Student Law Conference

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NYCLA PIONEERS:RUTH LEWINSON AND

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On June 1, NYCLA and the JusticeResource Center co-sponsored an all-dayNYC Youth Law Conference attended by200 high school students and law-relatededucation teachers, at Pace University. Theconference introduced participants to theNYC Youth Law Manual, a 113-pagemanual with 23 chapters on an array oflegal topics of importance to young people,such as voting rights, family law, govern-ment assistance and cyberspace law, as wellas an overview of the United States systemof government and useful resources, suchas hotline numbers and websites.

The NYC Youth Law Manual is helpingto deliver current, accurate informationabout legal issues of critical importance tothe approximately 35,000 studentsenrolled in law-related programs in NewYork City high schools. It is the center-piece of the Youth Law EducationProject, a collaboration among theAssociation’s Justice Center, the Law-Related Education (LRE) Committee,chaired by Hon. Richard Lee Price, andthe Justice Resource Center, which isheaded by Debra Lesser. As a pro bonocontribution, the law firm of Cadwalader,

Wickersham & Taft LLP prepared themanuscript. Former NYCLA Boardmember Ivan J. Dominguez, then theDirector of Diversity, Pro Bono andCommunity Relations at the law firm, anda team of associates and partners pro-duced the manuscript for this second edi-tion of the Manual with 12 new chapters.

The following volunteers from the

NYCLA Board, the LRE and otherNYCLA committees, and the FinancialWomen’s Association, who had expertisein particular areas, helped edit theManual: Robert F. Bacigalupi, Craig T.Donovan, Eugene J. Glicksman, Marcia J.Goffin, Bruce A. Green, David J. Lansner,Hon. Joseph Kevin McKay, Eugene B.

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by Shara Siegel

NYCLA and Columbia Law School’sMulti-Disciplinary Center for Excellence inChild and Family Advocacy co-sponsored apublic forum on July 13 at the NYCLA Homeof Law to discuss the recommendations andworking group reports from the October 2006NYCLA Family Court Conference, “FamilyCourt in New York City in the 21st Century:What Are Its Role and Responsibilities?”After welcoming remarks by Ann B. Lesk,NYCLA President Elect, and an overview byJane Spinak, Clinical Professor at ColumbiaLaw School, forum participants discussed therecommendations in both a national and localcontext. A morning panel of experts onfamily courts, including representatives fromBaltimore, Chicago, New Jersey and RhodeIsland, preceded an afternoon roundtable dis-cussion with local experts and a dialogue withconference participants.

Prior to the forum, a symposium issue ofthe Columbia Journal of Law and SocialProblems containing the Family CourtConference recommendations, working groupreports, commissioned articles and replies wasdistributed to the 110 attendees. Panelistshighlighted recommendations they deemedmost critical and added ones from their expe-riences in New York City and other jurisdic-tions, noting the importance of opportunitieslike the forum to think creatively about sys-temic changes to benefit families and enhancethe quality of justice in Family Court.

Among the recommendations high-lighted were the need to clearly define theFamily Court’s mission, restructure or merge

it with the Supreme Court, provide trainingfor everyone working in the system anddevelop measures of accountability. Otherproposals included: redefining the culture ofthe Family Court, collecting data and using itto monitor progress toward specific goalsand reducing the time needed to resolvecases. Participants and panelists also dis-cussed the problems of racism, the dearth ofcollaboration across systems and the needfor closer cooperation between the Courtand the Department of Education.

Forum panelists were: Ann B. Lesk,NYCLA President Elect; Jane Spinak,Clinical Professor, Columbia Law School,conference chair; Professor Barbara Babb,Director, Center for Families, Children andthe Courts, University of Baltimore Schoolof Law; Hon. Nikki Ann Clark, State ofFlorida, Circuit Court; Kathy Coleman,Social Services Coordinator, Circuit Courtfor Baltimore City-Family Division;

Professor Bernardine Dohrn, ClinicalAssociate Professor of Law and Director,Children and Family Justice Center,Northwestern University School of Law;Alycia M. Guichard, Esq., SupervisingAttorney, Street Law Program,Rutgers/Newark School of Law; Hon.Howard Lipsey, Rhode Island Family Court;Gayle Samuels, Associate, Center for theStudy of Social Policy in Washington, D.C.;Emily Ruben, Esq., Attorney-in-Charge,Brooklyn Neighborhood Office, The LegalAid Society; Luisa H. Taveras, Esq., SeniorPlanner, Vera Institute of Justice; and Hon.Daniel Turbow, Kings County Family Court.

