Cory Morris B.S. ’08, M.A. ’10

Member of Adelphi University’s 10 Under 10.

Attorney and Counselor at Law at The Law Offices of Cory H. Morris

When asked what advice he would give to current students and new graduates, Cory Morris, B.S. ’08, M.A. ’10, said, “Open your mind and be humble. Forget what you know. Discover your own truths and create the world that you envision.” Morris discovered many of his own truths at Adelphi.

“[Adelphi] had an enormous impact [on my life],” he said. “Adelphi University allowed me to earn money, working full-time, and attend classes. The professors and faculty were accessible, honest, welcoming and full of information and opportunity. The campus, even without the three new buildings, was fairy-tale like, with rabbits running across the lawn. There were interesting visiting artists, musicians, lecturers, guests, and, of course, our own underground cafe. Adelphi University provided reasonable tuition at a top rate private school, gave me access to leaders in the field, close-knit classes taught by phenomenal professors and provided me the chance to continue to help mentor and educate students as an adjunct professor. Adelphi University still changes my life with each new group of students I teach.”

Morris originally chose to attend Adelphi because the University offered an accelerated joint-degree law school undergraduate program. Among his favorite professors at the University was Professor Stephanie Lake. “Although it is unfair to single out one particular professor to account for my development throughout my undergraduate career, Professor Lake was instrumental in my involvement in certain activities of which I and other students needed a bit of a “push” in order to attend,” he said. “She opened our minds to reading source materials, and forced us, no matter how painful it was, to think for ourselves, formulate our own opinion(s) and not be drawn into empty beliefs, repetitive rhetoric or mindless telecast.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, Morris decided rather than head straight to law school, he would obtain his graduate degree from Adelphi’s Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology. He then went on to pursue his law degree from Touro College.

While in school, Morris had interned at several different organizations, including Law Help, the Huntington Town Attorney’s Office, the Unemployment Action Center, the Federal Defenders of the Eastern District of New York and the New York Civil Liberties Union. Upon graduation, he continued to volunteer with the New York Civil Liberties Union until he was hired as an associate attorney by the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington, a general practice firm dedicated to social justice issues and civil rights.

In 2014, Morris opened his own law firm that focuses on foreclosure litigation, general litigation matters, injury, criminal and civil rights litigation. That same year, Morris was offered the position of adjunct graduate professor in the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. In addition to his many volunteer roles, Morris is also currently the Suffolk County Assigned Counsel Defender and he serves as the vice chair of the Nassau Suffolk Law Services advisory committee and is active in both the Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations.

In regards to what he feels is his greatest accomplishment in his life thus far, Morris said, “Helping myself, my profession and others around me while earning a living; rising each time I fall and summoning the courage to proceed in the face of overwhelming opposition.”

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