New York City Bar Association Podcasts -NYC Bar: Recent Episodes
NYC Bar Association
02:13 Why AI Became Institutional03:50 Oliver’s AI Origin Story05:34 Faculty Misconceptions07:26 JD Learning Outcomes09:58 Core AI Competencies13:04 Schoolwide Guardrails16:56 Teaching Ethics through Scenarios21:19 Hidden Ethics Pitfalls23:56 Rethinking Assessment27:10 Drafting and Disclosure32:05 Workflows In Practice35:41 Handling Faculty Skepticism38:08 AI In Clinics40:10 Scholarship And Journals43:05 Closing Advice
Environmental lawyer and Animal Law Committee member Robin Happel hosts a discussion on noise pollution and noise law with Jamie Banks of Quiet Communities and ocean noise researcher Vanessa ZoBell. Jamie explains how chronic leaf-blower and land-care noise led her to found Quiet Communities. She describes gaps in federal, state, and local noise regulation, focusing on the 1972 Noise Control Act, the rise and 1982 defunding of EPA’s Office of Noise Abatement and Control, and Quiet Communities’ lawsuit to reactivate the program. Vanessa outlines major ocean noise sources (commercial shipping and seismic air-gun surveys) and impacts on marine life, including stress, masking, behavioral changes, and examples such as post-9/11 stress hormone reductions in right whales and sonar-linked beaked whale strandings. They discuss challenges of relying on A-weighted averages, low-frequency noise, communication barriers, voluntary and incentive-based programs, electrification of equipment, vessel speed reduction benefits, and long-term California soundscape findings tied to economic events and marine heatwaves, plus vulnerable human populations and environmental justice concerns.00:42 Jamie on Quiet Communities04:17 Vanessa on Ocean Acoustics06:19 Major Ocean Noise Sources08:34 Noise Control Act History13:30 How Noise Harms Marine Life18:23 Ecological Impacts on Land20:34 Rethinking Noise Metrics27:14 Shipping Slowdown Success33:48 Incentives and Federal Tools40:31 Decadal Soundscape Study46:29 Vulnerable Groups and Justice
Knupp LLP and author of the Copyright Lately blog• Marc Lebowitz, Principal, Lebowitz Law Office• James Bartolomei, Of Counsel, Duncan FirmThe wide-ranging discussion covers the practical implications of these divergent approaches for copyright owners, litigators, content creators, online platforms, forum selection, free speech, and the application of copyright law nationwide.This episode was produced by Jose Landivar, Senior Associate at Coates IP LLP, with contributions from Philippa Loengard, Executive Director, Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts and Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, and support from the New York City Bar Association Communications Team.Copyright Lately: Creative Law for Curious People – www.copyrightlately.com
Tiffany Smith (WilmerHale) speaks with Beth Haddock (Warburton Advisers) and Boaz Goldwater (Davis Polk) about Treasury’s notice of proposed rulemaking implementing the Genius Act’s framework for regulating payment stablecoins, focusing on guidance for state regimes to qualify as “substantially similar” to the federal approach.This podcast episode from the City Bar’s Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies compares the dual federal/state structure to banking and securities regulation, and describes “uniform” requirements versus areas with limited state calibration (e.g., capital, liquidity, supervisory procedures). We discuss the inter-agency stablecoin certification review committee’s discretion, challenges from evolving OCC standards, and the ten billion outstanding issuance threshold that triggers transition to OCC supervision while retaining state oversight, with possible waivers for certain pre-existing state regimes. We highlight key ambiguities for issuers, including moving federal benchmarks, supervisory capacity, and unresolved capital/liquidity measurement issues.01:38 Genius Act Rulemaking Overview03:08 Dual Federal State Framework04:17 Why a State Pathway09:31 State Discretion in Practice11:31 Managing Moving Goalposts13:34 Certification Review Committee15:56 Reserve Capital Liquidity Rules19:05 Crossing the 10 Billion Threshold23:42 Supervision and Enforcement Capacity25:33 Choosing State vs Federal Oversight28:20 Open Questions and Comment Priorities
Sustain Superiority in Critical and Emerging Technologies01:01:23 Pillar Six - Build Talent and Capacity 01:06:11 Closing Thoughts
In a special Women’s History Month episode, City Bar President Muhammad Faridi speaks with Judge Bianka Perez, an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court and president of the Supreme Court Justices Association. Judge Perez speaks about her path to the bench – her roots as a Bronx paralegal and office manager, through night classes at New York Law School, and a legal practice serving both her intellectual ambitions and her commitment to supporting her community.Perez discusses how private practice shaped her perspective on judicial empathy, how her Dominican heritage and role models influence her leadership and service, and how mentoring students is a priority. She addresses the difficulty of rulings constrained by statute and precedent, coping with the stress of judging, and defines success as making history and lifting the next generation of Latina leaders.Want to hear more from women who lead? Check out the most recent International Law Conference on the Status of Women hosted at the City Bar, where we honor the women judges who uphold justice for all with courage and integrity: https://www.nycbar.org/videos/2026-annual-international-law-conference-on-the-status-of-women/ 00:00 Welcome and Women’s History Month00:26 Judge Perez’s Bronx Beginnings02:04 Working Full Time in Law School04:43 Why Private Practice Matters06:00 Law School Through a Practitioner Lens08:22 Opening a Storefront Practice11:39 Dominican Roots and Bronx Service15:36 Bar Leadership and Becoming a Judge18:47 When the Law Ties Your Hands21:15 Life Experience on the Bench24:02 Choosing the Judgeship Path27:27 Mentoring and Paying It Forward31:38 Carrying the Work Home34:25 Success, Advice, and Closing
CEO of Fountain House.They discuss existing reform efforts and explain those efforts' real-world impact, focusing on what they mean for care, public safety, and the rights of vulnerable individuals across the state.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/417gwTW
Scott Mason talks with Sara Walshe about what intuition is and how lawyers can use it to feel better, work smarter, and avoid burnout. Sara describes intuition as an immediate “knowing,” and says it can show up either as experience-based pattern recognition (like a strong BS meter built from years of practice) or as a deeper inner knowing that’s hard to explain. They discuss how to tell intuition apart from wishful thinking, how confidence can shape outcomes, and why “doom” feelings may be more about instinct and survival. Sara shares stories from studying for the bar, negotiating plea deals as a Brooklyn prosecutor, and eventually leaving law to combine yoga, mindfulness, and coaching. She emphasizes that intuition is easier to access when you feel safe, and suggests simple mindfulness tools—like slow finger rubbing paired with a deep breath—to get grounded in the moment.Want to learn more about combining mindfulness techniques with your legal practice? Get involved with the sponsor of today’s podcast, the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee! A great opportunity is coming up on March 26, join the committee’s Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Book Club (nycbar.org/calendar). Reading the book is encouraged but not required to take part in this community space. 00:00 Defining intuition02:22 Two types of knowing04:13 Wishful thinking vs intuition07:21 Bar exam visualization16:18 Using intuition in practice19:38 Negotiation and efficiency27:49 Office politics and EQ30:57 Leading with intuition34:26 Soft Skills Are Hard35:07 Lawyer Identity Beyond Work36:38 Connection Crisis and Screens39:12 Marriage Lens of Intuition40:21 When Not to Use Intuition41:06 Intuition and Instinct Dance49:16 Prosecutor to Coach Story55:37 Mindfulness for Intuition57:25 Fingertip Grounding Trick58:45 Closing Thanks and Credits
In this episode of the New York City Bar Association podcast, host Carl Hahn from Steptoe, LLP leads a discussion on synthetic employees and the future of work. He is joined by experts Marcia Narine Weldon (Illuminating Wisdom), Geoffrey Schaefer (Leidos), and Ramsey Brown (Mission Control) to explore the implications of integrating AI-driven synthetic workers into organizations. Topics include the intersection of artificial intelligence and compliance, the role of governance in AI deployment, the potential employment law ramifications, and practical steps for managing synthetic workforces. The conversation also dives into the practical and ethical considerations companies must navigate as they incorporate these technologies, emphasizing the importance of having robust governance frameworks and multi-stakeholder committees to address risks and ensure sustainable implementation.If you are interested in learning more about emerging AI developments and policy, join us for the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Conference on June 18 to hear from industry experts and connect with leading legal professionals across the field.00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome 10:30 Defining Synthetic Employees and AI Agents 11:45 The Continuum of AI Autonomy 19:00 Legal and Governance Challenges 25:00 Organizational Integration of AI 30:00 Ethical Considerations and Coordination Challenges 40:00 Mission Control AI and Governance Case Study48:00 Second-Order Consequences of Synthetic Workforces 55:00 Legal and Compliance Implications 1:05:00 Practical Steps for AI Integration 1:10:00 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Today's podcast hosted by the City Bar's Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies explores the ethical and legal dimensions of informed consent in AI healthcare settings. Anne Zimmerman, Chair of the City Bar’s Bioethical Issues Committee and Editor-in-Chief of the Voices in Bioethics Journal at Columbia University, Alex John London from Carnegie Mellon University and Susannah Rose from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The discussion covers the significance of informed consent in healthcare, challenges with AI integration, patient autonomy, regulatory issues, and the balance between disclosure and effective use of AI. It also delves into potential impacts on patient care, operational uses of AI, and the importance of building trust and communication between clinicians and patients.If you are interested in learning more about emerging AI developments and policy, join us for the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Conference on June 18 to hear from industry experts and connect with leading legal professionals across the field.00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guests01:30 Understanding Informed Consent in Healthcare02:32 Ethical Considerations of AI in Healthcare06:05 Challenges and Frameworks for AI Consent06:47 AI's Impact on Clinical and Operational Settings07:28 Patient Autonomy and AI Decision-Making11:19 Regulatory and Safety Concerns with AI17:12 The Role of AI in Patient Communication18:37 Equity and Justice in AI Deployment20:10 Future of AI in Healthcare and Concluding Thoughts29:43 Closing Remarks and Podcast Information
They explore key issues, including the executive order’s implications and challenges; the evaluation of state AI laws and potential federal restrictions on state funding; the creation of an AI litigation task force; and whether this approach can effectively balance innovation with regulation. The panelists also share their perspectives on how AI policy may evolve under this new national framework.If you are interested in learning more about emerging AI developments and policy, join us for the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Conference on June 18 to hear from industry experts and connect with leading legal professionals across the field. Register at: https://services.nycbar.org/SLIT/00:00 Introduction and Overview of the Executive Order09:08 Challenges in Establishing a National AI Framework15:44 Implications of the AI Litigation Task Force34:44 Federal Funding and State AI Laws41:32 Preemption and Deceptive Conduct in AI Models47:01 Future Outlook55:56 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
The New York Emerging Technologies Amendments to the New York Uniform Commercial Code are the result of a multi-year collaboration between the City Bar (led by the City Bar Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence) and the Uniform Law Commission, including the New York State delegation to the Uniform Law Commission. This significant legislation modernizes the New York UCC to address advances in technology and digital assets, ensuring that New York remains the preferred jurisdiction for innovations in commerce and finance.In this episode, Task Force Co-Chair Jerome Walker sits down with City Bar stakeholders – including the City Bar Director of Advocacy (Elizabeth Kocienda) and two Uniform Law Commissioners from the Task Force (Ed Smith and Neil Cohen) – to talk about the years-long advocacy effort behind the passage of this bill, and to unpack the nuts and bolts of the bill’s changes to New York’s Uniform Commercial Code.Together we’re celebrating a victory that preserves New York’s leadership in the world of commerce and finance.
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast00:50 Overview of AI Assessments, Reviews, and Audits02:20 Key Definitions and Concepts in AI05:44 Panelist Introductions08:39 Discussion on Responsible and Trustworthy AI18:33 Training AI Models and Explainability22:33 Challenges in AI Assessments and Reviews27:09 Global Perspectives on AI Audits39:10 Practical Approaches for AI Model Reviews53:57 Key Skills for AI Model Audits59:27 Introduction and Areas of Practice01:01:31 AI in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing01:07:36 AI Models in Fraud Detection01:14:41 Export Control on AI Models01:21:35 International AI Audit Methodologies01:27:42 Challenges in AI Audits01:42:10 Accountability in AI Audits01:46:13 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
The Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies welcomes you to Wexford, a fictional city that has purchased AI-enabled law enforcement tools with a black box provision from a tech vendor. Task Force member Elizabeth Daitz moderates a discussion on the complexities of AI usage in criminal investigations and prosecution. Panelists Christian Quinn, Andrew Warshawer, Jerome Greco, and the Honorable Paul Grimm provide insightful perspectives on the significance of the black box provision, ethical and legal implications, and the need for transparency and coordination among stakeholders to ensure these tools are used effectively and justly in the criminal justice system. 00:00 Introductions 02:18 Fictional Case Study: Sentinel AI in Law Enforcement 03:31 Regulatory Landscape and Challenges 05:50 Bias and Explainability in AI 12:19 AI in Law Enforcement 18:01 Legal Implications of AI in Prosecution 35:52 Defense Perspective on AI Evidence 43:54 Challenging Unverifiable Evidence 46:57 Litigation Strategy and Expert Witnesses 49:00 Economic Barriers in Defense Technology 53:33 Judicial Perspectives on AI Evidence 01:13:53 Key Takeaways and Leadership in AI 01:22:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Dana Lennon and Lori Nuckolls, co-chairs of the Subcommittee on Digital Technology Issues for Nonprofits, host an informative discussion on the use of digital assets in nonprofit organizations. Joined by subcommittee members Laura Angel Lalanne and John Bennett, alongside nonprofit leaders Kevin Scally and Zach Bronstein, they delve into different types of digital assets, their benefits for nonprofits, real-world applications, and the associated governance and legal considerations. The discussion includes practical advice on implementing digital asset strategies, addressing risk, ensuring transparency, and complying with emerging regulations and legislation. Laura Angel-Lalanne is a Partner at Schulte Roth; John Bennett is a Senior Counsel at Simpson Thacher; Dana Lennon is the Director of Divisional Operations at Catholic Charities Community Services Archdiocese of New York; Lori Nuckols is a Public Policy Researcher; Zack Bronstein is Chief Operating Officer at Endaoment; and Kevin Scally is Deputy Chief Development Officer for Doctors without Border.Want to further explore the latest developments in financial technology and associated regulatory changes? Join us at the City Bar’s upcoming FinTech Conference on September 9. (This program will be available on-demand thereafter.) Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events. 01:24 Understanding Digital Assets for Nonprofits 03:31 Kevin Scaly on Doctors Without Borders 05:52 Zach Bronstein on Endaoment 12:16 Implementing Digital Asset Strategies 18:35 Board Approval and Policy Considerations 24:57 Nonprofit Security Measures and Asset Management 29:28 Donor Information and Anonymity 33:07 Governance and Legal Considerations 44:04 Advice for Nonprofits on Digital Assets
What are the economics of the metaverse? Is your privacy safe when you make a financial transaction? What new scams and cons are criminals developing in the world of virtual reality? Flora Lau leads a cohort from the City Bar Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies – Terry Dugan, Sabeena Ahmed Liconte, Alex Southwell, Irene Byhovsky, Clark Abrams, and Adam Scott Wandt – in a discussion covering regulatory implications, privacy concerns, national security issues, and cybersecurity challenges. They share detailed analysis, use cases, and potential solutions to ensure a balance between innovation and regulation, while also considering the broader implications for privacy and security. They also touch on the importance of regulatory sandboxes and future technologies that may reshape our digital interactions.
Want to learn more about developing standards and best-practices for emerging technologies? Join us at the City Bar’s upcoming FinTech Conference on September 9. (This program will be available on-demand thereafter.) Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.
01:07 Defining the Metaverse02:52 Economic Aspects of the Metaverse05:20 Financial Activities in the Metaverse14:33 Regulatory Considerations for Financial Institutions36:36 Privacy and Data Concerns in the Metaverse51:25 Child Privacy and Financial Risks in the Metaverse52:25 Global Perspective on Metaverse Adoption54:13 Recommendations for Metaverse Platforms on Privacy56:36 Challenges of Age Verification and Regulation01:00:06 National Security Concerns in the Metaverse01:00:51 Money Laundering and Financial Crimes in the Metaverse01:17:40 Cybersecurity in the Metaverse01:31:34 Future of the Metaverse and Regulatory Considerations01:39:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Attorney and bioethicist Karolina Zhukoff sits down with Dr. Jonathan Moreno, Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, to discuss his new book, “Absolutely Essential: Bioethics and the Rules-Based International Order.” They delve into the historical development of bioethics since its emergence post-World War II, focusing on the evolution of doctor-patient relationships and the significant influence of the Nuremberg Code. The conversation also covers the ways in which Dr. Moreno’s upbringing inspired his work, the global impact of COVID-19 on bioethics, and the challenges posed to the international rules-based order by geopolitical shifts and emerging technologies. 00:00 Introduction01:33 The Essence of Bioethics 04:20 Historical Context of Bioethics 08:04 Personal Influences on Dr. Moreno 11:09 Global Perspectives on Medical Ethics 21:11 Impact of COVID-19 on Bioethics 27:23 Future Challenges and Emerging Technologies 32:55 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Scott Sholder is a prominent New York litigator representing clients across the entertainment and media industries on copyright matters. He is currently counsel to world famous authors in a copyright class action litigation concerning the unauthorized use of literary works for generative AI “training.” He also chairs the Copyright & Literary Property Committee’s A.I. Subcommittee whose mission is to keep tabs and stay current on the latest developments at the intersection of copyright law and generative A.I.Presented by the New York City Bar Copyright and Literary Property Committee and hosted by Theodora Fleurant and Jose Landivar, we discuss the latest developments in copyright law and artificial intelligence, discuss how taekwondo and power metal have shaped Scott’s practice, and what it takes to be a high-performing litigator in 2025.Scott J. Sholder is co-chair of the Litigation Group at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, one of the premier law firms in media and entertainment. A frequent writer and speaker on copyright and trademark issues, Scott has been recognized by Variety as “a thought leader in the artificial intelligence space as it relates to entertainment.” He was also featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2024 “Power Lawyers” list.(The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of any organizations, employers, or affiliates they may be associated with. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or professional advice.) Selected Links from the Episode: New York City Copyright & Literary Property Committee: https://www.nycbar.org/committees/copyright-literary-property-committee Copyright Claims Board: https://ccb.gov/ Red Rising by Pierce Brown: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Rising-Pierce-Brown/dp/034553980X Ghost, “Mary On A Cross”: https://open.spotify.com/track/2wBnZdVWa5jVpvYRfGU7rP?si=511c7ba7d3df4e21 Unleash the Archers,”Northwest Passage” https://open.spotify.com/track/3Fiz4tFoVBosOUm2uMgdlL?si=8af4660100604e89
The Mindfulness and Wellbeing in the Law Committee returns to the airwaves to give you the lawyer’s perspective on the healing power of music. Scott Mason, Nancy Batterman and Kathryn Schneider explore the mindfulness practices inherent to musical artistry, and the way that those practices can inform a life in the law. Nancy and Kathy share their personal journeys in the City Bar Chorus and the strong sense of community they have built there. The episode gives a new framing for some of the challenging aspects of the legal profession, like performing under pressure and navigating a proclivity for perfectionism. We close with a guided meditation and a poem by Rumi, emphasizing the spiritual and emotional dimensions of engaging with music.