As a next step, NYCLA will empanel atask force to develop strategies for imple-menting conference recommendations.

Ms. Siegel is the former CommunicationsAssistant at the New York CountyLawyers’ Association.

NYCLA holds public forum on the Family Court

See STUDENT, Page 15

Pictured (from left to right): Marilyn J. Flood, Executive Director of the NYCLA Foundation and editor inchief of the NYC Youth Law Manual; Ron Gilmore, student at the High School of Graphic CommunicationArts, who designed the cover to the Manual; Catherine A. Christian, NYCLA President; and Matt Guttman,Assistant Principal, Social Studies/Physical Education, High School of Graphic Communication Arts.

Jane Spinak,Clinical Professorat Columbia LawSchool

One forum speaker, Alycia M. Guichard, Esq., Supervising Attorney,Street Law Program, Rutgers/Newark School of Law, and four pan-elists (from left to right): Hon. Nikki Ann Clark, State of Florida,Circuit Court; Kathy Coleman, Social Services Coordinator, CircuitCourt for Baltimore City-Family Division; Barbara Babb, Director,Center for Families, Children and the Courts, University of BaltimoreSchool of Law; and Hon. Howard Lipsey, Rhode Island Family Court

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S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 3

Events are subject to change; please check the Association’s website, www.nycla.org, for schedule changes and additions.

C E N T E N N I A LC A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S

Centennial Calendar of Events...3

Centennial Page…11

CLE Programs…9

CLE Tech Programs…17

Ethics Hotline…17

Library Notes…13

Meet the Chairs…6

Meet the Members of the NYCLA

Board of Directors – Part II…7

Member Benefits…6

Member Profiles…4

Message From the CLE Director…9

Message From the President…5

NYCLA Holds Public Forum on the

Family Court…1

NYCLA Hosts Awards Ceremony

for High School Essay Contest

Winners…14

Past Events…10

Practice of Law Series…13

Pro Bono Opportunity…4

Public Policy Development…8

Public Service Awards

Reception…4

Student Law Conference…1

Task Force Tackles

Professionalism…8

Young Lawyers’ Section: Plans for

2007-08…4

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

SEPTEMBERCENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:CHARLES EVANS HUGHES MEMORIAL LECTUREThursday, September 66:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREE – By invitation and for members onlySpeaker: Kenneth C. Frazier, Executive VicePresident and President of Global HumanHealth, Merck & Co., Inc.Lecture Topic: From Rhetoric to Reality -Achieving Full Equality Within Our ProfessionSponsor: Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLPRSVP: dlamb@nycla.org and write‘September 6 Event’ in Subject line.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS RECEPTIONWednesday, September 196:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREE – By invitation and for members onlyGuest Speaker: Hon. Michael A. Cardozo,Corporation Counsel of New York CitySalutes lawyers in the public sector and win-ners of the Criminal Justice Section’s PublicService Fellowship Essay Competition.RSVP: cfragliossi@nycla.org

OCTOBERCENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:PUBLIC FORUM – RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NON-PROFITORGANIZATION LAWTuesday, October 26:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREESpeakers: Jay Gerzog, Esq., Epstein, Becker &Green; Karin Goldman, Esq., NYS Office ofAttorney General’s Charities Bureau; JeffreyHaskell, Esq., Foundation Source; DavidSamuels, Esq., Duval & Stachenfeld, LLP; andSumitra Subramanian, Esq., Lawyers Alliancefor New York. Topics to be discussed are:responsibilities of directors under SarbanesOxley and in other areas, new lobbying rulesfor nonprofits, new NYS rules on dissolutionof charities, joint ventures and nonprofits andthe Pension Protection Act of 2006 as it affectsnonprofits.Sponsor: Non-Profit Organizations CommitteeRSVP: dlamb@nycla.org and write ‘October2 Forum’ in Subject line.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:FALL 2007 – SPEED NETWORKINGAND RAINMAKING EVENTMonday, October 15 - 5:45-8:00 PM Place: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREESpeaker: Andrea Nierenberg, author ofMillion Dollar Networking: The Sure Way toFind, Grow and Keep Your BusinessLooking to make new contacts to build yourbusiness/rainmaking capabilities, win a promo-tion or find a job? Participants will pair off forseveral minutes of conversation, then continueto switch partners, allowing everyone to meetat least five to six new people during each ofthese mini-meetings, in addition to the contactsmade over refreshments before and after thestructured speed-networking program.Sponsors: NYCLA’s Women’s RightsCommittee and the Financial Women’sAssociation (FWA)Cost: Free to NYCLA members; FWA mem-bers - $25; non FWA members - $32 RSVP: dlamb@nycla.org and write ‘October15 event’ in Subject line.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:FASHION MATTERS – THEESSENTIALS OF A BUSINESSWARDROBETuesday, October 166:30-9:00 PM

