Acting Dean, Chairperson & Associate Professor of Business Law
Dr. Michael L. Fox is the Acting Dean and Chairperson of the School of Business, and Associate Professor of Business Law. He is also the Pre-Law Advisor/academic advisor to students enrolled in the Legal Studies Minor. Dr. Fox is a former Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Mount, and a former Coordinator of the MBA Program. He previously served as Chair of the School of Business from July to December 2023. He teaches in the undergraduate Business program and the MBA program.
Professor Fox received his Doctor of Law (JD) degree from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Articles Editor on the Columbia Business Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, from Bucknell University, with a major in Economics and minor in Biology.
As a legal practitioner prior to academia, Professor Fox has been rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers list. He is admitted to practice in New York State, as well as in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Professor Fox previously served as a law clerk to Hon. Lawrence E. Kahn, U.S. District Judge, in the Northern District of New York. He also worked as an attorney in the litigation department of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, in Manhattan; and was, sequentially, an associate, senior counsel, and then partner, and the litigation managing attorney at Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP, in New York’s Hudson Valley. Professor Fox's primary practice areas were Federal Practice, Electronic Discovery, Employment and Discrimination Law, Business Entity Disputes, Corporate/Commercial Litigation, Estates Litigation, as well as general civil litigation. From February 2014 to November 2016, Professor Fox also served as Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Port Jervis, and as special labor counsel for the City. Dr. Fox was also Special Counsel at the Hudson Valley law firm of Catania, Mahon, Milligram & Rider, PLLC, from October 2015 to November 2016, immediately prior to entering full-time academia.
Professor Fox has been very active with the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, and Orange County Bar Association. Professor Fox has authored a book on electronic discovery, social media, ethics and society; has authored a second book on diversity, inclusion and anti-discrimination; has authored or co-authored numerous articles and CLEs; and has spoken at symposia and CLE programs, concerning Federal civil procedure, attorney-client privilege and work product, electronic discovery, evidence, professional responsibility/ethics, employment law, and pre-law advice for college students.
From September 2019 to March 2021, Professor Fox was the co-host of a podcast of the New York State Bar Association, "Gold/Fox: Non-Billable", which spoke with practicing attorneys and judges who had interesting hobbies, or with those who held law degrees and worked in non-traditional careers. The 31 episodes from the three seasons of the podcast are still available on Apple iTunes/Podcast App, Spotify, Google Play, the NYSBA website, or wherever one gets their podcasts.
When not engaged in scholarly or professional endeavors, Professor Fox is also an avid traveler, having thus far visited 45 countries and territories across all seven continents and Central America, and 35 states in the United States.
Degrees
Doctor of Law (JD), Columbia University School of Law
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bucknell University
Courses
BUS/LAW 2050 - Business Law I
BUS/LAW 2060 - Business Law II
BUS/LAW 3173 - DEI & HR Law in Businesses
LAW 3174 - Business & Law in Electronic World
LAW/ECO 3200 - Contemporary Issues in Law and Economics
BUS/LAW 4850/4854/4860/4872 - Internship in Business/Law
ECO 2020 - Principles of Microeconomics
MGT 5120 - The Legal Environment of Business
MGT 5200 - Writing & Research for Managers
MGT 6100 - Advanced Seminar in Management: Sustainability in Business (co-taught)
MGT 6250 - Business, Law & an Electronic World
MGT 6410 - Seminar in Employment Law
BUS/PHL 4180 - Special Topics: Evolution of the American Worker (co-taught)
CRI/SOC 3300 - Law & Society
ECO/PHL 4420 - Business, Economics & Philosophy of Healthcare in Australia
Specialization/Areas of Research Interest
Electronic Discovery, Social Media, Evidence and Ethics
Employment Law, Equal Protection
Reach of Title VII, ADA and NY Human Rights Law
Government, Constitutionalism, Federalism
Professional Responsibility/Ethics of Attorneys and Judges
Memberships and Professional Associations
Member, The Sedona Conference (Electronic Document Retention & Production - Working Group 1)
Member, Northeast Association of Pre-Law Advisors (NAPLA)
Member, Southern Association of Pre-Law Advisors (SAPLA)
Member, Southwest Association of Pre-Law Advisors (SWAPLA)
New York State Bar Association - Former Member (2004-2023)
New York State Bar Association - Former Member of the House of Delegates (2008-2014; 2015-2023)
New York State Bar Association - Former Chair, Standing Committee on Communications & Publications (2018-2021)
New York State Bar Association - Former 9th Judicial District Vice President (2017-2019)
New York State Bar Association - Former Member of the Executive Committee (2015-2019)
New York State Bar Association - Former Section Chair, Young Lawyers Section (2012-2013)
Orange County Bar Association - Former Member, Board of Directors (2017-2022)
Regional Food Bank-Hudson Valley - Former Chair & emeritus member, Advisory Board
Regional Food Bank (based in Latham, NY) - 1st Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra - Former Member, Board of Directors (2021-2022)
American Bar Association - Former Member of the House of Delegates (2008-2014)
Federal Bar Council - Member
New York City Bar Association - Former Member
Former Notary Public (New York)
Achievements / Awards
Rated AV® Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell since 2015
Selected as Super Lawyer, Upstate New York/Hudson Valley by Thomson Reuters (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
Past Member of the New York Law Journal’s Inaugural “Rising Stars” Selection/Judging Committee
Member of Phi Beta Kappa
Lecturer and Team Leader at 8th and 9th Annual NYSBA YLS Trial Academy held at Cornell Law School (2017 & 2018)
Lecturer & Critique Faculty at 10th Annual NYSBA YLS Trial Academy held at Cornell Law School (2019)
Publications