Kathryn Schneider is the Musical Director of the New York City Bar Chorus, which is giving two public concerts (with identical setlists) in June 2025 at the House of the Association showcasing musical theater and film selections, including from Sweeney Todd, Encanto, Kinky Boots, The Greatest Showman and Wicked, as well as inventive arrangements of songs by artists ranging from Billy Joel to Bruno Mars, Billie Eilish to Beyoncé, and more. Donations at the door will benefit the City Bar Fund and the Chorus. RSVP for the concerts at:
June 26, 2025: https://services.nycbar.org/EventDetail?EventKey=CHOR062625June 27, 2025: https://services.nycbar.org/EventDetail?EventKey=CHOR062725
02:29 Mindfulness and Music: The Connection04:03 The Impact of Singing and Music on Wellbeing08:13 The Role of Community in Music and Law13:57 The New York City Bar Chorus: History and Personal Journeys19:26 The Healing Power of Music and Performance35:08 Upcoming Events and Final Thoughts38:36 Guided Meditation for Performance Preparation
A new City Bar report (https://bit.ly/3FURuAi) from the Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology highlights the harmful effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on people with disabilities, and the harm likely to occur for them in the future. The Task Force’s Subcommittee on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on People with Disabilities and Underserved Communities continues the conversation in this podcast episode featuring attorneys, researchers, and technology leaders. They talk about the current challenges and opportunities AI presents for people with disabilities, emphasizing the importance of inclusive design and representation.
Want to be part of the discussion? Register for the City Bar’s Artificial Intelligence Institute on June 16 (available on-demand thereafter): https://services.nycbar.org/AIInstitute/ Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming CLE programs and events as well as on-demand CLE content.
03:06 Overview of AI's Impact on Disabilities04:44 Building a Disability Inclusive AI Ecosystem09:08 Generative AI and Representational Harms15:54 AI in Digital Accessibility: Test Party's Mission19:39 Challenges and Legal Perspectives on AI and Disabilities35:26 Inclusive Design and Evaluation in AI44:54 Final Thoughts and Future Directions
The City Bar Presidential Task Force on AI and digital technologies hosts this discussion on AI governance in the financial sector. Azish Filabi (American College McGuire Center for Ethics and Financial Services) moderates with Muyiwa Odeniyide (Nasdaq), Adam Marchuck (Citi), Jordan Romanoff (BNY Mellon), Stuart Levi (Skadden Arps), and Corey Goldstein (Paul Weiss). They share best practices for integrating AI governance and the specific risks associated with third-party AI vendors, underscoring the importance of cross-functional collaboration and continuous learning for lawyers navigating the rapidly changing AI environment.
Want to learn more about AI governance in the financial sector? Register for the City Bar’s Artificial Intelligence Institute on June 16 (available on-demand thereafter): https://services.nycbar.org/AIInstitute/ Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming CLE programs and events as well as on-demand CLE content.
01:08 AI Ethics and Financial Services02:37 Current State of AI Law and Regulation13:33 AI Use Cases in Financial Companies16:50 AI Risk and Governance Considerations18:45 Legal Perspectives on AI Risk28:44 AI Governance in Financial Services37:28 The Role of AI Lawyers42:56 Balancing Innovation and Risk
Every day, New Yorkers are involuntarily committed to hospitals and mental health facilities for psychiatric treatment. But what happens when a patient wishes to be released from a hospital or refuses medication? In this podcast, we are joined by Hon. W. Frank Perry to discuss Mental Hygiene Proceedings, a little-known area of the law designed to resolve disputes between mental health patients and the facilities responsible for treating them. In this discussion, Judge Perry describes his transition from a Supreme Court Justice in the General Assignment Part to his current role as the sole Judge presiding over Mental Hygiene Proceedings throughout New York County. This open and honest conversation explores Judge Perry’s experience with helping people at their most vulnerable moments, the tension between protecting individual rights of patients and ensuring that they are not a threat to themselves or others, and the procedure for carrying this out. We hope that this discussion can shed some light on a legal process that affects thousands of New Yorkers every year.
Want to learn more about practice in New York’s mental hygiene courts? You can access the City Bar’s on-demand CLE program "Better Served by Treatment": Practicing in the Mental Health Courts 101: https://bit.ly/452oUXY Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming CLE programs and events as well as on-demand CLE content.
Sara Walsh and Elizabeth Pyjov discuss the critical role of compassion in the legal field. Elizabeth shares her extensive background in compassion training, her experiences living in diverse cultures, and how these shaped her understanding of human suffering. Together, they delve into the definitions and science of compassion, the eternal role of the arts in processing suffering, and practical ways to cultivate compassion. They emphasize that a compassionate approach can significantly improve lawyers' well-being and their professional interactions, ultimately leading to a more just and thriving society.
If you’re interested in incorporating mindfulness and well-being into your practice, join the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee for a Mindfulness Break, Yoga for Lawyers, or its next Book Club. More information about the committee and its upcoming events is available here.
02:09 Elizabeth's Journey: From Literature to Law07:16 Defining Compassion in the Legal Profession07:32 The Science Behind Compassion14:12 Compassion vs. Common Misconceptions17:24 The Role of Compassion in Legal Practice19:15 Cultivating Compassion and Self-Compassion27:12 The Impact of Compassion on Lawyers and Society28:41 Final Thoughts and Call to Action34:18 Closing Remarks and Additional Resources
Today the City Bar Podcast brings you an episode from its sister show, Building Belonging, a podcast of the City Bar's Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Building Belonging is launching a new season that brings listeners into the heartfelt, uncertain, messy, hopeful discussions that capture the work of DEIB on the ground as the landscape shifts and changes.In the first episode of Building Belonging season two, ODIEB dives deep into the fundamental question: What is DEI really? With the haters circling and pushback in full force, a lot of people are returning to this question to understand how to move justice forward. The team explores their individual journeys into DEI and what it means to them. As Eli puts it, this conversation seeks to address 'what DEI is, what it is not, where it is going, and who our allies are,' clearing up misconceptions and providing a nuanced understanding of essential concepts. Tanya highlights the innate human essence of DEI, saying, 'At its core, it is one of the most innate and human things that we have.' Angie drives home the practical importance of DEI: 'It's everything that makes the world more accessible to everyone.' By offering their personal insights and discussing the broader significance of DEI, the team aims to inspire listeners to open their eyes to new opportunities and get involved in this transformative work. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE BUILDING BELONGING PODCAST IF YOU ENJOYED THIS EPISODE!!!!
Microsoft is mobilizing generative artificial intelligence technology to address the access to justice gap in the United States. In partnership with the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project (NWIRP), they have built a collaborative initiative, ‘LUZ,’ to streamline and scale the DACA renewal process for Dreamers. The City Bar Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technology’s Ray Brescia hosts Malou Chávez, Executive Director of the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project (NWIRP), and Microsoft’s Global Pro Bono Manager Adrian Palma and UX/UI designer Amae Kurre to talk about the access to justice gap that inspired the project, the role of tech in making legal services more efficient, and the essential nature of human oversight in AI-driven legal processes.
Want to learn more about how AI and digital technology are being mobilized to close the digital divide in access to justice? You can access the City Bar’s Artificial Intelligence Institute on demand: https://bit.ly/4j3lCYQ Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming CLE programs and events as well as on-demand CLE content.
01:19 The Evolution of Legal Technology01:55 Introduction of ChatGPT and Generative AI03:17 The Impact of AI on Legal Services03:45 Microsoft's Pro Bono Initiative: LUZ05:02 Challenges Faced by NWIRP07:50 The Role of Technology in Legal Clinics13:28 The Development and Design of LUZ24:48 Human Oversight and AI Integration26:26 Scaling the Initiative and Future Prospects42:48 Addressing Concerns and Ensuring Security48:28 Final Thoughts and Call to Action
In this episode of Mindful Lawyering we explore the emotional, mental, and physical toll of caregiver roles, particularly in the legal profession, and share practical strategies for managing stress — including seeking support, realigning priorities, and practicing self-compassion. Jordana Confino, a former practicing attorney and founder of JC Coaching and Consulting, is joined by Robbie Margolius, Director of Wellbeing at Arnold and Porter. The episode concludes with a self-compassion meditation led by Nancy Batterman, Deputy General Counsel at NYC's Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development.
Sneak Peak:“41 percent of parents say that most days they're so stressed they can't function. And 48 percent say that their stress is completely overwhelming. But compared to other adults, that level is at 20%.”
“I think so many of us, especially lawyers, believe that if it doesn't hurt, it's not working. If we're not burning the candle at both ends, we're not being productive. If we're not pushing ourselves to our breaking point, we’re not doing enough. Because that's how we've been doing it. That's how we've been operating for so long.”
“ We're talking about getting help from others and helping other people, but it's really also important to think about the connection between our self care and the care that we can provide for others. So it's that oxygen mask scenario. You've got to put on your oxygen mask first in order to help other people.”
Resource:Parents Under Pressure – The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents: https://bit.ly/41CkWSC If you’re interested in incorporating mindfulness and well-being into your practice, join the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee for a Mindfulness Break, Yoga for Lawyers, or its next Book Club. More information about the committee and its upcoming events is available here: https://www.nycbar.org/committees/mindfulness-well-being-in-law-committee/
Outline:00:00 Introduction to Mindful Lawyering00:33 Meet the Hosts: Jordana and Robbie01:20 Personal Caregiving Stories03:48 Understanding Caregiver Fatigue09:15 The Legal Profession's Unique Challenges14:13 Strategies for Managing Caregiver Fatigue23:24 Seeking Help and Building Support Systems30:48 Practical Self-Care Tips34:18 Final Thoughts and Self-Compassion Exercise
Our latest episode is brought to you by the City Bar’s Mass Incarceration Task Force. Tess Cohen, Chair of Task Force, discusses the Treatment Court Expansion Act, formerly known as the Treatment Not Jail Act, with guests Jeffrey Berman, a mental health attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Manhattan, and Mark Graham, founder and executive director of the Redemption Center. They explore the legislation's goal to expand treatment-based alternatives to incarceration for individuals with mental health issues, substance use disorders, and other disabilities. The discussion covers the bill's potential to reduce recidivism, the role of diversion courts, and the broader societal impact of addressing mental health and substance use issues within the community.
Join the coalition at treatmentnotjail.com and advocate for change in our community.If you want to learn more about sensible legislative solutions to the treatment of people who are incarcerated in New York, read the Mass Incarceration Task Force’s reports on the Treatment Court Expansion Act (https://bit.ly/43ETNRw) and the Communities Not Cages Act (https://bit.ly/4htf57U) and view the City Bar’s Legislative Agenda (https://bit.ly/3DuhGAL) to learn more about how you can participate in advocacy that supports passage of these proposals in the New York State Legislature.
00:00 Overview of the Treatment Court Expansion Act00:39 Meet the Experts: Jeffrey Berman and Mark Graham01:29 Understanding the Legislation02:39 Existing Criminal Justice Framework and Challenges05:26 Expanding the Treatment Court System06:47 The Importance of Removing Guilty Plea Requirements11:53 Personal Stories and Advocacy19:12 The Impact of Incarceration on Mental Health22:12 Public Safety and Mental Health26:07 The Cost and Benefits of Treatment Courts28:33 Current Status and Future of the Treatment Courts Expansion Act30:56 How Listeners Can Help37:17 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Salahuddin Ahmed, a constitutional lawyer and expert from Pakistan, visited the City Bar Middle East and North African Affairs Committee to discuss the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan and its impact on the independence of the Supreme Court and the Rule of Law.
For a brief background on how the 26th Amendment attempts to subjugate the judiciary to the present regime in Pakistan, read the statement of the International Commission of Jurists: https://www.icj.org/pakistan-26th-constitutional-amendment-is-a-blow-to-the-independence-of-the-judiciary/
At least two Senators said in television interviews that they were compelled to vote for the Amendment after being kidnapped and having their family members kidnapped. The inducements and coercion adopted during the process were widely reported in Pakistani media and even raised in Parliament. For example, see: https://www.nation.com.pk/18-Oct-2024/senators-seek-end-to-coercion-to-get-vote-on-judicial-reforms
The preliminary problem with this legal challenge will be - who hears this petition? Will it be the Supreme Court as it existed prior to the Amendment or can it now only be the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court specially selected for this purpose by the post-Amendment Judicial Commission (which, post-Amendment, has a majority of political appointees and a minority of judges)?
The subsequent challenge is whether courts should ever be involved in determining the validity of constitutional amendments (even if clearly aimed at undermining democracy or the rule of law) or whether it must always be left to the political process? In the past, the judiciary in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have declared they have the power to strike down constitutional amendments if Parliament attempts to subvert the democratic essence of the Constitution by eliminating fundamental rights or the independence of judiciary.
If you enjoyed this podcast, watch Hon. Athar Minallah, Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, address the City Bar alongside City Bar President Muhammad U. Faridi, Kabir Hashmi of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, and special guest Hon. Rowan Wilson, Chief Judge of the State of New York. Justice Minallah spoke about the role of the judiciary in ensuring accountability and promotion of the rule of law, and the dangers of judicial overreach and activism. Video of the event is available here: https://www.nycbar.org/videos/the-independence-of-the-judiciary-and-rule-of-law-in-pakistan/?back=1&ref=media
Jerome Walker, co-chair of the Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies, leads a discussion on President Trump's January 23, 2025 executive order: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. The episode features insights from Nikhil Aggarwal, Harut Minasian, and Nichole Sterling on the implications of reversing President Biden's AI policies. Key discussions include the roles of federal and state regulations, the balance between innovation and safety, and the international landscape of AI regulations. Nikhil, Harut and Nichole also explain foundational principles like explainability, transparency, and fairness in AI models, and assess how stakeholders should navigate these regulatory changes. Additionally, the episode delves into practical examples of AI applications in national security and offers strategic advice for market participants over the next four years.
If you’re interested in learning more about cryptocurrency and regulatory treatment of digital financial technology, join us for the City Bar’s Crypto Institute on March 11 (https://services.nycbar.org/Institute/ and available thereafter on-demand). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.
Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence/
00:22 Overview of President Trump's Executive Order on AI02:34 Panelist Introductions05:47 Understanding AI Models08:01 AI in National Security10:13 Impact of Executive Orders on AI Stakeholders14:24 Legal Advice for AI Stakeholders30:59 State Responses to Federal AI Policies35:00 International AI Regulations and US Leadership56:11 AI Action Plan and Key Principles01:00:48 Conclusion and Closing Remarks
Two legal experts, Tiffany Smith from WilmerHale and Stuart Levi from Skadden Arps, analyze President Trump's January 23rd, 2025 Executive Order on Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology. They compare it with President Biden's previous executive order, discussing the balance between innovation and risk, potential impacts on the digital assets industry, regulatory clarifications, and international competition. The experts also emphasize the need for balanced, cautious optimism while engaging with both federal and state regulators.If you’re interested in learning more about cryptocurrency and regulatory treatment of digital financial technology, join us for the City Bar’s Crypto Institute on March 11 (https://services.nycbar.org/Institute/ and available thereafter on-demand). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/strengthening-american-leadership-in-digital-financial-technology/00:29 Overview of President Trump's Executive Order06:36 Discussion on Regulatory Environment09:47 Advice for Stakeholders and Lawyers22:24 State-Level Responses to Executive Order28:28 International Perspective on Digital Assets33:17 Policy Debate on Digital Asset Laws37:23 Comparing Biden and Trump Administration Approaches40:17 Future of Digital Asset Regulation51:46 Conclusion and Closing Remarks
This episode of the New York City Bar Association comes to you from the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee. Host Scott Mason and committee Chair Aimee Latorre delve into the dimensions of wellbeing, Aimee’s personal journey with mindfulness, and the profession’s current crisis of mental health, attrition, and substance abuse. They also discuss the six dimensions of wellbeing defined by the ABA, and the additional two by the New York State Bar Association. Aimee highlights practical steps individuals and organizations can take to foster a culture of wellbeing and the positive impact it has on ethical and competent legal practice.If you’re interested in incorporating mindfulness and well-being into your practice, join the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee for a Mindfulness Break, Yoga for Lawyers, or its next Book Club. More information about the committee and its upcoming events is available here: https://www.nycbar.org/committees/mindfulness-well-being-in-law-committee/ Visit nycbar.org/events to find all the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.01:14 Personal Stories and Mindfulness Practices03:10 Challenges in the Legal Profession07:55 Defining Wellbeing and Mindfulness08:56 Dimensions of Attorney Wellbeing21:51 Practical Steps for Improving Wellbeing25:21 Upcoming Events and Getting Involved28:44 Conclusion and Meditation
Our latest episode from the Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies surveys an emerging landscape of legislation around AI liabilities and remedies. David Lisson (Davis Polk), Clint Morrison (Patterson Belknap), Shayne O'Reilly (Meta), Matt Bacal (Davis Polk), and Rama Elluru ( Special Competitive Studies Project) unpack regulations from state, federal and international bodies covering topics such as disclosure and transparency, kids' safety, deep fakes, non-consensual intimate imagery, and intellectual property. They also touch upon the significant penalties under the EU AI Act and the broader themes emerging from these legislative efforts, emphasizing the balance between innovation and regulation.If you’re interested in learning more about how artificial intelligence will affect the legal world, check out the City Bar’s Artificial Intelligence Institute, available on-demand. Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.01:20 Federal AI Laws and Regulations03:06 Pending AI Bills in the U.S.14:35 State-Level AI Legislation32:21 International AI Regulations: The EU AI Act41:06 Closing Thoughts and Future Outlook45:15 Outro and Additional Resources
The City Bar's Environmental Law Committee hosted a discussion on NYSDEC's Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and New York City's Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) which encourage private-sector cleanups of contaminated sites and promotes the redevelopment of the sites through economic incentives. We discussed the potential impact these programs may have on environmental justice communities in New York City and also look at various case studies across New York City and their differing perspectives on the topic.Moderator:Heather Leibowitz, Senior Attorney, NYSDEC Region 2Speakers: George Duke, Vice President, NYC Brownfields PartnershipRebecca Bratspies, Professor of Environmental and Public International Law, CUNY School of Law; Director of the Center of Urban Environmental Reform, CUNYMelissa Checker, Professor of Urban Studies, Queens College; Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUNY Graduate CenterBarry Hersh, Professor, NYPU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate
To many of us, the answer seems obvious as the AI wave continues to crest. The City Bar Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies hosts Hon. Xavier Rodriguez, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas, and Maura Grossman, a lawyer and scholar specializing in technology assisted review, to join Task Force member David Zaslowsky in giving that question a closer look.With lawyers filing in court, perhaps we're leaping to conclusions that don't match our experience. After all, lawyers once worried that tech like email would be the end of confidentiality. Then again, when it comes to judges, the risks may be just as high as we think. Research and fact-finding may be one thing, but what about when a judge asks an AI tool to render a legal decision? Judge Rodriguez and Professor Grossman consider many cases and court rules from the past year as we pull apart the surprising nuances of the question: should lawyers and judges be required to disclose their use of AI?If you’re interested in learning more about how artificial intelligence will affect the legal world, check out the City Bar’s Artificial Intelligence Institute, available on-demand (https://services.nycbar.org/EventDetail?EventKey=OND061024). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events. 04:06 The Infamous Mata vs. Avianca Case04:47 Debating AI Disclosure Requirements06:12 Challenges with Broad AI Regulations09:13 Judicial Reactions to AI in Legal Practice11:12 Proposed AI Certification in the Fifth Circuit19:10 Legislative Overreach in AI Regulation26:00 Judges Using AI: Ethical and Practical Considerations34:05 AI in Judicial Decision-Making: Disclosure Dilemma34:22 A Personal Experience with AI Dispute Resolution35:52 The Role of AI in Low-Value Claims36:49 Psychological Anchoring and AI in Courts37:41 Judicial Canons and AI Usage39:06 Global Examples of AI in Judicial Decisions40:17 The Debate on AI's Role in Legal Interpretation44:40 Judge Newsom's AI Journey48:56 Concerns and Considerations with AI in Courts57:30 Encouraging AI Experimentation in the Judiciary59:40 Conclusion and Future Discussions
Muhammad Faridi, City Bar President, interviews Jethro Eisenstein, a key figure in the creation of the NYC’s Handschu Committee in response to NYPD "Red Squad" activities in the 1970s and 80s. Jethro shares the history of the Handschu litigation, a landmark case initiated in 1971 that imposed significant oversight on the NYPD’s investigation of political groups. Jethro recounts the origins of the case, the challenges that the Committee has faced through the years, and the evolution of legal oversight mechanisms over decades, including a post-9/11 revival. He reflects on his career and the impact of the Handschu guidelines on civil rights and police accountability.01:37 Meet Jethro Eisenstein: A Legal Luminary02:25 The Handschu Litigation: Origins and Impact02:50 Jethro's Journey to Law and Early Career08:14 The Red Squad and Political Surveillance09:56 The Panther 21 Trial and Its Aftermath12:29 Drafting the Handschu Complaint25:57 Litigation Challenges and Class Action Certification29:03 Settlement and the Handschu Authority40:50 Post-9/11 Changes and Legal Battles47:12 Revelations and the Role of the Civilian53:20 Jethro's Legacy and Final Thoughts
In this podcast hosted by the City Bar Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies, Alona Katz, Chief of the Virtual Currency Unit at the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, alongside a panel of experts, discusses the growing issue of cryptocurrency investment scams, specifically 'pig butchering,' which one guest describes as “ a confidence scam and a romance scam and an investment scam all wrapped into one.”The panel includes Inspector Osvaldo Nunez from the New York City Police Department; Kristen Spaeth, Manager on the Global Intelligence Team at Coinbase; Jonathan Scharf, Deputy Chief of Major Economic Crimes at the Queens County District Attorney's Office; and Adrian Cheek, a disruption expert. They share insights on current trends, investigation techniques, and strategies for effective disruption and seizure of assets. The group emphasizes education as a key tool for inoculating the public to these scams, the importance of public-private sector collaboration, and proactive measures to prevent scams and protect victims.If you’re interested in learning more about cryptocurrency and law enforcement trends, join us for the City Bar’s Crypto Institute on March 11 (https://services.nycbar.org/EventDetail?EventKey=INS031125). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events. 00:00 Introduction and Host's Welcome00:38 Meet the Experts: Introductions05:37 Understanding Pig Butchering Scams12:45 Law Enforcement's Perspective22:52 Local vs. Federal Response29:22 Private Sector Insights: Coinbase's Role31:53 Transaction and Blockchain Analysis32:54 Law Enforcement Collaboration33:42 Coinbase's Protective Measures34:35 Scam Detection Techniques36:35 Tech Against Scams Coalition37:28 Disruption Strategies in Investigations40:12 Domain and Wallet Analysis43:34 Advice for Law Enforcement54:04 Future of Cryptocurrency Crime Units55:45 Final Thoughts and Collaboration
Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies members Wendy Butler Curtis and Robert Mahari are joined by Cai GoGwilt, founder of Ironclad, to discuss the power and potential of Agentic AI. Their conversation explores the definitions, capabilities, and notable limitations of the emerging Large Language Models. Building on Forbes’ “intern” analogy, the co-hosts highlight the ways in which Agentic AI can enhance productivity across several fields with its hyperintelligence and adaptability to complex tasks. Curtis, Mahari and GoGwilt conclude with thoughts on its future development, ethical considerations of its usage, and anecdotes of their most interesting encounters with these tools. If you’re interested in learning more about artificial intelligence, join us for related programs at the City Bar, including the UN Summit of the Future: International Regulation of AI on November 4 (https://services.nycbar.org/EventDetail?EventKey=TFDT110424) and the Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: An Overview of Laws, Policy, and Practices webinar CLE on November 6 (https://services.nycbar.org/EventDetail?EventKey=_WEB110624). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events. 00:00 Introduction to Agentic AI 05:14 Defining Agentic AI 08:11 Rapid Fire Q&A 09:07 Capabilities and Limitations of Agentic AI 13:55 Open Source and Future Prospects 21:26 AI's Limitations in Legal Contexts 22:01 Debating AI's Reasoning Capabilities 26:02 Practical Applications of AI in Various Industries 28:24 AI in Legal Practice: Current and Future Uses 31:47 Ethical Considerations and Professional Responsibility 32:34 Optimism and Concerns About AI's Future 40:10 Engaging with Generative AI: Practical Tips 41:56 Best and Worst Uses of Generative AI 45:47 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
In this special episode we hear the Hon. Jed S. Rakoff – Senior Judge, United States District Court, Southern District of New York – deliver a speech to the Association entitled "The U.S. Supreme Court’s History as a Regressive Institution."Judge Rakoff’s speech is part of City Bar’s Benjamin N. Cardozo Lecture Series, which is inspired by the legacy of Benjamin N. Cardozo "and his love for the law, passion for justice and sympathy for humanity." First presented in 1941, previous speakers in the series have included Robert H. Jackson, Felix Frankfurter, William O. Douglas, Earl Warren, William J. Brennan, Jr., Marian Wright Edelman, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, among many others.Judge Rakoff was introduced by Judge Raymond Lohier, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, after a welcome from City Bar President Muhammad Faridi.
An increasing number of states are enacting policies hostile to LGBTQ youth, like book bans and restrictions on participation in sports. Even in states like New York where there is greater state-level support for LGBTQ rights, similar policies aimed at stifling those rights have emerged at the local level. Amy Leipziger (Project Director, Free to Be Youth Project), Ashton Hessee (Legal Fellow, Free to Be Youth Project) and Gabriella Larios (Staff Attorney, NYCLU) of the City Bar’s LGBTQ Rights Committee unpack the damage to psychological and physical health that these bans and the anti-LGBTQ culture that they promote can have on LGBTQ youth – kids who are navigating the same developmental challenges as their peers while being saddled with these additional burdens. Amy, Ashton and Gabriella also speak to how queer and trans youth – and their parents and caregivers – can understand their rights and understand how to advocate for their rights in school. All three share stories from the frontlines of litigating against these bans, and share insights on the most effective strategies for pairing litigation with grassroots community organizing.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3zp9tfd Access NYCLU’s “Your Rights as an LGBTQ Student” resource here: https://bit.ly/4euK6aC Want to learn more about the changing state of the law governing transgender athletes' participation in sports? View the City Bar’s on-demand CLE program “Transgender Athletes: Title IX and the Dynamic Legal Landscape” (https://bit.ly/4gITn0v). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events. 00:00 Introduction and Back-to-School Reflections02:27 Challenges Faced by Students and Schools04:06 Transgender Rights and School Policies16:14 Impact of Discrimination on Mental Health19:15 Statistics on LGBTQ+ Student Experiences33:08 Community Support and Advocacy46:35 Conclusion and Call to Action
The Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies’ Bob Schwinger hosts a discussion with fellow Task Force members Don Irwin and Tyler Yagman. They identify the key takeaways from the House Financial Services Committee’s June 5th congressional hearing about the tokenization of real-world assets, its relation to cryptocurrency, and its potential to improve market efficiency and transparency. Bob, Don, and Tyler also discuss the importance of regulatory compliance, the differences between permissioned and permissionless blockchains, and tokenization's implications for future financial inclusion. Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3ZxikWGWant to learn more about emerging digital technologies and their development? Join us at the City Bar’s upcoming program: Guidelines for Users and Developers of AI Powered Technologies on October 10 (https://bit.ly/GUDAI) and view our catalogue of similar on-demand CLEs (https://bit.ly/BarCTFDT). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events. 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Today's Topic 01:21 Overview of Tokenization and Congressional Hearing 02:21 Detailed Explanation of Tokenization 05:09 Legislative Proposals and Industry Perspectives 07:33 Distinguishing Tokenization from Cryptocurrency 10:26 Goals and Benefits of Tokenization 16:41 Use Cases and Practical Applications 24:30 Fundamental Principles and Regulatory Concerns 33:38 Permissioned vs. Permissionless Blockchains 39:31 Tokenizing Securities and Technological Challenges 43:22 Stable Coins, CBDCs, and Financial Inclusion 48:02 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
President Muhammad Faridi hosts Rich Miller (former Chief of Energy Policy for New York City and former Vice President of Energy and Environmental Law at Con Edison) and Robie Craig (Senior Energy Council at the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services), Co-Chairs of the City Bar Energy Law Committee. The conversation touches on various aspects of energy policy and its relevance to New York City, including historical perspectives on power generation, the current shift towards clean energy, and the implementation of regulatory mandates such as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and the Build Public Renewables Act. Muhammad, Rich and Robie also explore the city's efforts to balance environmental justice with the need for reliable energy supply, the role of Con Edison, challenges posed by intermittent renewable sources, and the steps New York City is taking to support electric vehicle adoption. Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3XhBhtK Want to learn more about the impact of energy decisions and environmental justice? Join us at the City Bar’s upcoming programs: The Professional Duty of Lawyers and Bar Associations in Action on Climate on September 23 (https://bit.ly/3XsQhFh) and Economic and Environmental Impacts of State and City Funded Remediation Programs on Environmental Justice Communities in NYC on October 29 (https://bit.ly/3XrirQL). Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.00:00 Introduction and Welcome03:46 Understanding DCAS and Con Edison11:15 New York City's Energy Landscape16:58 Historical Perspective: The Birth of Electricity in NYC23:52 Regulatory Framework and Environmental Justice35:49 Future of Clean Energy and Transportation in NYC49:03 Committee Focus and Closing Remarks
In this episode of the New York City Bar Association podcast, hosted by Sara Chekroun and sponsored by the Animal Law Committee, the spotlight is on Steven Wise's pioneering legal career and his legacy with the Nonhuman Rights Project (NHRP). Guests Courtney Fern and Elizabeth Stein, both attorneys with NHRP, delve into Wise's groundbreaking legal strategies that fundamentally altered the framework for animal advocacy. They discuss the application of writs of habeas corpus for non-human animals, emphasizing the importance of scientific evidence in advancing animal rights cases. The conversation also covers current legislative efforts to secure bodily liberty for elephants and other animals, underscoring the impact Wise's work has had on public and judicial perceptions of animal rights. The episode pays tribute to Steven Wise's enduring influence in the realm of animal law.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/479Ng17Read the City Bar Animal Law Committee’s recent report supporting an NYC local law regarding the keeping of elephants: https://bit.ly/46Mqwnm Read the City Bar’s Report in Support of the Elephant Protection Act: https://bit.ly/3YzV7CE 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guests00:36 Remembering Steven Wise's Legacy03:17 Understanding Habeas Corpus for Non-Human Animals09:33 The Case of Happy the Elephant23:59 Legislative Efforts for Animal Rights27:46 Personal Memories of Steven Wise31:31 The Evolution of Animal Rights Law41:17 Conclusion and Call to Action
The metaverse isn’t just the future, it’s already here and growing in every direction. But with so many players and users expanding in the space, the boundaries between metaverse platforms are becoming more cumbersome and complex. Flora Lau and Terry Dugan of the New York City Bar Association Digital Technologies Task Force host Larry Goldberg, a pioneer in media accessibility, and Debbie Rosenbaum, a leading attorney at Meta with extensive experience in Oculus and immersive spaces. They share their thoughts on developing cross-platform standards for the metaverse, discuss the role of avatars and digital identity, and explore the challenges of making the metaverse inclusive for people with disabilities. The episode explores technical challenges, policy considerations, and the importance of social norms within virtual environments. Key topics include interoperability, the economics of digital assets, and the potential for innovative applications in extended reality.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3AFroymListen to our first podcast episode on the metaverse: What Is the Metaverse, Really? https://bit.ly/3AE39AKWant to learn more about developing standards and best-practices for emerging technologies? Join us at the City Bar’s upcoming CLE program on October 10: Guidelines for Users and Developers of AI Powered Technologies (https://bit.ly/4dSBYAA). (This program will be available on-demand thereafter.) Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.00:00 Welcome to the Podcast00:39 Introducing the Guests: Larry Goldberg and Debbie Rosenbaum02:35 Larry Goldberg's Journey in Accessibility03:54 Debbie Rosenbaum's Metaverse Experience06:39 Meta's Vision for the Metaverse07:41 Challenges and Innovations in Cross-Platform Standards11:26 The Role of AR Glasses and Accessibility25:21 The Future of Avatars and Digital Identity29:05 Challenges of Avatar Customization29:30 Avatar Rights and Legal Issues32:36 Social Norms in the Metaverse37:29 Early Days of the Metaverse43:38 Interoperability and Business Drivers46:11 Decentralization and Future Prospects49:33 Final Thoughts and Takeaways
Muhammad Faridi, President of the New York City Bar Association, is joined by Boaz Morag, a Counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and one of the lead drafters of a recent City Bar report analyzing for the Office of the Legal Advisor in the U.S. Department of State three private international law treaties: the Hague Convention on Choice of Courts Agreements (COCA), the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Judgments Convention), and the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (Singapore Convention).These treaties deal with the cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments and mediated settlement agreements. We investigate the purpose and impact of these treaties on current practice in this country and on U.S. litigants who seek to enforce U.S. courts judgments abroad, the status of the treaties, and the detailed recommendations provided in the City Bar report. The episode provides an in-depth exploration of the potential benefits of these conventions for litigants seeking to have their judgments and settlements enforced internationally as well as the intricacies involved in implementing these treaties in the United States. Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3zWnD7b Read the City Bar Report on Three Private International Law Treaties here: https://bit.ly/4c5NQO200:00 Introduction to the Discussion00:56 Meet Boaz Morag: Background and Career03:54 The Role of the State Department and the City Bar06:14 Introduction to the Three Treaties07:56 Deep Dive into COCA and the Judgments Convention12:12 Understanding the Judgments Convention17:53 Criticisms and Concerns about COCA29:28 The Singapore Convention on Mediation34:49 Implementation Challenges in the U.S.48:14 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections
Hayley Gorenberg, co-chair of the LGBTQ Rights Committee, and Mary-Ellen La Rosa, Manager of Pipeline Initiatives and Education, discuss creating inclusive environments and understanding the broader social forces that contribute to inclusivity or lack thereof. They emphasize the importance of training oneself to recognize and dismantle exclusion dynamics, using respectful language, and embracing allyship. The discussion covers challenges such as deadnaming, the significance of pronoun use, and the legal implications of persistent workplace discrimination. The episode also highlights the evolving language around LGBTQ+ identities and the critical role of allies in building supportive spaces.Want to continue your learning about inclusivity? Check out the City Bar’s on-demand program: Being Seen in Dialogue for Diversity:A Discussion on Intersectional Feminism in the Legal Profession https://bit.ly/3xD90oyAccess a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3W15opI 00:00 Introduction to Inclusive Environments01:46 Meet the Experts: Hayley Gorenberg and Mary-Ellen La Rosa02:32 Understanding Workplace Dynamics and Systems03:32 Challenges Faced by LGBTQ Individuals in the Workplace11:47 The Importance of Pronouns and Respectful Language15:09 Legal Implications of Inclusivity in the Workplace23:19 The Role of Allyship and Privilege34:30 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Karyn A. Temple is the Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and one of the world’s leading authorities on copyright and anti-piracy. Karyn oversees the MPA’s legal affairs and content protection efforts worldwide. Before joining the MPA, Karyn served more than eight years in the U.S. Copyright Office as the Register of Copyrights, where she led the 400-person agency and its eight divisions. Karyn previously served as Vice President of Litigation and Legal Affairs for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), spent several years as a litigation associate at the law firm, Williams & Connolly LLP, and received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review, and served as Chairperson of the Columbia Black Law Students’ Association. Karyn recently joined the Board of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice and has served in several prominent volunteer positions in the copyright community. Presented by the New York City Bar Copyright and Literary Property Committee and hosted by members Theodora Fleurant and Jose Landivar, Ms. Temple reflects on her storied career and the MPA’s ongoing battle against online piracy. Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/4b4z4GOSelected Links from the Episode:Motion Picture Association: https://www.motionpictures.org/Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment: https://www.alliance4creativity.com/Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice: https://www.linkedin.com/company/iipsj/New York City Bar Copyright & Literary Property Committee: https://www.nycbar.org/committees/copyright-literary-property-committee/