Place: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREEAn evening of cocktails and expert advice forlawyers who want to dress for success. Specialistsfrom the fashion industry will discuss the essen-tials of a business wardrobe and give tips onone’s appearance for interviews and the work-place. Door prizes will be presented.Sponsor: Young Lawyers’ Section

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:RACE, LAW AND AMERICANPOLITICS, AN EVENING WITHPROFESSOR GLORIA BROWNE-MARSHALL Monday, October 226:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREEBook-signing event with Gloria Browne-Marshall, playwright, John Jay Professor ofCriminal Justice and author of Race, Lawand American Politics (2007).Sponsor: Library CommitteeCo-Sponsors: Art, Civil Rights, History, Law& Literature and Minorities & the LawCommitteesRSVP: nnobari@nycla.org

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:LUNCHEON HONORING THE FED-ERAL COURTS IN NEW YORK CITYTuesday, October 2312:00-2:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetHonoree: Hon. Pierre Leval, U.S. Court ofAppeals, Second Circuit, will receive theEdward Weinfeld Award for distinguishedcontributions to the administration of justice.Tickets: Table for 10: $1,500; Individualticket: $125 Sponsor: Federal Courts CommitteeRSVP: Checks, payable to NYCLA, can besent to: Joel M. Silverstein, Stern & Kilcullen,LLC, 75 Livingston Avenue, Roseland, NJ07068.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:PUBLIC FORUM – BRINGING A PIECEOF BROADWAY TO YOUR NEIGH-BORHOODWednesday, October 316:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREEAn interactive forum on licensing issueswhen dealing with Broadway.Speakers: Elena Paul,Volunteer Lawyers forthe Arts; Dave Faux, Dramatists Guild; RobertLeder, Herbert H. Lehman High SchoolSponsor: Entertainment, Media, IntellectualProperty and Sports Law Section (EMIPS)

NOVEMBERCENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:PUBLIC FORUM – DEFENDER,JUDICIAL AND PROSECUTORIALPERSPECTIVES ON NEW YORK STATEDISCOVERY IN CRIMINAL CASESThursday, November 86:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREESpeakers: Representatives from the districtattorneys’ offices of New York County, KingsCounty and Bronx County; a representativefrom a defenders’ group; and a judge whohas supervised criminal parts.Sponsor: Criminal Justice Section

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION EVENT:PUBLIC FORUM – TRAFFICKING INPERSONS: CURRENT U.S. EFFORTSWednesday, November 146:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey StreetFREESpeaker: Mark Logan, Assistant U.S.Secretary of State for TraffickingSponsor: Women’s Rights Committee

SSAAVVEE TTHHEE DDAATTEENYCLA’s 93RD Annual Bar Dinner

Honoring the Court of AppealsOn Its 160th Anniversary

Date: December 11, 2007Place: Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Time: Reception - 6:30 PMDinner – 7:30 PM

Dinner Chair – Robert L. Haig

Training: Monday, September 17, 6:00-9:00 PM and Monday, September 24,6:00-9:00 PM

NYCLA members in good standingcan volunteer to provide counseling toclients four nights a month in the areasof family law, consumer bankruptcy law,landlord-tenant law and employmentlaw. No representation of any kind isundertaken. Clients are prepared duringthe clinics for pro se representation.Volunteers may be asked to review doc-uments, answer questions, discuss areasof concern that the client should beaware of when entering into certainagreements or point out variousmethods whereby the client can eithercorrect a problem or seek appropriate

assistance and direction. Mentors, whoare experts in the four practice areas, areavailable by phone on each clinic nightto assist the volunteer attorneys.

You must be admitted to the bar forat least one year, have one year of legalpractice experience and attend bothtraining sessions. You will be coveredunder NYCLA’s malpractice insurancepolicy. You must commit to counselclients one night per month fromOctober 2007 through June 2008. MCLEcredit will be awarded upon completionof the nine-month commitment.

