A tribute to Hon. George Bundy Smith: excellence.

• Author: Grannum, Sandra Jefferson
• Position: New York Court of Appeals' Senior Associate Judge - Testimonial

Good evening Dean Treanor, Judge Smith, Dr. Alene Smith, Chief Judge Kaye, distinguished members of the judiciary and the bar, friends and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank the co-sponsors of this event--Fordham Law School, the Judicial Friends, and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association--for giving us this opportunity to show our respect, love, and appreciation for the Honorable George Bundy Smith. It is truly a great honor for me to stand before you on this wonderful occasion to give tribute to Judge Smith, a man that I hold in the highest regard professionally and that I cherish as a mentor and friend.

It is written in Matthew 23:12 that, "[w]hoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (1) We come here tonight to honor Judge Smith, a man who despite his rise from a segregated Washington, D.C., despite being educated at the finest institutions--including Phillips Academy, Yale University, and Yale Law School--despite his phenomenal rise through this state's judiciary, despite his many publications, and despite all of his awards and accomplishments, remains a humble man of God. When the Judge calls you, he simply identifies himself as "George Smith." No pretensions, no demand for recognition, just "George Smith." I am indeed delighted to be one of the voices exalting the attributes of this humble man and great jurist.

I had the privilege of serving as Judge Smith's last law secretary on the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, First Department ("Appellate Division"), and his first senior law clerk at the New York Court of Appeals ("Court of Appeals"). The two and a half years that I spent with Judge Smith were marvelously challenging, professionally gratifying, and certainly life changing.

Let me tell you how I came to know Judge Smith. At the time, I was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia and the Corporation Counsel was Inez Smith Reid. This was an outstanding experience for me because I had the opportunity to work directly with Mrs. Reid, who is now a judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. When I told Mrs. Reid that I was moving to New York, she suggested that I contact her twin brother, Judge George Bundy Smith. Of course, I foolishly did no such thing. But, as fate would have it, one year after my arrival in New York, my first trial for the New York City Corporation Counsel was before Judge Smith. It was a...