On today’s podcast the City Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) hosts a discussion with Lara Gregory, an attorney, activist and community leader. Together with LAP Clinical Coordinator Michele Cuevas (JD, LCSW), Ms. Gregory talks about her roots in the Philippines and in the legal community as well as her experience as an AAPI woman lawyer. Ms. Gregory shared about the activism in support of the AAPI community and against AAPI hate which she has led and participated in, and gave her perspective on the impact of hate crimes on broader communities. She also spoke about the need to speak candidly and openly about women’s health both in the legal profession and beyond.Lara Gregory is an attorney with over twenty years of experience; recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Office of the President of the United States and AmeriCorps; a member of the Hate Crimes Task Force of the National Federation of Filipino Association and Filipino Americans for Racial Action; a member of the AAPI Advisory Board of the Queens district attorney's office, and much more.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3XcnC8M 00:00 Introduction and Welcome00:08 Meet Lara Gregory: Attorney and Community Leader03:22 Lara Gregory's Motivation to Practice Law04:40 Involvement with the New York City Bar Association05:11 Impact of the Pandemic and Anti-Asian Hate08:01 Overcoming Adversity11:01 Challenges Faced by Women in Law16:04 The Importance of Women's Health16:51 Addressing Hate Crimes and Community Support20:34 Conclusion and Acknowledgements
The New York City Bar Association is proud to welcome its next President, Muhammad U. Faridi. Besides being a longstanding, active member of the New York City Bar Association, Mr. Faridi is a Litigation Partner at Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler. He serves as the independent civilian representative to the New York City Police Department's Handschu Committee, which regulates NYPD policies and practices regarding investigations of political activity in compliance with a consent decree. He previously served on the New York City Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. He is the first Muslim-American to serve as President of the City Bar. Here, addressing the 2024 annual meeting of the City Bar on May 21st, is New York City Bar Association President Muhammad U. Faridi.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3R2k459
The City Bar Task Force on Digital Technologies dives into the complex landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in the insurance sector, highlighting the unique regulatory environment in the United States where insurance is state regulated. It discusses the role of key states such as New York and Colorado and the national guidance provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) on the use of AI in insurance in a range of areas. The podcast features expert insights from Jerome Walker, Sophia Duffy, Azish Filabi, and Corey Goldstein, who discuss and compare the transformative effects of AI in insurance, focusing on actions by the New York State Department of Financial Services, the Colorado Division of Insurance and NAIC on ethical implications, the challenges of managing third-party algorithm developers, and recommendations for a national framework to ensure AI's ethical use in insurance. They elaborate on the roles of governance, testing, and third-party vendor management in complying with regulatory standards and the importance of audits and certifications for AI systems to prevent unfair discrimination and promote transparency and accountability.Tune in to learn more about:• What existing insurance regulations and guidance apply to artificial intelligence?• What is the role of NAIC on AI in insurance?• What data sources are underwriters using for their AI tools and how are they combatting bias in the data?• A comparison of regulatory approaches in New York, Colorado and elsewhere.• Insights on third-party vendor management.Want to learn more about innovations in digital technologies for the legal world? Join us at the City Bar’s upcoming Artificial Intelligence Institute on June 10. (This program will be available on-demand thereafter.) Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/4b9CWHv Related articles:The NYDFS Plans to Impose Significant Obligations on Insurers Using AI or External Data (https://bit.ly/3wrY10S)AI-Enabled Underwriting Brings New Challenges for Life Insurance: Policy and Regulatory Considerations (https://bit.ly/3WI2OGe) Colorado Governance and Risk Management Framework Requirements for Life Insurers’ Use of External Consumer Data and Information Sources, Algorithms, and Predictive Models (https://bit.ly/3UGwwbO) NAIC Guidance on Artificial Intelligence (https://bit.ly/3K3XNjA)
Artificial intelligence tools are already changing the legal landscape, so how will lawyers know how to use them while complying with existing ethics rules? David Keyko and Tyler Maulsby – current and former chairs of the City Bar Professional Ethics Committee – join Azish Filabi, Executive Director of the American College of Financial Services Center for Ethics, on the latest podcast from the Digital Technologies Task Force to talk about the current landscape of ethics rules in relation to emerging digital technologies. They dig into the implications for the duties of confidentiality, disclosure and transparency while examining whether past leaps in technology – think cell phones and email – can inform the technological revolution that is happening underfoot today.Tune in to learn more about:• How do current legal ethics rules address digital technology?• What legal ethics rules exist addressing artificial intelligence?• What legal ethics considerations should lawyers have when advising clients on new technologies?• How can legal ethics inform the choice between using a tool from a third party vendor and managing a tool in-house?• How should lawyers think about disclosure to clients if they're using generative AI systems?Want to learn more about innovations in digital technologies for the legal world? Join us at our upcoming City Bar Programs: Technology Innovations and the Law on May 16 (https://bit.ly/3wkjtom) and the Artificial Intelligence Institute on June 10 (https://bit.ly/3JLCbrW). (These programs are available on-demand thereafter.) Visit nycbar.org/events to find all of the most up-to-date information about our upcoming programs and events.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3UqERAr
The judiciary is poised for transformation in the AI era. From the courtroom to chambers, judges will likely need to address AI. Are current tools accurate enough for judicial work? How will judges be able to verify appropriate uses of these tools? What new opportunities and new headaches are going to crop up in courtrooms? Harut Minasian of the City Bar Working Group on Judicial Administration and Artificial Intelligence takes on those questions and more with two former federal judges: Hon. Katherine Forrest (S.D.N.Y.) and Hon. Paul Grimm (D. Md.).Tune in to learn more about: • What are the challenges at the intersection of AI and evidence? • How are professional responsibility rules changing to account for the use of AI in legal practice? • Will AI democratize legal services and access to justice? • What is the future of AI in the courtroom? Use this link to access a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/43PZslY
The City Bar Digital Technologies Task Force teams up today with the Financial Technology Association for a deep dive into the State of Fintech. Angelena Bradfield (FTA), Adam VanWagner (MoneyLion), Matt Cameron (Remitly), Meredith Fuchs (Plaid), and Parris Sanz (WebBank) unpack the current legal and regulatory environment, especially with regard to recent moves toward an open banking rule. Our guests discuss the significant impact of fintech on financial inclusion, consumer benefits, and the evolving landscape of digital financial services. The conversation highlights the crucial role of regulatory flexibility and the potential of technologies like AI in fostering innovation while ensuring robust consumer protection. The discussion also touches on the significant implications of regulatory actions at both federal and state levels on the fintech ecosystem. The experts call for a balanced approach to regulation that encourages innovation and ensures consumer trust in the fintech industry.Tune in to hear more about:• How will a forthcoming open-banking rule from the CFPB change the banking industry?• What is the potential for fintechs to expand inclusion in the financial system?• How will the use of AI affect future partnerships between fintechs and traditional banks?• How friendly to innovation is the current regulatory regime? How has the balance shifted over time?Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3xmNDYex
Committee member Aimee Latorre speaks with Craig Dobson, a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. They focused on healthy eating practices as well as how lawyers can use mindful approaches to eating that support their personal and professional well-being. Craig is a practicing ethics attorney with a vivid personal journey into the world of nutrition and coaching. He shared some common-sense framing devices when approaching nutrition. Craig also spoke about forming habits and building new practices.Tune in to learn more about:• How mindful eating can contribute to attorney well-being• How wellness coaches can support clients in making informed choices on their personal wellness journeys• Different forms of misinformation around diet and nutrition• Craig’s tips for starting a mindfulness practice based on his own experience starting from step oneAccess a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/49TTjr7
Bad actors have been some of the earliest and most skillful adopters of new financial digital technologies. They are using those technologies to move money and finance their operations in ways that present a raft of new challenges for law enforcement agents and financial regulatory agencies. The justice and financial systems are speedily reacting and learning to enforce financial laws in the digital world. It’s uncharted territory, and the laws and regulations enforced by various agencies often overlap. So the City Bar Digital Technology Task Force invited five of its members (all current and former law enforcement and compliance chiefs) to start the discussion about how market participants and other stakeholders can understand the actions of law enforcement and regulatory agencies in the digital technologies arena.Tune in to learn more about:• How the US at the federal, state, and local levels fight narcotics, trafficking and money laundering in the digital world.• The ins and outs of public private partnership in crypto investigations for various government agencies.• Why market participants and other stakeholders should help prevent illicit activities by terrorist groups like Hamas, North Korea and Iran.• Tools to help prevent illicit activity from infiltrating the financial system.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3Tfb11g
Flying cars and vertipads. Electric cars filling the streets with a charging station on every block. That’s the not-so-distant future and the experts are getting serious about preparing for it. How will the grid accommodate all of these new draws on electricity? How will this army of new devices communicate with each other? What business models will govern our new technologies? Who will own the galaxy of new data that results? Matthew Daus, Margaret Barry, Elizabeth Stein and Lorraine McGowen from the Electronic Mobility Subcommittee of the Digital Technology Task Force tackle these and more pressing questions in this episode of the New York City Bar Podcast.Stay tuned to hear more about:• What are emerging transportation technologies?• What’s next for the proliferation of electric vehicles?• How will we need to adapt the electrical grid to accommodate all of these new technologies, and how can we ensure they are deployed equitably?• What new challenges in product liability are going to come with new electronic mobility technologies?Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3SReLFJ
Governor Hochul has proposed transferring one hundred million dollars from the state’s IOLA account into the State General Fund. That could have cascading consequences for the State’s legal services community and the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers that it serves. We’re here today to help you understand what IOLA is, the stakes in the governor’s budget proposal, and what lawyers and others can do to stand up for IOLA.View a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3OFrYjXGoogle this episode for links to the resources below.IOLA Press Release linking to Community Letter urging Governor Hochul to undo $100 million IOLA transfer. The signatories represent leading social service agencies, veterans groups, health care providers, legal organizations, and concerned citizens from across the state.IOLA Letter to Governor HochulIOLA Board StatementNew York State Bar Association Press ReleaseNY Legal Services Coalition TestimonyNetwork of Bar Leaders StatementNew York City Bar Association StatementNew York County Lawyers Association Statement
Almost everyone has heard of the metaverse and seen that word in a splashy headline. But what is it, really, and what could it become in the future? In some sense, the answer is simple and very broad: the metaverse is a new environment for people to interact, shop, play and learn, and a new environment for companies to advertise, market and sell. But the metaverse today is a new Wild West where potential for innovation is matched by potential risk factors in terms of ownership, liability, trademark and intellectual property, and much more. Jerome Walker, Flora Lau and Terry Dugan from the City Bar Digital Technology Task Force dive into the innovations and the risks that are emerging today. And they ask, with creators and companies galloping into the new frontier, where are they going and who will be in charge?Tune in to hear more about: • What is the metaverse? Why was it created? And what is the metaverse experience like?• Who are some of the leading companies in the metaverse? • Why should lawyers for example, even care about the metaverse?• New vocabulary and concepts from the metaverse.• What are the legal issues for influencers in the metaverse? How do you deal with the concept of ownership in the metaverse? Who owns the content of the metaverse?• What are the trademark and IP issues in the metaverse? • What are the product liability issues in the metaverse?• What’s next for the metaverse? Who will lead the charge to Web 3.0 and how soon will we get there?Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3vKCUWC
The Digital Technology Task Force explores the crisis of unequal access to digital technologies. Robert A. Marchman and Jolevette Mitchell talk about how this huge issue can hide in plain sight, and they go over some of the existing efforts to close the gap as well as existing challenges. This episode also covers some of the pitfalls that even well-intentioned reforms must be careful to avoid. Tune in to hear more about: • What is the digital divide? Who are the communities that are affected? • What is being done at the local, state and federal level to close the digital divide? • How can existing programs be expanded, and how can existing programs better work together? • How can reform efforts avoid the possible harms implicit in the use of many technologies? Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/48wlqvo Related Resources (NYS ConnectALL) Five-Year Action Plan - Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: https://on.ny.gov/3tCipLf (GAO) Broadband - National Strategy Needed to Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Digital Divide: https://bit.ly/3vvjfK7 (City Bar) Support for Legislation Providing Internet Access to Individuals Living in Temporary Housing Throughout New York State: https://bit.ly/41S4eOL (City Bar) Help Ensure Internet Access for New Yorkers Experiencing Homelessness: https://bit.ly/3vnKhDv
The City Bar Task Force on Digital Technologies explores the implications of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)'s proposed rule on digital wallets and payment apps. After a review of the CFPB's authoritative reach, its enforcement authority, and its coordination with other regulatory agencies, we dig into the proposed rule – what its key provisions are, how its comment period was decided upon, and how it determines which entities will be affected. The group, which includes former senior CFPB officials, also discuss how attorneys could advise their clients about the CFPB entry into this space.Tune in to hear more about:• The role and power of the CFPB• The CFPB’s rulemaking, supervision and enforcement authorities• Implications of the CFPB's proposed rule on digital wallets and payment apps• Lessons from previous CFPB supervision of larger participantsAccess a transcript of this episode here: https://bityl.co/N6zc
Lawyer. Leader. Public Servant. Trailblazer. Friend. Marybeth Peters, the second-longest serving Register of Copyrights (1994 - 2010), died on September 29, 2022, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 83. With her passing, Register Peters left behind a lasting and far-reaching legacy in her storied 40-plus year career as a distinguished attorney, respected copyright law expert, and the director of the U.S. Copyright Office, where she helped shape and implement critical new laws, including the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act among others. In addition, Register Peters was remembered as a mentor, teacher, and friend who touched the lives of everyone around her with grace and her unforgettable laugh. Presented by the New York City Bar Copyright and Literary Property Committee, committee members Theodora Fleurant, a trademark attorney based in New York City, and Jose Landivar, an Associate at Coates IP, lead an unforgettable series of conversations with some of the people closest to Register Peters to look back on her life and legacy, including: •Shira Perlmutter, the current Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office•Maria Pallante, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers who formerly served as the 12th Register of Copyrights•Richard Dannay, Counsel at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C.•Eric Schwartz, Partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, and former Acting General Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor to the Register of Copyrights•David Carson, current Copyright Office Claims Officer who, formerly served as head of the Copyright Policy Team in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and as General Counsel of the U.S. Copyright OfficeThis podcast paints a fascinating portrait of a leading U.S. and international copyright law expert. It seeks to inspire listeners with lessons in leadership, courage, innovation, and dedicated public service. This podcast would not have been possible without the support of the U.S. Copyright Office (https://www.copyright.gov/) and audio provided by the Copyright Clearance Center. Photo: Courtesy of the U.S. Copyright Office.Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bityl.co/MvSf
The City Bar’s Working Group on Judicial Administration and Artificial Intelligence is back to get into a recent headline-making case of AI allegedly misused in the courtroom. Harut Minasian, Stuart Levi, Richard Hong and David Zaslowsky break down the recent news about the US v. Michel: bad use of AI, or just plain bad lawyering? They discuss how AI can be used as a valuable tool in the legal toolkit for some tasks, but highlight the need for understanding the functionality, reliability, and limitations of AI technology. But whether or not AI can be reliably used today in some limited ways, the real question is: is AI ready for primetime? Tune in to hear more about: • Is the ineffective assistance of counsel claim in US v. Michel likely to succeed? • How should lawyers disclose to clients the AI tools that they do use? • Is using AI really so different from using other ‘new’ technologies like Lexis and Westlaw? Is it different from asking a Partner with specialized knowledge for input? • Will it ever be the case that NOT using AI will be grounds for professional misconduct?Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bityl.co/MfRf
In this episode of the New York City Bar Association podcast, members of the United Nations Committee – Shubha Chandra, Yveline Dalmacy, Karl Fisher and Sophia Murashkovsky Romma – discuss the Association's recent membership in the UN Global Compact. The conversation touches upon the Global Compact's mission, its fundamental principles, and the broader implications of the partnership for the Bar Association and its members. Ensuring respect for justice, human rights, corporate sustainability, and adhering to the rule of law are important aspects underlined in the discussion. The episode also elaborates on the potential benefits for members such as access to diverse training on corporate sustainability. Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bityl.co/MSo7
Five members of the City Bar Digitial Technology Task Force explain the New York Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) amendments and their potential impact on digital assets, trade finance and electronic commerce. Sandra Rocks, Ed Smith, Eric Marcus, Neil Cohen and Lorraine McGowen explain how adopting the amendments will benefit New York and will ensure that New York remains the preferred jurisdiction for parties transacting business. Access a transcript of this recording here: https://bityl.co/MLKD
Why do you have to take the LSAT to get into law school? Is the modern Bar Exam the best way to protect the public and sort bar admission applicants? Why is the law school curriculum designed the way that it is? What does it mean to have the character and fitness to be a lawyer? Many lawyers take for granted that the answers to these questions are settled. The assumption is that these institutions help us select only the best and the brightest to enter the legal profession. In this episode of the City Bar Podcast, two academic experts help us probe those assumptions. They unpack the history, structure and outcomes of these institutions of selection. And they tease out the many interconnected ways in which the status quo functionally excludes people from underrepresented communities from entering the legal profession. Tune in to learn about: • How standardized tests that claim to predict law school success sort significantly based on economic class and race. • How the Bar Exam still in use today has historical roots in purposeful exclusion. • How Black and Latinx students get less financial aid and more debt on their paths through law school. • How legal education is largely set up to benefit people who come in knowing something about the law and “legal culture,” to the detriment of first-generation lawyers. • How character and fitness standards have historically largely reflected the bigotry and biases of the era. • How the legal profession can begin to reverse course and make these institutions work to include more people with the motivation, intelligence, skills, talent and commitment to becoming a lawyer. Resources:Sealing the Leaks: Recommendations to Diversify and Strengthen the Pipeline to the Legal Profession: https://bit.ly/3I1eNFS The Diversity Gap: Black and Latinx Representation Disparities in the Legal Pipeline: https://bit.ly/3ssibFP Building Belonging Podcast: https://apple.co/3SAgnp6 Radical Reformation: Diverse Pathways to Attorney Licensure Will Yield a More Diverse Profession: https://bit.ly/460jNEw Professor Carla Pratt’s Book – The End of the Pipeline: A Journey of Recognition for African Americans Entering the Legal Profession: https://bityl.co/LqhD Professor Joan Howarth’s Book – Shaping the Bar: The Future of Attorney Licensing: https://bityl.co/LqhC College Admissions Tests and Socioeconomic/Racial Discrimination: https://bityl.co/Lqf4 Robert J. Steinberg’s Study of Admissions Testing Efficacy: https://bit.ly/3u7nATc Examining the California Cut Score: An Empirical Analysis of Minimum Competency, Public Protection, Disparate Impact, and National Standards: https://bityl.co/Lqf6 Building a Better Bar: The Twelve Building Blocks of Minimum Competence: https://bit.ly/40xrd15 Final Report of the Testing Task Force for the NexGen Bar Exam: https://bit.ly/3QPNZ0BLawyer Licensing Resources: Exploring Ways to License Lawyers Now and in the Future: https://bit.ly/469xb9p Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/40wHKCa
Robert Schwinger and Hector Ivan Velez are Co-Chairs of the Distributed Ledger Technology and Blockchain Subcommittee of the City Bar Task Force on Digital Technologies. They unpacked four key use cases for asset tokenization – real estate, art, commodities and carbon credits – in order to cover the basics of tokenization, the potential for democratizing access to investment opportunity, and the barriers to adoption. Tune in to hear about: • How tokenization could open global markets in some assets • How courts have treated tokenized assets • The risks presented by the tokenization of assets • The legal and regulatory challenges to adoption of asset tokenization
Adrienne Woods, a member of the City Bar’s Social Networking and Events Committee, sat down with Bruce Libman, a master business-development strategist, to unpack the fundamentals of effective networking that will generate business for lawyers. Tune in to hear about: • How effective networking is the process of opening yourself up to authentically engage others • Practical examples of effective networking questions, planning and followup strategies • Tips for developing and honing networking techniques
Beth Haddock and Lewis Cohen are Co-Chairs of the Web3 Subcommittee of the City Bar Task Force on Digital Technologies, and they’re experts in the world of Web3, decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. They helped us understand how the world of decentralized technologies is taking shape, what problems are being discussed and discovered by innovators, and where we stand to benefit from future breakthroughs.