To register or for further information,call Lois Davis, Director of Pro BonoPrograms, at 212-267-6646, ext. 217 oremail ldavis@nycla.org.

Pro Bono Opportunity for NYCLA Members OnlyLegal Counseling Project

CorrectionIn the article, “Six Steps to Email Efficiency” in July/August issue, we inadvertentlyomitted the website of the article’s author, Lauren Stiller Rikleen. Her website is:www.bowditch.com/success.

4 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r

MEMBER PROFILEName: William Francis Kuntz IIResidence: Brooklyn, New YorkStatus: Partner, Baker & Hostetler LLPPractice Area: Commercial Civil LitigationAdmitted to the Bar: 1978Education: Harvard Law School, J.D.

NYCLA Member since 1990.

Q. Why did you join NYCLA?A. As a first-year associate in a Wall Street firm, I was deeply impressed bythe thoughtful mentoring provided by two wonderful African-Americanlawyers: Kay Murray and Archibald Murray. Kay was a true role model inevery way whose judgment at the bar was second to none. She advised methat bar association activity was the responsibility of every lawyer, at everylevel of seniority, and stated her particular fondness and regard for the his-tory of inclusion that had been the hallmark of NYCLA since its incep-tion. Women and people of color were not only admitted as members butwere admitted as members with every opportunity - in contrast to certainNew York law firms, which to this day have never had even a single African-American as a partner - to advance to leadership positions. I have servedon numerous committees, met many wonderful lawyers and judges, andserved on the NYCLA Board. I am currently a member of the NYCLAFoundation Board.

Q. What do you enjoy most about the practice of law?A. I most enjoy working with and for others in resolving problems. As a lit-igator, I am inevitably enmeshed in problems that will – in one way oranother - result in a solution. The judges and lawyers from whom I havelearned over the past three decades have given me a sense of purpose,indeed, a kind of blessing, to be ever mindful that this is a profession bindingour nation together. Whether the case involves commercial transactions,financial services, civil rights or issues of alleged police misconduct, I havealways been reminded that the vision I enjoy exists by virtue of the giants onwhose shoulders I stand. For me, the opportunity to deliver the eulogy inmemory of Hon. Constance Baker Motley at NYCLA’s 2005 Annual Dinnerat the Waldorf Astoria was the greatest possible honor. It allowed theunthinkable: a man born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the son of a hard-workingmailman and a wonderful school aide, to thank publicly the woman whowrote the brief in Brown v. Board of Education, who had invited my wifeand me to numerous judicial conferences and who had given voice and pur-pose to those wise restraints that make all Americans free. Those restraintswe collectively embrace in two words: The Law. How fitting that NYCLAdubs its headquarters the Home of Law. For so it is and has been for methroughout my career and the careers of thousands of grateful lawyers,judges and clients throughout New York.

MEMBER PROFILEName: Veronica E. RendonResidence: Scarsdale, New YorkStatus: Partner, Arnold & Porter LLPPractice Area: Corporate and SecuritiesAdmitted to the Bar: 1995Education: University of California HastingsCollege of the Law, J.D.

NYCLA Member since 2002

Q: Why did you join NYCLA?A. I joined NYCLA originally at the urging of a more senior lawyer. He hadexplained that it was important to think about the practice of law morebroadly than we do day to day. He was so right! I joined the Federal CourtsCommittee a number of years ago and have since enjoyed meeting judges ina much more personal setting and hearing their thoughts on a range of salientissues rather than in a standing-room-only type of setting. As a past chair ofthe Edward Weinfeld Award Luncheon, I also came to truly appreciate thehistory and culture of NYCLA, which brings together lawyers from all dif-ferent walks of life and engages them in committee work on important issues.The rich diversity of NYCLA’s membership adds to the wealth of ideas andperspectives supported by the organization.

Q: What do you enjoy most about the practice of law? A. I love the complexity of the corporate and securities litigation defensework that I do. No two cases are the same and the fact patterns and legalissues often raise difficult strategic questions, which I enjoy working my waythrough with the client. I also love the oral advocacy opportunities that comewith the job. Whether it’s going on trial, arguing a motion or speaking at aprofessional conference, I enjoy the excitement and challenge of presentingmy thoughts to an audience.

