests in Troy, New York. In the case, the Clinic provided pro bono representation challenging the City of Troy’s environmental review and rezoning decisions, arguing that the City improperly issued a negative declaration under New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and failed to adequately assess potential environmental and cultural impacts of the proposed development. As Managing Attorney Todd Ommen notes in the piece, the case reflected the Clinic’s core mission: representing environmental groups in matters where legal advocacy can play a critical role in protecting the natural environment.

Pace Haub Law Professor Bennett Gershman was widely cited this week for his expertise on criminal law, accountability, and media ethics. In Newsweek, Professor Gershman weighs in on whether ICE agent Jonathan Ross could succeed in a defamation lawsuit after fatally shooting Renee Good, calling such a claim “inconceivable” given the legal standards surrounding defamation and public accusations of wrongdoing.

Bennett L. Gershman, a distinguished professor at Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law, authored the amNY opinion piece exploring whether accidentally causing a person’s death can legally qualify as a homicide, using a recent Greenwich Village case to unpack the nuances of criminally negligent homicide under New York law.

Dyson Professor Melvin Williams appears in USA Today amid coverage of Kendall Jenner addressing speculation about her sexuality. Professor Williams situates the story within the broader dynamics of celebrity journalism, noting that while public curiosity is baked into fame, neither celebrities nor private individuals owe explanations about their sexual orientation. He emphasizes that disclosures should remain a matter of personal choice, not public pressure.

The Daily Princetonian cites Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law, in reporting on newly released Epstein files, noting his prior consideration as a potential expert witness in related proceedings.