In 2004, Crowell wrote the key legal opinion supporting the Bloomberg administration’s decision to honor same-sex marriages performed in Canada and Massachusetts.
The guide informed NYC voters and gave free TV airtime to all candidates who wished to participate during the 2005 New York City election.
In that role, he managed legal, regulatory, legislative, governance, administrative, and operational matters focused on enhancing the performance, competitiveness, accountability, and public integrity of New York City.
He also coordinated and oversaw New York City agencies, boards, and commissions, and led government reform efforts and business process reengineering initiatives.
He also chaired the Regulatory Review Panel, which sought to streamline rules to reduce fines and undue burden on city businesses.
[10][11] He was appointed as Chief Counsel to the 2003 Charter Revision Commission, which placed a proposal on the ballot to have a nonpartisan voting system for all elected city offices.
[24] In 2012, after being appointed Dean, Crowell introduced the Jump Start bar prep program to help students pass the accreditation exam.
[27] The plan embraces the structural changes in the legal marketplace, focuses on student and community engagement, scholarship, and has helped to shepherd a historic expansion of clinical and experiential learning using New York City as the classroom.
[28] The Strategic Plan was informed by a full scale operational review that the Dean and his team undertook to evaluate and implement new methods required for modern law school management.
[42] Crowell introduced the "Campus Climate Survey" at NYLS to gauge and monitor the school's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plans and policies.