New York County Lawyers’ Association

Public Service Awards ReceptionSpecial Guest Speaker

Hon. Michael CardozoCorporation Counsel of New York City

Wednesday, September 19 at 6:00 p.m.Home of Law – 14 Vesey Street

HONOREESMartha Mann Alfaro

Deputy Chief, Legal Counsel DivisionLaw Department of the City of New York

Lawrence H. BirnbaumChief Court Attorney

Law Department of the Supreme Court

Kelly T. CurrieAssistant United States Attorney, Chief of Violent Crimes and Terrorism Unit

United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York

Kenneth K. LauSupervising Attorney

MFY Legal Services, Inc.

Mimi E. RosenbergStaff Attorney

The Legal Aid Society

Claudia S. TruppSenior Appellate Counsel

Center for Appellate Litigation

Winners of the Criminal Justice Section’s Public Service Fellowship Essay Competition

David A. BernsteinThe Legal Aid Society of Nassau County

Tracy ConnNew York County District Attorney’s Office

RSVP: Cindy Fragliossi at cfragliossi@nyca.org.(By invitation and for members only)

Young Lawyers’ Section co-chairs JeffreyM. Kimmel and Brett Ward are excited aboutthe upcoming 2007-2008 session. And basedon the successes of last year’s initiatives andprograms, they should be. Membership par-ticipation from NYCLA’s young lawyers hasnever been so active and productive. Werecently spoke with Jeff and Brett to discusstheir plans for the Young Lawyers’ Sectionfor the upcoming calendar year.

What does the Young Lawyers’ Section do?Jeff: That’s a good question. The answerreally changes every year, depending on thesection members who participate. We try tocater to the needs and concerns of newlawyers, developing and sponsoring pro-grams that benefit them.

Brett: The emphasis is on “new” lawyers –our members are mostly young, but not nec-essarily. Many of our members have taken uplaw as a second career. Historically, our pro-grams focus on job opportunities, meetingjudges and experienced lawyers in variousfields and networking. We encourage ourmembers to think of programs that wouldinterest them and then we help put every-thing together.

Specifically, what types of programs haveyou implemented?Brett: Last year we put on one of our mostsuccessful programs called “ObtainingChoice Jobs Outside the Big Firms.” It fea-tured young lawyers from various fieldsspeaking about their experiences in special-ized legal fields, such as entertainment,public interest, criminal and insurancedefense law. The attendance was terrificand the feedback was very positive. One

new member, Joana Lucashuk, worked withme on that one.

Jeff: We also co-sponsored some events thathave become annual successes at NYCLA.The “Lunch-With-A-Judge” series and the“Practice of Law” lecture series were wellattended. We’ve also organized “Lunch-in-Chambers” programs where members havethe opportunity to actually have luncheswith judges in their chambers. Our youngmembers find those lunches very informa-tive. The judges like it too.

What’s in the works for the upcoming year?Jeff: Another new member,Allison Johnson,recently proposed a unique program called“Fashion Matters – The Essentials of aBusiness Wardrobe.” The title may changebut the idea is great. Everybody, especiallyyoung lawyers, could use some advice onwhat to wear to court, to a business lunch orto an interview. Allison is working hard onputting together all the details for this pro-gram as we speak. We’re going to have food,drinks and even door prizes! Have they everhad door prizes at a NYCLA event? It’sscheduled for October 16 at 6:00 p.m.

Brett: It’s a great idea. We’ve also beenlooking into programs regarding managingstudent loan debt. That’s a topic of concernfor so many new lawyers. NYCLA has beenactively pursuing solutions to this issue andwe’d like to help.

How often does your Section meet?Brett: We meet once a month. For thosemembers actively involved in planning pro-grams, we communicate between meetings

Young Lawyers’ Section –plans for 2007-2008

See YOUNG LAWYERS, Page 17

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 5

Last month, a former lawschool classmate phoned to tellme that her niece, a recentWest Point graduate, was onher way to the Middle East ona tour of duty lasting a min-imum of 15 months. That tele-phone call was a soberingreminder of the past sixyears…six years of terroristthreats and alerts and, ofcourse, the war. During ourconversation, amidst expres-sions of concern and supportfor her niece and those fightingin Iraq, we talked about whatlawyers have been doing sincethe events of September 11,2001 to lend support to thecommunity.

