Marcia Jacobowitz now partner at law firm, head of water authority

BY ERIKA NORTON
GOSHEN — Marcia A. Jacobowitz, a lawyer with the firm Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP, for six years, was named partner in August.
She is now partner of a firm that represents many developers and municipalities, while also heading a county bureau that decides which development projects and municipalities get water.
Local environmental activist Sandra Kissam said Jacobowitz has a conflict of interest, as both chair of the Orange County Water Authority and an attorney at Jacobowitz & Gubits. She has brought this conflict up before, at meetings about the county's water master plan.
“Not the least of these communities is Kiryas Joel, which as we know is busily pursuing additional water sources for their community,” said Kissam, who is president of the Stewart Park and Reserve Coalition, a grassroots group instrumental in creating Stewart State Park at the airport in New Windsor.
Donald Nichol, another partner at Jacobowitz & Gubits, has represented the Village of Kiryas Joel since 1990, according to the Jacobowitz & Gubits website. His areas of practice include wastewater, water supply and infrastructure, environmental regulation and review, planning and zoning, and construction, bidding, and procurement.
“I hope everyone realizes that Ms. Jacobowitz, as a member of the board of the Orange County Water Authority, making decisions about the distribution of drinking water resources, has direct contact with other partners in the firm that advise many local communities on policy and indeed, water issues,” said Kissam. “Unfortunately (her promotion) just makes the conflict of interest in her position more pronounced, a point I made back in 2010 in an article printed in The Chronicle.”
Jacobowitz, board member of the water authority for more than 20 years, denies that she has a conflict.
“I do full disclosure with the county as required,” she said. “I’m in compliance every year. I don’t really know what it is people may be referring to.”
She said the water authority is directed by a board, and “I’m one person on the board.”
Jacobowitz is also the chair.
“I’m an attorney,” she said. “Whether I’m a partner in the firm or an associate in the firm, I’m an attorney. I practice law. I don’t know in what way my being a partner would alter any conduct or conflict that would exist or possibly now that I’m a partner. I don’t see any conflict existing. I do full disclosure to any relationships I have with any county related agencies so that’s on file.”
In 2010, The Chronicle contacted former executive director of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board, Mark Davies, about Jacobowitz’s appointment to the water authority.
After reviewing the water authority’s ethics code at that time, he said, “If the water authority member’s law firm represented the client for a fee, then the water authority member would be deemed to have an interest and would have to recuse as to that matter.”

A lawyer since 1987

Jacobowitz started practicing law in 1987, and in January 2010, she joined her father’s firm, Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP. She concentrates in all areas of real estate, land use, and equine law.
“I am excited to be named partner in the firm that bears my father’s name,” said Jacobowitz. “I take great pride in my association with the firm and look forward to contributing to its ongoing success with much enthusiasm.”
Jacobowitz is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan County, the New York State Bar Association, the American College of Equine Attorneys, the United States Equestrian Federation and the Humane Society of the United States. Her areas of practice include commercial and residential real estate, business, land use development, estate planning, equine law and municipal law.
“Her unique background and experience makes her a great asset to the team,” said Managing Partner Michele L. Babcock. “We are pleased to name her partner.”
Jacobowitz was appointed by the Orange County Executive in 1994 to serve as a board member of the Orange County Water Authority and has served as its chair since 2006.
According to their website, the Orange County Water Authority was “created to address the long-term water needs of Orange County” and “supports local, intermunicipal and regional water planning and projects, and coordinates analysis of county water resources to provide a scientific basis for planning and decision making.”
The OCWA’s programs are focused on water supply, water resource protection, watershed planning, conservation and education.
Jacobowitz & Gubits has 25 attorneys and a staff of paralegals and legal assistants that serve businesses, individuals, and municipalities throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley and the state of New York.
Jacobowitz said she has never made any ethical breach.
“That’s public record and I have never in the past, nor will I ever in the future, violate any of my ethical obligations as an attorney, as a partner in the firm or as a chairperson of the water authority,” she said.