Tune in to hear about:
• Takeaways for lawyers from two recent, major reports of the international Financial Stability Board. What lawyers could use in their practice and what they should think about when they think of developments in Web3. • What is DeFi (decentralized finance) and what are DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations)? How do we know when a project truly fits into these spaces? • What are the incentives and differences between traditional finance and decentralized finance? • What are the potential benefits of decentralized finance? • What are reliable and reputable resources for people who want to learn more about decentralized finance?
Resources FSB Report - https://bityl.co/KOlC US Treasury illicit finance report - https://bityl.co/KOlA DeFi Alliance - https://bityl.co/KOl9 DeFi Education Fund - https://bityl.co/KOl8 Ethereum Foundation - https://bityl.co/KOl7 Vitalik Buterin blog - https://bityl.co/KOl5 Beth and Lewis' Twitters - @HaddockBeth; @NYcryptolawyer
A story of artificial intelligence, fabricated precedent, and a litigation gone awry that made cringeworthy headlines even outside the legal world. In Mata v. Avianca a lawyer submitted a brief in federal court citing precedent that ChatGPT had spun out of thin air. Three members of the City Bar Working Group on Judicial Administration and Artificial Intelligence break down how it happened and what we can learn about the use of artificial intelligence in courts. Tune in to hear Harut Minasian, Richard Hong and Stuart Levi discuss:
• How did the judge in the case deal with the fact pattern that emerged and how were the lawyers in question held accountable for their actions? • Is there now a greater duty of oversight for lawyers in the new AI context? • When is AI-generated material an aid for human work and when is it a source? • How should lawyers responsibly disclose their use of AI tools to the court? • What rules are judges around the country making about the disclosure of AI tools used in their courtrooms?
Aliza Shatzman is President and Founder of the Legal Accountability Project, a nonprofit aimed at extending support and resources to law clerks to ensure that they have a positive clerkship experience. Aliza talks about the mistreatment that she experienced as a law clerk. Her experience led her to discover the shocking lack of labor protections for clerks and the enormous power disparity between clerks and judges. Aliza was ultimately inspired to take on the deeply entrenched status quo in the clerking system. Tune in to hear about:
• The power dynamic that exists today which gives judges the power to mistreat clerks and potentially derail their clerks’ careers • How law schools and their clerkship offices have been complicit in protecting bad actors and withholding information about bad judges from clerkship applicants • How Aliza has improved accountability for judges and raised awareness in the community of law clerks • What law clerks experiencing mistreatment can do to get help • What changes need to be made to improve working conditions for clerks • The centralized clerkship database created by the Legal Accountability Project that democratizes information about judges and clerkships: https://bityl.co/K4ND
You can read Aliza’s testimony to the House Committee on the Judiciary here: https://bityl.co/K6EO
DEIB for the People – a Collection of DEIB Content for Your Screens
Mary Ellen – Radical Queer Witches (https://bityl.co/K6EV) Angie – Women Talking (https://amz.run/6vjB) Tanya – Wednesday (https://bityl.co/K6EW) a recommendation to watch and to investigate bias: (https://bityl.co/K6Ei)
A brand new professional development podcast from the City Bar where we talk with lawyers about seizing opportunities, learning lessons the hard way, and about what makes them tick.
Search for the This Lawyer's Life feed wherever you listen and subscribe!
Gregory Binstock, City Bar Director of Professional Development, sits down with Ellen Holloman, a Partner in Cadwalader’s Global Litigation Group. Tune in to learn more about: • How learning flows both ways in Ellen’s mentor/mentee relationship • How leaders should approach lessons in DEI that come from a new generation of attorneys who are at the bottom of the firm hierarchy • How Ellen has navigated unsupportive encounters while seeking supportive spaces • How DEI contributes to winning litigation • How Ellen makes pro bono and service core elements of her career
Heather Hatcher is Chair of the City Bar’s Health Law Committee and a public health policy advocate. Roland Trope is a Partner at Trope and Schramm LLP and an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Law and of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Heather and Roland interviewed Anthony E. Davis, Of Counsel at Clyde and Co. US and an international expert on professional responsibility. They discuss the transformations that AI tools will make to legal services, and they consider the challenges to evaluating and deploying those tools on behalf of the client.
• How will AI tools change the landscape of legal services? • How can lawyers and law firms evaluate AI tools that purport to be applicable to individual use cases? • What are the risks of using AI tools for legal services? • How much technological expertise do lawyers need to have? • Who is liable for mistakes made by AI tools? • What are the ethical risks for lawyers using AI tools?
This interview was recorded on March 30, several weeks before the widespread reportage (https://bityl.co/JXfC) of the problems in Mata v. Avianca involving the misuse of the OpenAI application ChatGPT-4 that led to the submission of filings with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York citing and quoting fake cases.
Ankura Consulting Group is a management consulting firm with over two thousand employees advising corporations in various industries and sectors e.g. cybersecurity, construction, litigation and human resources. Shawn Miles' and Patricia Rodriguez’s social-impact team helps companies ask themselves difficult questions about their own environments and values so that they can make sure that their people feel accepted, welcome and able to show up as themselves.
Patricia and Shawn speak about being intentional with Belonging, about building strategies and spaces for people to be honest and sometimes uncomfortable. They helped us understand the ways in which building psychological safety to get things wrong can be tantamount to building psychological safety to really try and get things right.
The Building Belonging crew carries this idea into a discussion about how to persevere in the face of an “anti-woke” movement that seeks to co-opt and undermine DEIB ideals. Tanya, Angie and Mary Ellen talk with Shawn and Patricia about how to be prepared for “anti-woke” arguments that are made in bad faith and how to keep the DEIB conversation going on a productive track. They also delve into the implications of these strategies in the political atmosphere of anti-woke, anti-DEIB regulations.
The data shows that organizations that succeed in DEIB also outperform their competitors financially. Patricia and Shawn talk about how improving DEIB improves organizational decision-making and makes companies more responsive to increasingly-diverse customer bases. Nevertheless, when recession happens and businesses need to make cuts, DEIB initiatives are often first on the block. Shawn and Patricia shared some of the talking points and strategies that they have used to remind companies that DEIB is good for long-term, sustainable growth as well as for retention of the top talent.
DEIB for the People – a Collection of DEIB Content for Your Screens
Angie – Milk (https://amz.run/6oME) Mary Ellen – So You Want to Talk about Race? (https://amz.run/6oMF) Tanya – Overruling Grutter: What Does Ending Affirmative Action Mean for Voluntary DEI Workplace (https://bityl.co/JQIr)
Jerome Walker, Lorraine McGowen and Edward So are Co-Chairs of a new City Bar Task Force on Digital Technologies. They introduce the Task Force, its objectives, its work so far, and its vision for the future.
Justice Rolando Acosta shares his story of growing up in the Dominican Republic and coming to New York at 14, finding opportunities by excelling academically and on the baseball field, and choosing the law and going to work at Legal Aid as a way of paying back the help that had been given to his family.Justice Acosta and his daughter Zila Acosta-Grimes compare notes on their upbringing and their privileges, and how they have learned to use privilege as power. Justice Acosta remembers for us his time building the Dominican community in Washington Heights and Inwood by building up social service infrastructure like Alianza Dominicana and Community Association of Progressive Dominicans alongside other community leaders like Adriano Espaillat and Dr. Raphael Lantigua. Justice Acosta also shares insights about the challenges of making change happen at the institutional level, delving into his own efforts to modernize the Appellate Division First Department while he was Presiding Justice. Justice Acosta talked with the ODEIB team about the importance of representation not just in the workplace and the boardroom, but in institutions of justice and as a building block of the rule of law.DEIB for the People – a Collection of DEIB Content for Your ScreensMary Ellen: #DoTheWork from writer/activist Rachel Cargle – https://bityl.co/IqtBTanya: Rue Paul’s Drag Race – https://bityl.co/IqtHAngie: Crip Camp – https://bityl.co/IqtI (Streaming); https://bityl.co/IqtN (Home Page)
In this episode: Enforcing Orders to Correct, the fourth episode in our series on Housing Part Proceedings and the Reality of Housing Court.Agata Rumprecht-Behrens, a court attorney currently assigned to the HP part in Queens housing court, moderates a panel discussion with Vijay Kitson, a partner at Hertz, Cherson Rosenthal specializing in landlord-tenant trial advocacy; Rachel Nager, a tenant attorney and advocate representing tenants in housing court; Paul Gdanski, a supervising attorney in the tenant anti-harassment unit at HPD; and Judge Shorab Ibraham, a housing judge appointed in 2018.
Tanya, Angie and Mary Ellen speak with Julie Bosi and Valery Federici of Level Up Legal. They talk about coaching in the legal industry and the way that the skills of the law can run counter to the skills of well-being, and how the work of building emotional well-being dovetails with the work of DEIB.Tune in to hear about: How coaching works in the context of the legal profession How coaching is tailored to each individual lawyer Combating negativity bias Building psychological safety to break down systems of oppression
Tanya, Angie and Mary Ellen speak with Ashley Bernal, Director of Research and Impact for ProInspire. Ashley was the Research Consultant for a City Bar report that made recommendations about diversifying and strengthening the pipeline to the legal profession. Ashley helped us understand the findings of the report. She also talked to us about some of the hierarchies in the educational system that work against DEIB. And we talked about the way that students fall out of the legal pipeline because legal education is often designed to be unsupportive.Read Ashley's report, The Diversity Gap: Black and Latinx Disparities in the Legal Pipeline (https://bit.ly/3YwbRI8), and the City Bar's report on legal pipeline program, Sealing the Leaks: Recommendations to Diversify and Strengthen the Pipeline to the Legal Profession (https://bit.ly/3I1eNFS).
Tanya, Angie and Mary Ellen speak with Zila Acosta Grimes, Associate at Debevoise & Plimpton. Zila’s roots in New York’s Latinx community and legal community run deep. She shares her own immersive upbringing in those communities, and shares her playbook for building affinity groups that make inclusive and powerful spaces for communities not traditionally represented in the law.Make an impact by being a part of our work:Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: bit.ly/3qEJqbVJoin a City Bar committee: bit.ly/3xqT8SISign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: bit.ly/3qE5raK
Committee member Aimee Latorre speaks with Professor Jordana Confino of Fordham Law School. Jordana shares the wisdom of positive lawyering that she teaches to Fordham Law students, underlining the power and practices of self-compassion and a growth mindset.More resources from the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee: https://bit.ly/3yZEyn8Ethereal Meditation by Maarten Schellekens is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. No changes were made to this track.
Tanya, Angie and Mary Ellen speak with Yusuf Zakir, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Davis Wright Tremaine.
Yusuf shares his own journey into the DEIB space, the ways in which he invites colleagues into that space, and the way in which he has developed his firm’s approach to DEIB.
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Staff from City Bar Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging sat down with a Commissioner and the Special Counsel for the New York City Racial Justice Commission to discuss the process through which the Commission chose the measures that will appear on New York City ballots, and what changes New Yorkers can expect if the measures pass.
Learn more about the Racial Justice Commission ballot measures at the RJC website: https://racialjustice.cityofnewyork.us/
Don't Forget! Early voting in NYC begins on October 29. Learn more about early voting: https://www.nycvotes.org/how-to-vote/early-voting/
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, Executive Director of the Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging; Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications; and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator; speak with Lissette Duran, Senior ESG Associate at Paul Weiss.
Lissette shares her experience of being lifted up in the journey of her career; how she has claimed a place in new spaces even while embracing her identity; and how she has safeguarded her sense of identity in the spaces that she chooses.
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: bit.ly/3qE5raK
Uptown by Independent Music Licensing Collective (IMLC) is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci, ODEIB Executive Director, Angie Avila, ODEIB Manager of Development and Communications, and Mary Ellen La Rosa, ODEIB Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator speak with Leah Goodridge about her article Professionalism as a Racial Construct and discuss how “professionalism” is used to subjugate marginalized groups.
Read Leah's Article "Professionalism as a Racial Construct": https://bit.ly/3DtLeMh
Make an impact by being a part of our work:
Join the City Bar (admission fee waived) using this membership form: https://bit.ly/3qEJqbV
Join a City Bar committee: https://bit.ly/3xqT8SI
Sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all ODEIB programs, events, and news: https://bit.ly/3qE5raK
The staff of the City Bar Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging discuss what Belonging means to them, the future of DEIB, the challenging work ahead, and weaving Belonging into our work every single day.
Contact diversity@nycbar.org to learn how you can be involved in future episodes.
Christina Lewicky, a member of the City Bar’s Litigation Committee, speaks with Arun Bhoumik, Executive Director and Assistant General Counsel at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Edward Y. Kim, Co-Founding Partner of Krieger Kim & Lewin LLP.
They discuss the similarities between representing a corporate executive in an individual capacity and an institutional client; the differences between representing a founder-led and a legacy company; and the unique skills of a multicultural litigator.
In this episode, Tenant Harassment, the third episode in our series on housing part proceedings and the reality of housing court.
Agata Rumprecht-Behrens, a court attorney in Queens housing court, moderates a panel discussion with Vijay Kitson, a partner at Hertz, Cherson Rosenthal specializing in landlord-tenant trial advocacy; Rachel Nager, a tenant attorney and advocate representing tenants in housing court; and Judge Shorab Ibraham, a housing judge appointed in 2018.
The statements and opinions of each speaker are their own and do not represent the views or opinions of other speakers, the housing court committee, the City Bar, respective law firms or the Office of Court Administration.
Ashley Wong, an associate at Sidley Austin LLP, speaks with William Ng, the current president of AABANY, and shareholder at Littler Mendelson, P.C., and Terry Shen, past president of AABANY and a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.
A podcast of the City Bar Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee. Committee members Aimee Latorre, Lisa Podemski and Tsui Yee discuss setting healthy boundaries at work.
For more mindfulness and well-being resources, visit the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee's webpage: https://bit.ly/3yZEyn8
Ethereal Meditation by Maarten Schellekens is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. No changes were made to this track.
Elizabeth Kocienda, New York City Bar Director of Advocacy, speaks with three City Bar members about issues that they advocated to include in the New York State Budget. Lisa Pearlstein, Betsy Kramer, and Ed Murray discuss the work that they did through their City Bar Committees to bridge the digital divide for New Yorkers living in shelters; increase funding for representation of parents and children in family court and matrimonial proceedings; and reform the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.
Find more resources, including those mentioned in this podcast, by using this link: https://bit.ly/3kSGIwf
Dorothy Heyl, Chair of the City Bar Real Property Law Committee, speaks with Justin La Mort and Alex Lycoyannis. Justin is the Supervising Attorney for the housing rights project of Mobilization for Justice, and former Real Property Law Committee Chair. Alex is a partner at Rosenberg & Estis, and a member of the Real Property Law Committee.
They talk about a bill in the New York State Legislature: Prohibition of Eviction without Good Cause. They dig into the meaning of "good cause" and the pros and cons of this bill.
A podcast of the City Bar Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee. Committee members Aimee Latorre, Stacy Schaffer, Alejandra Vargas, and Lisa Podemski share stories of their mindfulness journeys.
Ethereal Meditation (https://bit.ly/3JVjyQj) by Maarten Schellekens (https://bit.ly/3kfVooY) is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. No changes were made to this track.
In this episode: HP Proceeding Nuts and Bolts, the second episode in our series on Housing Part Proceedings and the Reality of Housing Court.
Agata Rumprecht-Behrens, a court attorney currently assigned to the HP part in Queens housing court, moderates a panel discussion with Vijay Kitson, a partner at Hertz, Cherson Rosenthal specializing in landlord-tenant trial advocacy; Rachel Nager, a tenant attorney and advocate representing tenants in housing court; Travis Arrindell, supervising attorney at Department of Housing Preservation and Development; and Hon. Shorab Ibrahim, a housing judge appointed in 2018.
In this episode: Civil Court Act and the Housing Part, the first episode in our series on Housing Part Proceedings and the Reality of Housing Court.
Agata Rumprecht-Behrens, a court attorney currently assigned to the HP part in Queens housing court, moderates a panel discussion with Vijay Kitson, a partner at Hertz, Cherson Rosenthal specializing in landlord-tenant trial advocacy; Rachel Nager, a tenant attorney and advocate representing tenants in housing court; Travis Arrindell, supervising attorney at Department of Housing Preservation and Development; and Hon. Shorab Ibrahim, a Housing Court judge.
Concerns over violent threats to federal judges has led to a bill called the Daniel Anderl Act, named for a judge's son who was shot to death by a man enraged at the judge's decision in his case. We discuss the contents of the Act, and the challenges it might face, and answer the question: how will this legislation protect judges, and how might it inhibit the work of journalists?
Jennifer Rodgers, former federal prosecutor and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, talks with Christopher Pioch and Jessenia Vazcones, Co-Chairs of the City Bar’s Task Force for the Independence of Lawyers and Judges, and Matthew Schafer, Chair of the City Bar's Communications & Media Law Committee.