The September 11 attack inNew York City occurred oneblock away from the Home ofLaw. NYCLA’s building wasclosed for several months.However, the Association con-tinued serving lawyers and thecommunity from the lawoffices of then president,Craig Landy. During the pastsix years, lawyers throughoutthis city have played a leadingrole in providing services tothe victims of the attack andtheir families. NYCLA pastpresident Michael Miller pro-vided pro bono service forseveral months to families ofthe victims and recruited,trained and coordinated vol-unteer lawyers to assist vic-tims and their families. Healso helped establishNYCLA’s Adopt-A-FamilyProgram, where families offirst responders received freelegal services. The AmericanBar Association recognizedMichael for his service with its2002 Pro Bono Publico Award.

I recently dined withNYCLA member DebraBrown Steinberg and her hus-band, Moshe. Pro bono servicewas our main topic of discus-sion. Since 2001, Debra hasprovided pro bono representa-tion to the families of WorldTrade Center victims. She alsopersonally represented severalfamilies of September 11 vic-tims and has played a leadingrole in the creation and devel-

opment of the New YorkLawyers for the Public Interest9/11 Project. Debra has draftedsubstantial portions of legisla-tion to provide legal recogni-tion and protection to familymembers of non-citizen victimsof the attacks – known as theSeptember 11 FamilyHumanitarian Relief andPatriotism Act (H.R. 1071).The bill is currently pending inthe United States House ofRepresentatives.

In addition to lawyersassisting victims of theSeptember 11 attacks, lawyershave been involved withnumerous legal issues sur-rounding national security.There has been tremendoustension between national secu-rity and individual rights. Theissues have included: thedetention of persons deemedto be “enemy combatants,”expansion of the ForeignIntelligence Surveillance elec-tronic surveillance authorityand restrictions on habeascorpus relief. Many lawyersare providing repre-sentation to clients inthese matters. Underour system of govern-ment, clients accusedof heinous crimes, orwhose causes repelor inflame, are enti-tled to effective andcompetent legal rep-resentation. Thelawyers who repre-sent these clients, aswell as the lawyerswho provide free legal servicesfor indigent, low-income andother persons in need, do sobecause they believe in ourConstitution. These lawyersshould be supported forfighting for access to justicefor their clients. A UnitedStates Supreme Court Justiceaffirmed this principle 63 yearsago:

“All residents of this nationare kin in some way by bloodor culture to a foreign land.Yet they are primarily andnecessarily a part of the newand distinct civilization of theUnited States. They must

accordingly be treated at alltimes as the heirs of theAmerican experiment and asentitled to all the rights andfreedoms guaranteed by theConstitution.”- Justice FrankMurphy, dissent, Korematsu v.United States, 323 U.S. 214,234 (1944)

Another group of clients inneed of assistance by the orga-nized bar are the men andwomen serving in the armedforces who have left theirhomes and families behind todefend our country. Many mili-tary personnel and their fami-lies have a myriad of civil legalneeds. They encounter issuespertaining to custody, support,employment, taxation, housingand real estate matters. Asalways, the legal communityhas stepped forward to providerepresentation, but morelawyers are needed.

As with all public policy andlegal debates, the past sixyears have produced argu-ments pro, con and indifferent.Our immediate past president,

Edwin DavidRobertson, hasspent the past fivemonths researchingthe history of theNew York CountyLawyers’Association.Dave’s exhaustiveresearch andwritten work willbe included in anupcoming bookdocumenting the

hundred-year history of thisgreat democratic bar associa-tion. What is clear from areview of our history is thatNYCLA has always respecteddifferent opinions and views.As stated in our mission state-ment, NYCLA was founded toelevate “the standards ofintegrity, honor and courtesyin the legal profession andfoster the spirit of collegialityamong members of theAssociation and throughoutthe bar.” We will continue todo so.

A M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T

Catherine A. ChristianNew York CountyLawyers’ Association 14 Vesey StreetNew York, NY 10007-2992. Phone: (212) 267-6646 Fax: (212) 406-9252

Catherine A.Christian

President

Sophia JGianacoplosExecutive Director

Mariana HoganChair, Newsletter Editorial Board

Marilyn J. FloodCounsel to NYCLA

Executive Director of the NYCLA Foundation

Anita AboulafiaEditor

Director of Communications

Nicole PierskiCommunications Assistant

Shirley BrackenAdvertising Manager

Long Island Business News631-913-4262

Copyright © 2007 New YorkCounty Lawyers’ Association. All rights reserved. New YorkCounty Lawyers’ Associationgrants permission for articles andother material herein or portionsthereof to be reproduced and distributed for educational or professional use through direct contact with clients, prospectiveclients, professional colleaguesand students provided that suchuse shall not involve any matterfor which payment (other thanlegal fees or tuition) is made and provided further that allreproductions include the nameof the author of the article, thecopyright notice(s) included inthe original publication, and anotice indicating the name anddate of the Association publica-tion from which the reprint ismade. Subscription rate: $10.00per year for non-members

New York County Lawyer is published monthly (exceptJanuary and August) for $10 per year by New York CountyLawyers’ Association, 14 VeseyStreet, New York, NY 10007.Periodicals postage paid is mailedat New York, NY and additionalmailing offices. POSTMASTER:Send address changes to: NewYork County Lawyer, 14 VeseyStreet, New York, NY 10007-2992.

