Seth Lipner, professor in Zicklin's Law Department since 1982, was one of three attorneys nominated for Lawyer of the Year by Compliance Reporter, a securities industry trade publication. Lipner, partner at Deutsch & Lipner, received this honor based on a groundbreaking arbitration award won against Merrill Lynch.

Lipner represented claimants in an arbitration proceeding at the New York Stock Exchange and won the award against Merrill Lynch on claims that it provided negligent advice on stock options. The award was a first against a broker/dealer involving employee stock options and heralded more of the same, part of the continuing fallout from the bursting of the technology bubble. Merrill never appealed the decision and paid Lipner's clients $3 million. "It's not just shaking the tree, banging money out of the securities industry," explains Lipner. "It's fighting for the investor, the little guy."

Of his nomination, Lipner says, "It's very nice, very flattering, but my lawyering still takes a back seat to my work at Baruch." Lipner is involved with initiatives throughout the College. He is chair of the Zicklin Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and chair of the Faculty Advisory Council of the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute. His main areas of interest differ in his roles as professor and as lawyer. On the academic side, he focuses on international law and business and law and the Internet. His professional specialty is securities arbitration. "I don't teach what I do, and I don't do what I teach," he muses.

Lipner is most passionate when he speaks of Baruch: "The biggest challenge that Baruch and Zicklin face is to get the public and business community to recognize how good we really are. We're more impressive than our reputation. The education here has always been first rate. And the students appreciate every minute we spend with them—they don't take anything for granted. Our students graduate with a sense of identity, a sense of purpose. We do that. Public education is the most important thing we have in the United States."

—DH