Christina Lewicky, a member of the City Bar Litigation Committee and the host of this podcast, speaks with Bill Dodero, Global Head of Litigation at Bayer and Jonathan Cohn, Partner at Sidley Austin. They discuss the value of outside counsel who are relentlessly selfless, resolute and solutions oriented strategists, and who produce efficient wins.
Christina Lewicky, a member of the City Bar Litigation Committee and the host of this podcast series, speaks with Farzin Firooznia, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, PepsiCo, Latin America; and Andrew (Drew) Tulumello, Co-Chair, Complex Commercial Litigation Practice, Weil, Gotshal & Manges. They discuss elements of a successful partnership, including philosophical alignment of values, creative whiteboard sessions, and joint efforts to transform external counsel into an effective advisor.
Joan Levenson, a member of the City Bar’s Animal Law Committee speaks with Meena Alagappan, Executive Director of HEART: Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers.
Arianna Mouré, an Associate at CSG Law, speaks with Julia Lopez, a Partner at Reed Smith, on her professional journey and her advice for aspiring Hispanic attorneys on finding their way in the legal profession. James A. Lewis, V. , Executive Director of the City Bar’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, introduces the conversation.
Thomas Slome, a Bankruptcy Partner at Cullen and Dykman and the Treasurer of the New York City Bar Association, is joined by moderator Camille Bent, a Bankruptcy and Restructuring Partner at BakerHostetler; Philip Anker, Co-Chair of the Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group at WilmerHale; and Jonathan Flaxer, a partner at Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell and Peskoe LLP. All are members of the City Bar's Bankruptcy & Corporate Reorganization Committee.
Find the CLE materials and more at https://www.nycbar.org/media-listing/media/detail/bankruptcy-code-safe-harbor
A Pathway Out of Mass Incarceration and Toward a New Criminal Justice System: The City Bar Report by NYC Bar Association
City Bar Senior Policy Counsel Maria Cilenti, Director of Advocacy Elizabeth Kocienda, and Policy Counsel Mary Margulis-Ohnuma discuss how they work with the Association’s 150-plus committees to take and advocate positions on a wide range of local, national and international issues; how they’ve adapted their work during the pandemic; and some of the issues addressed in recent months. This podcast was recorded in July 2021.
Michele Natal, Co-Chair of the City Bar’s Recruitment & Retention of Lawyers Committee and an attorney at Mayer Brown, speaks with Muhammad Faridi, her Committee Co-Chair and a Partner at Patterson Belknap, and James A. Lewis, V, Executive Director of the City Bar’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, about how the Diversity Fellows program has helped them and others make their way in the legal profession.
John S. Pruitt, a member of the City Bar’s Insurance Law Committee and a Partner at Eversheds Sutherland, speaks with Susan K. Neely, President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, about what insurers are doing to offer life insurance and retirement security in traditionally underserved communities, and the challenges insurers and agents face in doing so.
Christina Lewicky, a member of the City Bar’s Litigation Committee, speaks with Robert Leinwand, Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel at Nike, and Scott Wilson, a Partner at DLA Piper.
Clint Hannah and Stephanie Krasnov of the City Bar’s Entertainment Law Committee speak with Professor Deborah Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina School of Law and Amy Lehman of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
Sherry Ramsey, a member of the City Bar’s Animal Law Committee, speaks with John Thompson, Vice President of the Small & Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association and former Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Sheriffs Association.
Richard Liskov of the City Bar’s Insurance Law Committee speaks with the Vice President of the APCIA (American Property Casualty Insurance Association).
The Professional Disciplinary Complaints about the Conduct of Rudolph Giuliani and How They Might Unfold
Jennifer Rodgers, member of the City Bar’s Task Force on the Rule of Law, CNN legal analyst and adjunct law professor, speaks with Christine Chung, a trial and appellate attorney, former federal prosecutor and steering committee member of Lawyers Defending American Democracy, and Richard Maltz, Counsel to the Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Group at the firm of Frankfurt Kurnit and former member of the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York.
Opinions expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily of the City Bar.
Kara Swisher, a journalist and author writing about information technology, will discuss her observations regarding the internet, the digital revolution it created and the possible future it may bring. Topics will include: the influence of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms on our politics, especially on the January 6 attack of the U.S. Capitol; the effect of computer robotics on our economy; the development of artificial intelligence; facial recognition and other means of surveillance; the lack of gender diversity in the dot.com world, among other areas of public concern.
Swisher is an opinion writer for the New York Times where she also produces a twice-weekly podcast “Sway” on tech issues; she is an editor-at-large at New York Media, co-hosts the popular “Pivot” podcast and has authored two books. Her examination of the tech industry led Newsweek to call her “Silicon Valley’s most feared journalist.” She has established a reputation in the tech world for unrivaled access, having interviewed Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Rupert Murdoch, Stacey Abrams, and Kim Kardashian, to name just a few.
New York Magazine noted one of the reasons for Swisher’s unusual success is her longevity. She began covering tech in the early ’90s when the people in power today were just starting out. Amazon was looking for its first headquarters in Seattle, Google was in its garage and Netflix was a small startup. While working in the San Francisco bureau of The Wall Street Journal as one of the first reporters on the internet beat she wrote the column "BoomTown," which appeared on the front page of the Marketplace section. Swisher co-produced and co-hosted the Wall Street Journal’s "D: All Things Digital" conference series (now called the Code conference) with Walt Mossberg starting in 2003. It was, and still is, the country's premier conference on tech and media.
Following her remarks, Ms. Swisher will answer questions from the audience.
The moderator will be Adrianne Jeffries, investigative tech journalist for The Markup, founding editor at The Outline, former editor of Motherboard and reporter for The Verge, The New York Observer, The Virginian Pilot, The New York Times, Businessweek, and the Netflix documentary series Broken.
Sponsoring Committee: Senior Lawyers, Diane Fener and Gertrude Pfaffenbach, Co-Chairs
Co-Sponsoring Committees: Communications & Media Law, Matthew L. Schafer, Chair Council on Intellectual Property, James R. Klaiber, Chair Mental Health Law, Karen P. Simmons, Chair Technology, Cyber and Privacy Law, Sylvia Khatcherian, Chair
Susan Witkin, of the New York City Bar Association's Animal Law Committee, speaks to Kevin Schneider and Elizabeth Stein of the Nonhuman Rights Project about their organization and the cases it is bringing on behalf of nonhuman animals, including Happy the Elephant.
Jennifer Paul Cohen, a member of the City Bar’s Bioethical Issues Committee, interviews Dr. James Colgrove, professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and Dean of the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program at Columbia's School of General Studies, and Dr. Llew Keltner, Chief Executive Officer of EPISTAT, an international healthcare strategy company he founded in 1972, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and a guest lecturer in the Columbia University bioethics program.
Alan Brudner, Chair of the Bioethical Issues Committee, introduces the conversations.
Christopher Dor is a Research Compliance Associate at Weill Cornell Medicine where he investigates allegations of scientific/research misconduct, manages conflicts of interest and drafts policy.
John Katt is Director of Technology, Development & Data at the Office of the New York City Public Advocate.
Tanya Blocker is a Senior In-House Counsel at National Grid, where she specializes in labor and employment law.
Co-Hosts: Heather Hatcher (Health Law Committee, Science & Law Committee) Wesley Paisley (Secretary, Information Technology and Cyberlaw Committee) Tim Peterson (Information Technology and Cyberlaw Committee, Producer of Contact Tracing Podcasts)
Panelist: Charles Morgan https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/people/charles-morgan
Resources Report: Technology Governance in a Time of Crisis https://www.itechlaw.org/technology-governance-time-crisis
International Technology Law Association / iTechLaw https://www.itechlaw.org
Segments: Overview of Canadian Experience with Contact Tracing 0:00:43 Overview of Canadian Privacy Concerns with Contact Tracing 0:03:02 Application of Artificial Intelligence to Contact Tracing 0:06:55 GDPR Perspective of Artificial Intelligence Processing of Personal Data 0:09:06 Factors Affecting Speed of Contact Tracing Rollout Internationally Other Than Privacy Laws 0:10:51 Closer Look at Contact Tracing in Asia - South Korean Example, Legal Mandates, and Cultural Norms 0:13:48 Absolute and Relative Success of Contact Tracing 0:15:32 Urban Spikes in US and World, Patterns of Covid-19 Spread, Efficacy of Contact Tracing 0:18:21 Multinational Corporation Contact Tracing Solutions 0:21:37 Can the World Teach the United States Anything about Contact Tracing? 0:27:33 Limits on Personal Assembly, from a Canadian Legal Perspective 0:30:12 Fiduciary Duties and Canadian Data Broker Data Trusts for Contact Tracing 0:38:21 Report: Technology Governance in a Time of Crisis 0:40:58
Panelists: Professor Joseph Ali - https://bioethics.jhu.edu/people/profile/joseph-ali/ Dr. Brian Hutler - https://bioethics.jhu.edu/people/profile/brian-hutler-jd/
Resources:
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resources: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/contact-tracing
Report: Digital Contact Tracing for Pandemic Response: https://muse.jhu.edu/book/75831 or free on Kindle at https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Contact-Tracing-Pandemic-Response-ebook/dp/B0892RZ3G2/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Johns+Hopkins+ethics+contact+tracing&qid=1596979781&sr=8-1
Segments: History and Evolution of Contact Tracing 0:02:00 International Historical Example of Contact Tracing 0:04:45 Stigma to Contract Tracing 0:05:55 Role of Public Health Officials with Digital Contact Tracing 0:08:09 Political Will to Employ Contact Tracing Digital Technology 0:11:51 Overview of Options and Recommendations 0:16:09 Overview of Apple and Google Efforts 0:21:16 The Decentralized Nature of Contact Tracing, and, Does it Work? 0:27:11 Law Enforcement Using Data 0:31:36 Stigma Historically Affecting Certain Populations - How does it affect homeless today? 0:34:59 Private Incentives to Supply Homeless Digital Contact Tracing Devices 0:44:53 Alternatives to Google/Apple Digital Contact Tracing Partnership 0:50:01 Spplementary Technologies: The Taiwan Experience 0:53:53 Voluntary C-19 Posting Status on Social Media 0:55:21 User Consent / Terms of Conditions for Apps 0:55:36 Mandatory App Usage in US? 1:00:34 Efficacy / Effectiveness of Contact Tracing Apps 1:05:13 Alternate Lead Digital Contact Tracing Entities (i.e., states, large employers) to Take Leads 1:08:23 Responsible Use of Tracking Technologies 1:14:57 Evidence that Digital Contact Tracing Works? 1:20:25 Process of Tech Development Hindering Identification of Vulnerable Populations 1:23:19 Scaling Digital Contact Tracing and Recommendations for State Government 1:23:59 Optimism About Digital Contact Tracing 1:28:59 NBA Bubble and Other Similar Efforts 1:33:00 Where Can Listeners Get a Copy of the Report? 1:34:41 Are Cities the Correct Governmental Entities to Deal with Pandemics? 1:35:42
Danny Alicea, the incoming Chair of the City Bar’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, spoke with Trudy S. Rebert and Carlos Vargas about DACA – the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – and the recent Supreme Court decision in Wolf v. Batalla Vidal that upheld a challenge to its termination. Ms. Rebert is an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center and a member of the Wolf v. Batalla Vidal litigation team. Carlos Vargas is a plaintiff in the case. He arrived in the United States at age four, is currently in law school, and is one of the 700,000 people who have received protection under DACA.
As a national conversation over police abuse of Black and Brown people has emerged, many lawmakers and others are unveiling police reform measures. Join us for a discussion of the various proposed pathways and approaches to police reform. Our esteemed panel tackles some of the principal tensions confronting our society today and address the challenges of advancing change in how policing and law enforcement is carried out in this country. Also discussed: how the legal profession can best participate in this conversation and play a productive role in bringing about effective and timely change.
Moderator: Sheila S. Boston, President, New York City Bar Association
Speakers: Loretta Lynch, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and former U.S. Attorney General Paul Fishman, Arnold & Porter LLP and former United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey Nicole M. Austin-Hillery, Executive Director, US Program, Human Rights Watch J. Scott Thomson, former Chief of the Camden County Police Department, and former President of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Lorenzo M. Boyd, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer, University of New Haven
Sponsoring Committee: Council on the Profession, Matthew Diller and Melissa Colon-Bosolet, Co-Chairs
Cosponsoring Committee: Corrections and Community Reentry, Gregory Morril, Chair Civil Rights, Zoey Chenitz, Chair Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Matthew Morningstar and Robert Marchman, Co-Chairs Juvenile Justice, Fredda Monn, Chair Mass Incarceration, Sean Hecker, Chair New York City Affairs, John Owens, Chair
Dr. Kenneth Prager, Director of Clinical Ethics at Columbia University Medical Center, speaks with Alan Brudner, Chair of the Bioethical Issues Committee of the New York City Bar Association, about ethical issues in health care arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lindsay Kassof, in-house counsel for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, and member of the City Bar's Health Law Committee, moderates a discussion with insurance industry legal experts, including several on the City Bar’s Insurance Law Committee.
Opinions expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily of the City Bar.
Gary Kalbaugh, Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Futures & Derivatives Regulation Committee, speaks with Dr. Heath P. Tarbert, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The Association presents its annual Thomas E. Dewey Medal, awarded to outstanding assistant district attorneys in each of the District Attorney's offices within New York City and the Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York.
This year’s medal winners are:
Astrid Borgstedt, Bronx County Leonard Joblove, Kings County Christopher Conroy, New York County Robert J. Masters, Queens County Lisa Davis, Richmond County Andrés Torres, Special Narcotics
Keynote Speaker: John M. Ryan, Acting District Attorney, Queens County
Among prosecutors in New York County, Thomas E. Dewey is remembered as having ushered in the era in which the District Attorney's office has been staffed by professional prosecutors chosen on merit rather than through political patronage. Dewey first came to the public's attention as a prosecutor in the 1930s, instituting successful criminal proceedings against gangsters, bootleggers and organized crime figures of the day. By 1937, Dewey was elected District Attorney of New York County, where he served one term before resigning to run for governor. The awards are made possible by the generosity of the firm of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky LLP.
A panel discusses the legal issues associated with international public and private art exhibitions. The panel addresses art loan and exhibition agreements, commercial and government indemnity insurance, import, export, temporary admission and VAT considerations, and governing law and forum selection clauses.
Moderator: Diana Wierbicki, Chair of the Art Law Committee
Speakers: Rudy Capildeo, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP Derek Gillman, Distinguished Teaching Professor; Senior Adviser to the President for University Collections at Drexel University Wetphal Jonathan Halpern, Chair of the European Affairs Committee Megan Noh, Pryor Cashman LLP Nicholas O'Donnell, Sullivan & Worcester Eleni Polycarpou, Withersworldwide Anne Rappa, Senior Vice President at Huntington T. Block
Sponsoring Association Committee: Art Law Committee | Diana Wierbicki, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Organization: Institute of Art & Law
The program examines legal and ethical issues surrounding prison based companion animal programs including dog training programs. Panelists discuss their own participation in such a program as well as the growth and scope of such programs more generally in the US. The panel explores benefits of such programs on the individual level as well as on the criminal justice system including implications for rehabilitation, vocational skill training and recidivism.
Speakers: Liz Keller, Founder, Rescue Dogs Rescue Soldiers Project Kimberly Spanjol, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Iona College Gloria Gilbert Stoga, President and Founder, Puppies Behind Bars
Sponsoring Association Committee: Animal Law Committee, Chris Wlach, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Association Committee: Corrections and Community Reentry Committee, Greg Morril, Chair
Join us for a panel discussing how the profits from corruption fuel bad governance, conflict and terrorism. Governments falter due to corrupt officials who steal funds earmarked for public projects and enrich themselves with bribes. Grievances such as lack of services and unemployment have a common source: the plundering of a country’s wealth by predatory and corrupt political elites.
Proceeds garnered from the illicit trade in natural resources provide funds for militias to buy weapons and foment strife. Today’s deadliest conflicts are sustained by illegal enrichment from pillaging property such as ivory, minerals and timber, stealing from impoverished populations.
Panelists discuss possible solutions to address the ongoing scourge of corruption.
Moderator: Elizabeth Barad, International Law and Gender Consultant, former Chair of the NYC Bar’s African Affairs Committee
Speakers: April Dennis, Director of Anti-Money Laundering Modeling, Société Générale Americas Kenneth Hurwitz, Senior Managing Legal Officer on Anti-Corruption, Open Society Justice Initiative J.R. Mailey, Special Investigations Director, the Sentry Zoe Reiter, Acting Representative to the US and Senior Project Leader, Transparency International Alain Seckler, UN Political Affairs Officer, Africa II Division Ulysess Smith, President & CEO, Telos Governance Advisers LLC
Sponsoring Association Committees: International Human Rights Committee, Lauren Melkus, Chair
Co-sponsoring Committee Programs: Asian Affairs Committee, Jian Wu, Chair Inter-American Affairs Committee, David H. Flechner, Chair Council on International Affairs, Michael D. Cooper, Chair Middle Eastern & North African Affairs Committee, Timothy James McCarthy, Chair
This program provides information on topics of interest to consumers, and the lawyers who advise them, regarding their purchases of, and problems with, life, health, auto, and homeowners insurance. Topics include resolving claims and disputes, coverage gaps, common and mandatory coverages, government resources, who needs to be licensed, and more. A representative from the NY Department of Financial Services also explains how the Department assists consumers.
Speakers: Emily Clark, Community Service Society James Dees, Consumers Assistance Unit, NYS Dept of Financial Services Drexel Harris, Associate General Counsel, Reliance Insurance Company (In Liquidation) Ann Kramer, ReedSmith LLP Richard Liskov, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP
Sponsoring Association Committee: Insurance Law Committee, Drexel B. Harris, Jr. , Chair
With hundreds of bills impacting the treatment of animals being introduced in local, state and federal legislatures annually, lobbying is increasingly used by both animal protection organizations and animal industries. Hear this panel discussion of animal law lobbying issues and strategies for organizations, industries and individuals.