USPS #022-995ISSN: 1558-5786

$10.00 of membership dues is deducted for a one-year subscription to the New YorkCounty Lawyer.

Photo Credits:Anita AboulafiaKatharine Wells

Lawyers During Wartime

6 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r

by Shara Siegel

We are continuing our series of pro-filing newly appointed committee and sec-tion chairs and co-chairs. Below areprofiles of seven chairs and co-chairs.

ISABEL ABISLAIMANIsabel Abislaiman Law OfficesCo-Chair, Art Committee

Ms. Abislaiman isthe principal of IsabelAbislaiman LawOffices, offering legalservices in litigation,copyright and trade-mark law, general busi-ness, corporate andreal estate law inPuerto Rico and NewYork. She has over 13years of successful juryand non-jury trial andappellate court experi-ence in Puerto Rico, New York and federalcourts, and has represented plaintiffsagainst government officers, as well as high-ranking government executives as defen-dants in complex federal litigation relatedto First Amendment claims.

Ms. Abislaiman, who is certified to per-form art and personal property appraisals,also assists individuals and businesses inthe development of art, film and musicprojects. Ms. Abislaiman received her J.D.from the University of Puerto Rico LawSchool, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.

“My goals as co-chair are to generateCLE seminars and/or a lecture series todiscuss such topics as creating cultural dis-tricts, graffiti, stolen art, photography asevidence and IRS amendments regulatingart appraisals.” Ms. Abislaiman added,“I’d also like to increase members’ accessto art exhibits, concerts, performances andother institutional lectures. In order toaccomplish these goals, I will reach out toother committees that may have overlap-ping interests. Finally, I hope to raiseawareness of First Amendment issues andcirculate city regulations about the legalconcerns of the arts community.”

WENDY L. CRAFT Senior Vice President, Hudson LandCompany, LLCChair, Taxation Committee

Ms. Craft is seniorvice president ofHudson LandCompany, LLC, a titleinsurance company thatspecializes in commer-cial property transac-tions. Previously shewas senior vice presi-dent and national salesmanager for Security1031 Services, LLC, anationwide firm com-prising some of theforemost exchange professionals in the field.Prior to that she was vice president andnortheast manager of the 1031 Division in theexchange and title-related industries atLandAmerica Exchange Company, a sub-sidiary of LandAmerica Financial Group,Inc.

Employing her 16-plus years of realestate and tax experience, Ms. Craftteaches CLE and CPE throughout theeastern portion of the United States. Shereceived her LL.M. in Taxation fromGeorgetown University Law School.

“The Committee,” Ms. Craft said, “isplanning to conduct joint meetings withother NYCLA committees on such topicsas tax aspects of commercial real estate,tax and personal finance.”

HON. STEPHEN G. CRANEAssociate Justice,Appellate Division,Second DepartmentChair, JudicialSection

Prior to his designa-tion as AssociateJustice in 2001, JusticeCrane’s career spannedboth the private andpublic sectors. He firstassumed the bench in1981 as a judge of the

Meet the Chairs

See MEET THE CHAIRS, Page 12

MEMBER BENEFITSStaplesStaples Business Advantage is a provider of office supplies for members of the NewYork County Lawyers’ Association. That means an overall cost savings exceeding15 percent and convenient online ordering through StaplesLink.com for members.You’ll now enjoy faster access to more products, plus an array of value-added ser-vices from Staples that will help make supplying your office easier.

For more information, please visit www.nycla.org; click on Members Only, Benefits,Leisure and Retail and scroll down to Staples.