Speakers: Nancy Blaney, Director of Government Affairs, Animal Welfare Institute Jennifer Hauge, Legislative Affairs Manager, Animal Legal Defense Fund Julie Lewin, President, National Institute for Animal Advocacy
Sponsoring Committee: Animal Law Committee, Christopher Wlach, Chair
New York City has set ambitious goals to reduce our City’s greenhouse gas emissions 80% by the year 2050 (“80x50”) in order to help stave off the most devastating impacts of climate change. To accomplish this, deep emissions cuts will be needed across every sector of the City, including from buildings, which account for two-thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions generated in New York City. This program will celebrate and build upon the impressive work that has been accomplished to develop consensus around the New York City Council’s Intro. 1253-C, a first-of-its-kind piece of legislation passed as part of New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act that will require New York City buildings over 25,000 square feet to meet strict emissions limits beginning in 2024. The process to reach consensus around how, when and to what extent emissions should be reduced required collaboration among many different stakeholders with concerns on various issues including emissions reduction impact, cost, timeline, and housing affordability. Significant challenges and opportunities to implement and further expand emissions reductions remain.
The first half of the program explores those previous consensus-building efforts and issues that were left unresolved in the mandate legislation. It then looks forward at the significant work that remains to implement the energy retrofits that will be needed to achieve the emissions reductions required by Intro. 1253-C. In particular, panelists and conference participants look at market-based mechanisms for financing these retrofits (including PACE financing, also passed as part of the Climate Mobilization Act) and at potential ways to achieve broader emissions reductions without threatening housing affordability. Finally, conference participants have the opportunity to join breakout groups for a facilitated discussion to explore potential opportunities to implement the retrofits at a wide scale. The facilitated conversations take place under the guidance of Tim Mealey of the Meridian Institute.
Keynote Speakers: John Lee, Deputy Director for Buildings and Energy Efficiency, New York City Mayor's Office of Sustainability Costa Constantinides, New York City Council Member John Mandyck, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Green Council
Panel 1: Building Consensus on Building Emissions: Bringing the Right Voices to the Table Speakers: Cecil Corbin-Mark, WE Act for Environmental Justice Jared Rodriguez, LeFrak Organization Pete Sikora, New York Communities for Change Moderator: Alexis Saba, Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C.
Panel 2: How the Market Can Support Needed Building Retrofits Speakers: Donnel Baird, BlocPower Helen Chananie, Building Energy Exchange Lisa DeVito, Con Edison Fred Lee, New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) Sadie McKeown, Community Preservation Corporation Moderator: Katie Ullman, Drift Energy Facilitator: Tim Mealey, Senior Partner and Managing Director, Meridian Institute
Sponsoring Association Committee: Environmental Law Committee, J. Kevin Healy & Amy E. Turner, Co-chairs
Co-sponsoring Association Committee: Energy Law Committee, Rossalyn K. Quaye, Chair International Environmental Law Committee, Michael H. Burger, Chair
Co-sponsoring Organizations: NYC Climate Action Alliance Ida and Robert Gordon Family Foundation
Bob Stern and Tim Peterson of the Information Technology and Cyberlaw Committee sit down with Adam Abresch of Acrisure, John Curran of Redpoint Cybersecurity, and Stephen Ramey of the Crypsis Group in a freewheeling discussion of hacking from technical, insurance, and legal perspectives, with specific content relating to how hacking affects lawyers both directly and in representation of their clients.
0:38 Guest Intro 2:00 Hacking Intro 5:06 How Do Hackers Infiltrate? 8:46 Social Engineering 12:10 How Insurance Handles Social Engineering 14:09 Creating a Cybersecurity Culture 18:31 Pen Testing and Phishing 20:25 Breach Response 21:36 Establishing a Risk Management Process 24:16 How Lawyers Respond to Client Breaches 27:31 The Importance of Logging 30:28 Reputation Risk 32:15 Small Law Firm Cybersecurity 35:20 Security Controls and Multifactor Authentication 38:24 Other Security Measures 42:04 Cybersecurity and Corporate Governance 45:51 Importance of Encryption 47:19 Segmentation of Data 50:28 Black Hat Hackers 52:47 Bug Bounty Programs 54:11 Insiders 55:47 Does Reputation of Company Matter in Targeting? 57:48 Ransomware Attacks 1:01:25 Limitations of Backups 1:03:30 Forensic Investigations 1:04:39 Dangers of Paying Ransom 1:06:43 Ransomware and HIPAA 1:09:37 The Legal Insurance Perspective 1:13:44 Are We Better Off Now Than We Were Five Years Ago? And Where Will We Be in Five Years? 1:17:18 Hackers as a Service 1:18:45 Trends in Insurance 1:20:58 Hacking Legal Summation
Author and legal commentator Emily Bazelon led a conversation with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Gonzalez recently introduced Justice 2020, an initiative aimed at sending fewer people to prison, ensuring more people are released early from prison, minimizing collateral consequences, and collaborating with community-based organizations in finding solutions to over-incarceration. This discussion explored the role that prosecutors have played in creating a mass incarceration crisis in this country, as well as what prosecutors can do to play a constructive role in alleviating the crisis.
Speakers: Emily Bazelon, Author, Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration Eric Gonzalez, Brooklyn District Attorney
Sponsoring Association Committee: Mass Incarceration Task Force, Sean Hecker, Chair
Co-sponsoring Association Committee: Criminal Justice Operations Committee, Sarah Berger, Chair Civil Rights Committee, Philip Desgranges, Chair
Related Resources: If you are interested in this program, you might also be interested in this City Bar resource Mass Incarceration: Where Do We Go From Here?
On May 9, 2019 the Committee on Drugs and the Law hosted a conversation between policy experts and government representatives to discuss the proposed adult use cannabis legislation. The occasion marks the 75th anniversary of the LaGuardia Report, the first in-depth study into the effects of consuming cannabis in the United States, a study that controverted many of the myths promoted by drug prohibitionists. Presently, New York City and State face a shift to regulating the largest unregulated cannabis market in the United States after 92 years of prohibition. The panel discussed the challenges and issues that arise in implementing the proposed cannabis legislation currently in Albany.
Moderator: Shea Gunther, Producer, of Marijuana Today: Business & Politics Podcast
Speakers: Axel Bernabe, Assistant Counsel, Governor Cuomo for Health Cristina Buccola, Founder of Cristina Buccola Counsel PLLC Doug Greene, Legislative Director of Empire State NORML Senator Liz Krueger, New York Senator, Chair of the Finance Committee Melissa Moore, Deputy State Director of New York, Drug Policy Alliance Anne Oredeko, Supervising Attorney, The Legal Aid Society Racial Justice Unit
Sponsoring Association Committees: Drugs & the Law Committee , Luke Schram, Chair
Co-sponsoring Organizations: Drug Policy Alliance Start Smart NY
Welcome: Roger Juan Maldonado, President, New York City Bar Association
Introduction: Barry H. Garfinkel, Of Counsel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Speaker: Hon. Jon O. Newman, United States Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The Leslie H. Arps Memorial Lectures are made possible by the generosity of the firm of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates.
Sponsoring Association Committee: Committee on The Leslie H. Arps Lectures, Barry H. Garfinkel and Scott Musoff, Co-Chairs
Former Arps Lecture Speakers Include: Hon. Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (1989), Hon. Lawrence E. Walsh (1991), Hon. James L. Oakes (1992), Herbert Brownell (1993), Dean John D. Feerick (1996), Hon. Robert W. Sweet (1997), Hon. Patricia M. Wald (1999), Leon Silverman (2003), Hon. Elena Kagan (2005), Hon. Sandra Day O'Connor (2010), Hon. Pierre N. Leval (2012), George J. Mitchell (2013), Hon. Jose A. Cabranes (2015), Hon. Robert A. Katzmann (2016) and Jeffrey Toobin (2018)
Gina Mitchell, a member of the City Bar’s Criminal Advocacy Committee, interviews Professor Steve Zeidman, a criminal defense attorney and the Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at CUNY School of Law; Attorney Michelle Lewin, the Executive Director of the Parole Preparation Project in New York; and Jose Saldana, director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, about parole law and reform in New York State.
Host Tim Peterson and Jeremy Merkel, both members of the City Bar’s Information Technology & Cyber Law Committee, discuss the legal implications of the recent upsurge in ransomware attacks, particularly against healthcare providers.
1:38 - Intro to Ransomware
3:06 – Scenario: Paying the Ransom
6:43 - Alternate Scenario: Contacting the FBI
8:45 - Iranian SamSam Attacks
11:02 - Significance of DOJ indictments
11:53 – Factors in Target Selection
12:33 – Vulnerability of Healthcare Providers
13:50 – Role of Bitcoin in Ransomware Attacks
19:30 - Cryptopayments to Terrorists, Acts of War, and Cyberinsurance
23:56 - Cyberforensics and International Legislative Solutions
25:27 – The Allscripts Attack and Other Attacks on Healthcare Providers
29:06 - Effects Under GDPR, HIPPA, and Other Data Privacy Regulations
30:33 - Best Practices for Healthcare Providers
33:49 - Representing Municipal Ransomware Victims
35:29 – Wrap-up
The panel covered key regulatory and legislative changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) under the Trump administration including: new standards and rules, removal of species from protection, reduction of funding for certain initiatives, trophy hunting and import, and ivory trade and import of ivory and rhino horn. They also discussed recent key federal litigation interpreting Endangered Species Act, and touched upon currently proposed legislative, regulatory and statutory changes to the ESA.
Speakers: Dr. Susan Lieberman, Vice-President, International Policy, Wildlife Conservation Society Joseph Nelson, Partner, Van Ness Feldman Asher Smith, Litigation Counsel, PETA Foundation Danny Waltz, Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund
Moderators: Professor Randall Abate, Rechnitz Family Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy, Monmouth University and Mikki Golar
Sponsoring Committee: Animal Law Committee, Christopher Wlach, Chair
Cosponsoring Committee: Environmental Law Committee, Kevin Healy and Amy Turner, Co-Chairs
New York City Bar President Roger Juan Maldonado and New York State Bar President Michael Miller speak with James Ostaszewski, a member of the City Bar's Puerto Rico Task Force who worked on its report in support of exempting Puerto Rico from the Jones Act, a law that restricts shipping and that independent studies say costs the recovering island hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Host Tim Peterson of the Information Technology and Cyberlaw Committee interviews Dennis Dayman, the Chief Privacy and Security Officer of Return Path, on the evolution of privacy law and technology and what it means for the future of consumer privacy and electronic marketing efforts worldwide.
On February 28, 2019, a panel discussed issues around companion animals and transportation, including the use of service animals on public transportation, pets in ridesharing, and recent incidents in which pets have died during air travel.
Moderators: Marissa Hight, Akerman LLP Bari Wolf, Vernon & Ginsburg LLP
Speakers: Erin Abrams, General Counsel, Via Kleo King, Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities Joel Lopez, Vice President, ASPCA Adoption Center Evan Oshan, Oshan & Associates, P.C.
Sponsoring Committee: Animal Law Committee, Christopher Wlach, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Committee Transportation Committee, Sanford Balick, Chair Disability Law Committee, John W. Egan, Chair
People live longer today than ever before; in fact, Americans over the age of 85 represent one of the fasting growing age groups in the country. This program features three researchers whose findings challenge the accepted views on growing older. Join us as John Leland, Amy Nathan and Paula Span share their findings and provide information on a topic that faces all of us.
Speakers: John Leland, Author, “Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old” Amy Nathan, Author, "Making Time for Making Music" Paula Span, Columnist, The New York Times, “The New Old Age" and “Generation Grandparent”
Sponsoring Association Committee: Senior Lawyers Committee, Barry M. Bloom, Chair
Cosponsoring Committee: Legal Problems of the Aging Committee, Britt Burner, Chair
Meticulous Nazi records of Jews killed in the death camps identify fewer than half of the Holocaust's victims. When, where and how were the other victims killed? Father Patrick Desbois, a French Roman Catholic priest, has sought and found the answer to this question. As a young priest, Father Desbois visited a town in Ukraine where his grandfather, a French Resistance fighter, had been incarcerated by the Nazis. By speaking with village elders, he learned of the process by which the town's Jews had been rounded up, executed and buried in mass graves. His research established that this process had been repeated thousands of times throughout Eastern Europe. Father Desbois discussed his research and the continued effort to uncover genocidal practices around the world, in this Public Affairs Luncheon on February 12, 2019.
Speaker: Father Patrick Desbois has devoted his life to the study of the Holocaust and other genocides. He is a founder of Yahad – in Unum (“Together in One”), a global NGO dedicated to discovering genocidal practices around the world and providing documented proof of crimes against humanity. His organization presents “Holocaust by Bullets” – Enhanced Teacher Training seminars to educators around the world. He has spent the last several years with his team gathering testimony from survivors of the Yazidi massacres in Iraq at the hands of ISIS.
Sponsoring Association Committee: Senior Lawyers Committee, Barry M. Bloom, Chair Public Affairs Luncheon, Frank Wagner, Chair
Cosponsoring Association Committee: International Human Rights Committee, Lauren Melkus, Chair
On a daily basis, family and criminal courts depend on mandated domestic violence services for resolving cases of intimate partner violence. Thousands of defendants and respondents in our city are required to complete these services in order to have visits with their children or get back in their homes. Yet there is little evidence of the effectiveness of existing services and there continues to be a reliance on outdated services such as Batterers Accountability programs. New York City policymakers have been examining this issue and have developed a Blueprint for Abusive Partner Intervention. A report published in 2018, “Seeding Generations: New Strategies Towards Services for People who Abuse,” took a comprehensive look at this issue and the need for a new model of services. The report acknowledges that services to families also need to consider the trauma that those who harm have been through. This panel on January 17, 2019 served as an opportunity for policymakers to have a dialogue with family court and criminal court practitioners about the current and future state of domestic violence services.
Welcome: Cecile Noel, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence
Moderator: Purvi Shah, Consultant, Seeding Generations
Speakers: Albery Abreu, Abusive Partner Intervention Specialist, Children’s Aid Society Tanya Apparicio, Deputy Chief, Domestic Violence Unit, NY County District Attorney’s Office Ana Bermudez, Commissioner, New York City Department of Probation Juliana Chereji, Family Defense Practice, Brooklyn Defenders Services Bea Hanson, Executive Director, Domestic Violence Task Force, NYC Office of the Mayor Quentin Walcott, Co-Executive Director of Connect
Sponsoring Association Committee: Council on Children, Lauren Shapiro, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Association Committees: Children & the Law Committee, Sara L. Hiltzik, Chair Domestic Violence Committee, Amanda M. Beltz, Chair Education & the Law Committee, Laura D. Barbieri, Chair Family Court & Family Law Committee, Glenn Metsch-Ampel, Chair
On December 6, 2018, Juan Williams, the political analyst for Fox News, bestselling author, and civil rights expert addressed the Trump administration’s sweeping rollback of the civil rights movement at the City Bar's Public Affairs Luncheon. Donald Trump’s campaign pitch to African Americans was: “What the hell do you have to lose?” According to Juan, the answer is: Quite a lot, as it turns out. He believes that the Trump administration’s policies and intentions pose a threat to civil rights without precedent in modern America. Based on his observations of the current state of politics and race relations with insights from the long, and sometimes forgotten, history of the civil rights movement, as Juan asserts in his new book, knowing our past is essential if we are to understand our present, and shape our future.
Speaker: Juan Williams has covered and written about American politics for four decades. He is currently a columnist for The Hill, and was a longtime writer and correspondent for The Washington Post and NPR. Juan is currently a cohost of Fox News Channel's roundtable debate show The Five, and makes regular appearances across the network, where he regularly challenges the orthodoxy of the network's conservative stalwarts. He is also the author of numerous books, including Eyes on the Prize, Thurgood Marshall, Enough, Muzzled, and We The People.
Sponsoring Association Committee: Senior Lawyers Committee, Barry M. Bloom, Chair Public Affairs Luncheon, Frank Wagner, Chair
On December 3, 2018, experts discussed the legal issues relating to the First Amendment and freedom of speech. Topics included the scope and limits of First Amendment protection for certain types of speech, whether by news and media outlets, on school campuses, via social media, or as part of public protests. The program covered the current state of the law and recent developments. With an eye toward contributing to the public understanding of this complex area of law, it focused on the legal issues and on identifying and addressing the areas where legal line-drawing either is fairly easy or remains difficult and uncertain.
Opening Remarks: Roger Juan Maldonado, President, New York City Bar Association
Panel: Alex Abdo, Senior Staff Attorney, Knight First Amendment Institute Floyd Abrams, Senior Counsel, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP Daniel J. Kornstein, Partner, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP Carmelyn P. Malalis, Chair & Commissioner, NYC Commission on Human Rights Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, New York Law School
Moderator: Jamal Greene, Dwight Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Sponsoring: New York City Bar Association City Bar Justice Center City Bar Office for Diversity & Inclusion
Co-Sponsoring Association Committees: Civil Rights Committee, Philip Desgranges, Chair Federal Courts Committee, Laura Grossfield Birger, Chair Communications & Media Law Committee, Katherine M. Bolger, Chair Legal History Committee, Daniel J. Kornstein, Chair
The presidential election first scheduled for 2016 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and then for 2017 never took place. The election is now scheduled to take place on December 23, 2018. The Prime Minister has said that President Kabila will not run again, and he will abide by the constitutional limits. The delayed elections spurred anti-Kabila marches and protests, led by laity of the Catholic Church and youth activists. The government has cracked down on this opposition, harassing, arbitrarily arresting, detaining, injuring, and killing protestors. Many still remain in detention despite increasing health problems. The panelists examined the way forward for the DRC and the role opposition leaders, youth activists, the Catholic Church, and duly-elected officials can play in strengthening civil society.
Speakers: H.E. Ambassador François Nkuna Balumuene, The Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassador to the United States--Invited Tatiana Carayannis, Director of the Social Science Research Council’s Understanding Violent Conflict Research Initiative and convener of the DRC Affinity Group Sasha Lezhnev, Deputy Director of Policy at the Enough Project Kambale Musavuli, Human Rights Activist and Spokesperson for Friends of the Congo
Moderator: Elizabeth Barad, Esq., International Law and Gender Consultant
Sponsoring Association Committee: African Affairs Committee, Victoria Safran, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Association Committees: United Nations Committee, Simon O’Connor, Chair Council on International Affairs Committee, Michael D. Cooper, Chair International Human Rights Committee, Lauren Melkus, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Organization: Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, Alexander Papachristou, Executive Director
Focused on New York City’s schools grades K-8, panelists on November 8, 2018 discussed the history of school segregation and integration efforts; diversity pilots and plans; school admission screens, G&T programs, and their potential for desegregation; accountability, legal constraints, and best practices. Whether you are an education advocate, parent, practitioner, public official, student, or concerned citizen, this exciting and thought-provoking conversation is packed with information you will want to know.
Speakers: Matthew Gonzales, Director, School Diversity Project, New York Appleseed Richard D. Kahlenberg, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation Brad Lander, Member, New York City Council Emmy Liss, Chief of Staff, Div. of Early Childhood Educ. & Student Enrollment, NYCDOE Dennis D. Parker, Director, Racial Justice Program, ACLU
Moderator: Clara Hemphill, Founder and Editor, InsideSchools
Re-legalization of cannabis for general adult use in New York City has never been closer, but how ready is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States - and the country’s largest urban cannabis market for commercial manufacture, delivery, home cultivation and over-the-counter sale of cannabis? On November 1, 2018, the City Bar’s Drugs & the Law Committee held a panel discussion examining the legal and policy changes that will be necessary in order to make a safe and orderly transition from a criminal market to a viable regulated market.
Speakers:
Axel Bernabe, Assistant Counsel, Governor Cuomo for Health Steven Epstein, Founding Partner, Barket, Epstein, and Kearon LLP Jerome Levy, Partner, Duane Morris Joseph Levey, Founding Partner, Helbraun & Levey Donovan Richards, New York City Council Member Preston Niblack, New York City Deputy Comptroller for Budget
Moderator: Kristin Jordan, Chair, Cannabis Practice Group, Newman Ferrara LLP
On October 22, 2018, the City Bar’s Labor & Employment Law Committee held a program on how the evolving treatment of marijuana under the law affects the workplace. Learn how legalization of medical and recreational marijuana affect rights and obligations under the ADA, FLMA, and more.
Speakers: George Schwab, Kraus & Zuchlewski LLP Anne Dana, Seyfarth Shaw LLP Jay Jaffe, 1199 SEIU
Moderator: Hanan Kolko, Meyer Suozzi English & Klein P.C.
Sponsoring Committee: Labor & Employment Committee, Katherine Greenberg, Chair
In 1994, the UN Commission on Human Rights noted the increasing frequency of attacks on the independence of judges, lawyers, and court officials as well as the link which exists between the weakening of safeguards for these officials and human rights violations. In response, the Commission appointed a Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to investigate and report on these attacks. The current Special Rapporteur, Professor Diego García-Sayán discussed his current role and work with attendees. This work includes his yearly report to the United Nations, examinations into judicial corruption, ideas on current international legal standards, efforts to update those standards so that they remain applicable in the face of new challenges to the legal and judicial professions, as well as both oversight and enforcement mechanisms.
Panel: Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges Lawyers William A. Wilson III, Chair of the Task Force on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges
Sponsoring Association Committee: Task Force on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges, Lawyers William A. Wilson III, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Organization Committee: Council on International Affairs, Michael D. Cooper, Chair International Human Rights Committee, Lauren Melkus, Chair
Pet food is a multibillion-dollar industry and has a significant impact on our current food system. Many humans consider themselves to be “pet parents” or “pet guardians” instead of “pet owners” which may have contributed to the growth in this industry. This program reviewed federal, state and local authority to regulate pet food and the relevant statutes. The program also discussed what information is mandatory on pet food labels and whether this information is meaningful to consumers. The program also focused on recent marketing trends in the pet food industry, such as holistic, natural, and organic pet foods, and what these terms even mean in the pet food context. Recent pet food recalls, including the 2007 melamine scandal, and the impact of failures in pet food regulation on human health was also discussed.
Panel: Ellen Fried, Adjunct Professor, NYU Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Mary Alestra, Assistant Attorney General, Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau, NYS Attorney General’s Office
Moderator: Bari Wolf, Vernon & Ginsburg LLP and Member, Animal Law Committee
Sponsoring Association Committee: Animal Law Committee, Christopher Wlach, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Association Committee: Consumer Affairs Committee, Darren Bowie, Chair
Jeh Johnson served as Secretary of Homeland Security from December 2013 to January 2017. Secretary Johnson was responsible for the federal government’s response to many of our nation’s most pressing issues, including immigration; cybersecurity; Russian interference in the election; counterterrorism; natural disasters; nuclear, chemical and biological threats; and the protection of critical infrastructure and the nation’s leadership. At the City Bar's Public Affairs Luncheon on October 9, 2018, Secretary Johnson reflected on his leadership experiences and shed light on the latest headlines.
On October 4, 2018, the New York City Bar Association presented Honorary Membership to Loretta Lynch, former U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Roger Juan Maldonado, the City Bar's President, gave welcome remarks and Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto, United States District Court Judge, Eastern District of New York, and Chair, Honors Committee, introduced Loretta Lynch and presented her with the award.
In New York City, there are hundreds of men and women on the sex offender registry who are subject to the Sexual Assault Reform Act (SARA) residency restriction, which prevents them from living within 1,000 feet of a school. This little-known restriction has created enormous constitutional problems. Because our densely-populated city contains virtually no residences that comply with this restriction, prisons are holding these people past the length of their prison sentences if there is no SARA-compliant housing available – a time period that usually extends longer than a year. This event on September 11, 2018 addressed the history and policy behind the residency restriction, the impact of SARA on people who have committed sex offenses, and the legal challenges being made on behalf of people affected by SARA.
Panelists: Michael Burke, Hodges Walsh Messemer & Burke, LLP Bill Dobbs, Publisher, Dobbs Wire, newsletter about sex offense law and policy; Advisor, Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center at Mitchell Hamline Law School Emily Horowitz, Professor and Chairperson, St. Francis College, Sociology and Criminal Justice Department Susannah Karlin, Licensed Social Worker, Center for Appellate Litigation Robert Newman, Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice, Special Litigation Unit Greg Williams, The Fortune Society
Moderator: Camilla Hsu, Appellate Counsel, Center for Appellate Litigation
Sponsoring Association Committee: Criminal Justice Operations Committee, Sarah J. Berger, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Organization: New York Sex Offense Working Group
On September 4, 2018, the New York City Bar Association and the New York Law Journal co-hosted an "Evening with the Candidates" Forum for the Democratic Attorney General Primary Candidates. The candidates covered a wide range of issues, from immigration and ICE in the courts, corruption, and consumer protection, to criminal justice reform, health care, and income inequality. From left: Roger Juan Maldonado (Moderator), President, New York City Bar Association; Candidates: Leecia Eve, Vice President, Government Affairs, Verizon; Letitia James, New York City Public Advocate; Sean Patrick Maloney, U.S. Representative for New York's 18th Congressional District; and Zephyr Teachout, Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University; Susan DeSantis (Moderator), Deputy Editor-in-Chief, New York Law Journal.
City Bar Senior Policy Counsel Maria Cilenti speaks with Jen Kim, Co-Director of the Immigrant Justice Project at the City Bar Justice Center, and Caitlin Miner-Le Grand, the City Bar Justice Center’s Fragomen Fellow about immigration and the border.
Part 3: Challenges and Strategies for Low-Wage and Immigrant Workers in Reporting Harassment - Where Criminal, Administrative, and Regulatory Remedies Intersect Sexual Harassment & the Law: A Call to Action for Lawyers in the Era of #MeToo
Speakers: Danielle Alvarado, Daniela Contreras, Rebecca Nathanson, Hon. Laura Safer Espinoza, Marrisa Senteno, Cristina Velez
Topics: Sexual harassment in agricultural work and how to prevent What does sexual harassment look like in domestic workplaces and what rights do domestic workers have that differ from workers in other settings? What is a U visa and how may someone who has been a victim of workplace sexual harassment be eligible? Explanation of anti-retaliation provisions under New York State wage and hour law, and NYDOL’s U visa certification policy.
This program provided a morning plenary addressing the changing legal landscape in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements and a luncheon discussion around sexual harassment within the legal profession. In addition, break-out CLE sessions covered:
An Overview of Employer Best Practices for Investigating, Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Challenges and Strategies for Low-Wage and Immigrant Workers in Reporting Harassment
MeTooAcademia: Special Considerations When Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases on Campus
Jurisdiction in Sexual Harassment: Where Criminal, Administrative, and Regulatory Remedies Intersect
Part 2: Jurisdiction in Sexual Harassment- Where Criminal, Administrative, and Regulatory Remedies Intersect Sexual Harassment & the Law: A Call to Action for Lawyers in the Era of #MeToo
Panel: Christin Damiano, A.D.A. Jennifer Gaffney, Hollis V. Pfitsch, Council Member Keith Powers, Electra Yourke
Questions: How should a victim of sexual harassment choose where to report? When sexual harassment is severe, it may violate criminal law, such as sexual abuse, forcible touching, and unlawful surveillance. What constitutes a violation of the NYC Human Rights Law with regards to sexual harassment in the workplace. When and how can a victim of sexual harassment report to the EEOC, and what does that process look like? Explanation of recent legislation passed by NY City Council to expand statute of limitation and jurisdiction for sexual harassment complainants.
This program provided a morning plenary addressing the changing legal landscape in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements and a luncheon discussion around sexual harassment within the legal profession. In addition, break-out CLE sessions covered:
An Overview of Employer Best Practices for Investigating, Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Challenges and Strategies for Low-Wage and Immigrant Workers in Reporting Harassment
MeTooAcademia: Special Considerations When Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases on Campus
Jurisdiction in Sexual Harassment: Where Criminal, Administrative, and Regulatory Remedies Intersect
Part 1: Introduction And Morning Plenary Sexual Harassment & the Law: A Call to Action for Lawyers in the Era of #MeToo
Introduction: Roger Juan Maldonado, President, New York City Bar Association
Speakers: Commissioner Carmelyn Malalis, S. Jeanine Conley, Carrie Goldberg, Andrea Johnson, Cynthia Lowen, LaDonna Powell, Elizabeth Saylor
This program provided a morning plenary addressing the changing legal landscape in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements and a luncheon discussion around sexual harassment within the legal profession. In addition, break-out CLE sessions covered:
An Overview of Employer Best Practices for Investigating, Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Challenges and Strategies for Low-Wage and Immigrant Workers in Reporting Harassment
MeTooAcademia: Special Considerations When Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases on Campus
Jurisdiction in Sexual Harassment: Where Criminal, Administrative, and Regulatory Remedies Intersect
This panel features a discussion of three developments in federal social welfare policy under the Trump administration: (1) work requirements imposed on SNAP recipients; (2) work requirements imposed on Medicaid recipients; and (3) anticipated regulatory changes to “public charge,” which would prevent non-citizens from obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status for using (or their U.S. Citizen dependents using) a broad range of government benefits and services, many of which function as work supports for low-wage workers, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and subsidized health insurance. The panel examines these reforms in the historical context of welfare reform, including its emphasis on work requirements and the exclusion of immigrants, look at the recent Executive Order and legislative proposals on work rules and discuss strategies for addressing the changes, including litigation.
Speakers: Jamila Michener, Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University David A. Super, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center Mara Youdelman, Managing Attorney, National Health Law Program (NHeLP), D.C. Office Jackie Vimo, Economic Justice Policy Analyst, National Immigration Law Center Lynn D. Lu, Clinical Professor, CUNY School of Law Katharine Deabler, Staff Attorney, National Center on Law & Economic Justice
Moderator: Susan Welber, Chair, Social Welfare Law Committee; Staff Attorney, The Legal Aid Society, Civil Practice Law Reform Unit
Sponsoring Committee: Social Welfare Law Committee, Susan Welber, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Committees: Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, Victoria Neilson, Chair International Human Rights Committee, Anil Kalhan, Chair Civil Rights Committee, Philip Desgranges, Chair Pro Bono and Legal Services, Alison King and Amy Barasch, Co-Chairs
Co-Sponsoring Organizations: City Bar Justice Center New York Immigration Coalition The Legal Aid Society Make the Road NY
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gives the keynote address at the New York City Bar Association’s 7th Annual White Collar Crime Institute on May 9, 2018.
City Bar Senior Policy Counsel Maria Cilenti speaks with Vickie Neilson, Chair of the City Bar’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, about the immigration court system and concerns over changes in procedures that could speed up the deportation process at the expense of due process and the independence of immigration judges.
The program provides an overview of what is sometimes an intimidating process, breaks it down to basics, and provides attendees with an understanding of what is necessary to run for office in New York City. The panel covers topics ranging from evaluating for which offices you are qualified to run, the mechanics of petitioning, the administrative process of filing and defending your petitions at the Board of Elections, and an overview of why and how petitions wind up the subject of court battles. There is also information on a candidate's responsibility to comply with Campaign Finance law, and a review of best practices for setting yourself up for a successful experience with those filings.
Speakers: Martin E. Connor, Private election law practitioner, 30 years in the NYS Senate, former NYS Senate Minority Leader, Chair of City Bar Election Law Committee Sarah K. Steiner, Private election law practitioner, Former Chair of City Bar Election Law Committee Douglas A. Kellner, Co-Chair, New York State Board of Elections Raphael Savino, Deputy General Counsel, Board of Elections in the City of New York
Sponsoring Association Committee: Election Law Committee, Martin E. Connor, Chair
Ambassador Dani Dayan discusses the state of affairs in the Middle East and offers a review of Israel’s diplomatic, humanitarian and economic relationships in the international arena. Additionally, Ambassador Dayan addresses the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and offers his observations on the issue.
Ambassador Dayan represents the State of Israel to communities throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he is the first Hispanic Consul General of Israel in New York.
The Public Affairs Luncheon Series features speakers who address matters of public interest. The luncheons provide a forum to enable members of the City Bar to network, socialize and discuss matters of interest. The luncheons are open to the public.
Speaker: Ambassador Dani Dayan, Consul General of Israel in New York
Sponsoring Association Committee: Senior Lawyers Committee, Barry Bloom, Chair
Adam Skaggs, the Chief Counsel of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, speaks with Ira Feinberg, a member of the City Bar’s Executive Committee and Association Secretary, about the legal issues involved in gun control.
This podcast is intended to move the conversation beyond the often misleading political and Second Amendment rhetoric surrounding gun rights to a discussion about Second Amendment law: what the Constitution and the courts actually say about these issues.
The dairy industry has made recent legal efforts to stop companies from using the terms “milk” and “cheese” for plant-based foods like soymilk and nut cheeses. The industry claims these product names mislead consumers and cash in on the reputation of animal-derived foods. Plant-based food producers disagree and have called for regulations that expressly let them use these terms for their products. Attorneys representing dairy farmers and plant-based food organizations discuss the issue at this program.
Speakers: Nigel A. Barrella, Law Office of Nigel A. Barrella Lorraine Lewandrowski, Lawyer and Dairy Farmer Lori Barrett-Peterson, Chair, NYC Bar Animal Law Committee
Moderator: Bari Wolf, Vernon & Ginsburg LLP
Sponsoring Association Committee: Animal Law Committee, Lori Barrett-Peterson, Chair
Hear the First Lady of New York City discuss ThriveNYC, a program intended to eliminate the stigma of mental health issues and provide New Yorkers with the tools to respond to these challenges.
Speaker: Chirlane McCray, First Lady of New York City
Sponsoring Association Committee: New York City Affairs Committee, Jerry Goldfeder, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Association Committees: Bioethical Issues Committee, Mary Beth Morrissey, Chair Disability Law Committee, John Egan, Chair Health Law Committee, Kathleen Burke, Chair Lawyer Assistance Program Committee, Hon. Linda Poust Lopez, Chair Mental Health Law Committee, Naomi Weinstein, Chair Mindfulness & Well-Being in Law Committee, Cecilia Loving, Robert Chender and Bjorn Sorenson, Co-Chairs
This event addresses the global crackdown on civil society space and the resulting challenges in protecting fundamental rights and freedoms. While threats are global, documented in over 100 countries, this event focuses on those experienced specifically in India, Russia/Eastern Europe and the United States. The worldwide trend, which extends beyond authoritarian regimes to democracies in many regions, includes new laws restricting or prohibiting protest and other forms of political activism; direct targeting of activists, journalists, and human rights defenders; and regulatory and funding obstacles aimed at non-profit organizations. Discussion addresses restrictions on the freedoms of assembly and expression in the United States in the context of a worldwide pattern of shrinking space for civic engagement and dissent. The speakers also share resistance strategies activists and human rights defenders are using to counter this crackdown.
Speakers: Sukti Dhital, Deputy Director, Robert L. Bernstein Institute for Human Rights Melissa Hooper, Director, Human Rights and Civil Society, Human Rights First Baher Azmy, Legal Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
Moderator: Judge Sidney H. Stein, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Sponsoring Association Committee: International Human Rights Committee, Anil Kalhan, Chair
Co-Sponsoring Association Committees: Asian Affairs Committee, Angus Ni, Chair Council on International Affairs, Martin Flaherty, Chair European Affairs Committee, Victor Muskin, Chair Task Force on Independence of Lawyers & Judges, William August Wilson III, Chair Task Force on National Security & the Rule of Law, Mark Shulman, Chair United Nations Committee, Michael Cooper, Chair
In many of the world’s most destabilized areas, the grand theft of pillage is a regular and frightening occurrence. Poaching of ivory and theft of minerals to fund armed groups and the destruction of religious sites and cultural heritage have been well documented. This program discusses the many pillage crimes currently being committed and the restrictions on such pillage in domestic and international law, including the Rome Statute and U. S. Dodd Frank Act.
Speakers: Carly Oboth, Policy Advisor, Global Witness Holly Dranginis, Senior Legal Analyst at The Sentry Jimmiel Mandima, Program Officer, African Wildlife Foundation Karen Mosoti, Head of the Liaison Office, International Criminal Court to the United Nations
Moderator: Elizabeth Barad, International Law and Gender Consultant, former co-chair of the NYC Bar's African Affairs committee.
Sponsoring Association Committee: African Affairs Committee, Victoria Safran and Melanie Claussen, Co-Chairs
Co-sponsoring Association Committees: United Nations Committee, Michael Cooper, Chair Council on International Affairs, Martin Flaherty, Chair International Human Rights Committee, Anil Kalhan, Chair Cyrus Vance Center for International Justice
Some states and municipalities, including New York State, are considering laws that would ban the practice of onychectomy, the surgical declawing of cats. At this program, advocates in favor of and advocates opposed to the New York bill discuss its potential impact on animals and veterinarians in New York.
Speakers: Benjamin L. Hart, Animal Behaviorist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis Dr. Jenny Conrad, Founder and Director, The Paw Project Dr. Eileen Jefferson, New York State Representative, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, Director of New York State Legislative Affairs, The Paw Project, Owner/Founder, Ethical Veterinary
Moderator: Jane Hoffman, Member, Animal Law Committee
Sponsoring Association Committee: Animal Law Committee, Lori Barrett-Peterson, Chair