J & RNYCLA members are eligible for discounts at J&R. Prices are determined on an item-by-item basis and based on a percentage over J&R’s cost, not a discount off J&R’s pub-lished price. Minimum order is $100. (Pre-recordedaudio and video and Bose products are not part of thisprogram.) Log on to NYCLA’s website for the stepsto follow to take advantage of the NYCLA discount –go to www.nycla.org, click on Members Only,Benefits.Orders can be placed by phone (call David Merav at212-238-9080 or 800-221-3191, or emaildm@jandr.com) before stopping by the CorporateSales office to pick up your merchandise.

The 12th edition of the Attorneys’ Guide to Civil Practice in the New YorkCounty Supreme Court is now available!

To view the Table of Contents or print an Order Form, go to www.nycla.organd scroll down to News (July 19, 2007).

For more information, please call Cindy Fragliossi at 212-267-6646, ext. 209 oremail cfragliossi@nycla.org.

MMEEMMBBEERR NNEEWWSSDavid J. Lansner, Chair of the Committee on Committees and a Boardmember, has been appointed to the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence.

Isabel Abislaiman

Wendy L. Craft

Hon. Stephen G.Crane

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 7

by Shara Siegel

At NYCLA’s Annual Meeting on May24, new Board members were elected.Below are profiles of six Board members.

Stewart D. AaronArnold & Porter LLPPartner

As a partner atArnold & Porter LLP,Mr.Aaron specializes incommercial litigationwith a focus on securi-ties law matters. He actsas administrativepartner for the NewYork Office of Arnold& Porter. Mr. Aaronwas previously a partnerat Dorsey and WhitneyLLP, where he served asco-chair of the Securities and FinancialInstitutions Litigation Practice Group. Mr.Aaron is a former chair of both the NYCLAFederal Courts Committee and the NewYork State Bar Association Committee onFederal Constitution and Legislation. Mr.Aaron is a graduate of the SyracuseUniversity College of Law.

Rhea Kemble DignamErnst & Young LLPPrincipal

As a principal in Ernst & Young’s FraudInvestigation and Dispute Services section,Ms. Dignam specializes in white-collar crimeand fraud. She developed and administered anationwide program to test consumer-lendingpractices and was also crucial in coordinatinga series of international investigations related

to possible ForeignCorrupt Practices Actviolations, includingpotential money laun-dering. Ms. Dignam hasalso served as deputygeneral counsel at NewYork Life InsuranceCompany and as execu-tive deputy comptrollerof New York City.She isa graduate of HarvardLaw School.

Gail DonoghueNew York City Law DepartmentSpecial Counsel to the CorporationCounsel

As special counsel tothe CorporationCounsel for the NewYork City LawDepartment, Ms.Donoghue managesover 150 attorneys andadvises the CorporationCounsel on issues con-cerning law enforce-ment and criminaljustice. She has beenwith the LawDepartment since 1987; in 2002, she wasnamed to the Counsel’s executive staff andappointed as special counsel.Ms.Donoghue isa past recipient of the Corporation Counsel’sSpecial Recognition Award and the NYCLAPublic Service Award. She is a member of theCommittee on the Judiciary and the FederalCourts Committee at the New York City Bar.Ms. Donoghue received her LL.M. in taxationfrom New York University and is a graduate

of Pace Law School.

Thomas G. Draper Jr.Mazur, Carp & Rubin, P.C.Member

At Mazur, Carp &Rubin, P.C., Mr. Draperspecializes in estateplanning, probate andestate administrationand taxation. He is amember and formerco-chair of NYCLA’sEstates, Trusts andSurrogate’s CourtPractice Section andchairs the Legislationand GovernmentRegulation Committeeof that Section. Mr. Draper was previouslyan associate with Breed Abbott & Morganand Olwine, Connelly, Chase, O’Donnell &Weyher. He received his L.L.M. in Taxationfrom New York University and is a graduateof Columbia University School of Law.

Hon. Margaret J. FinertyGetnick & GetnickPartner

Judge Finerty joined Getnick & Getnickin 1998 after a distinguished career in publicservice. Appointed by Mayor Rudolph W.Giuliani, she served as a judge of theCriminal Court of the City of New Yorkfrom 1995 to 1998. She is the coordinator ofthe firm’s Independent Private SectorInspector General (IPSIG) and indepen-dent monitoring practice, and is activelyinvolved in the firm’s other practice areas.In 2004, Judge Finerty and the firm Getnick& Getnick were appointed by the U.S.

District Court for the Eastern District ofNew York as the monitor of the New YorkRacing Association. She currently chairsNYCLA’s Judiciary Committee and co-chairs NYCLA’s Task Force on JudicialSelection, in addition to serving as a sub-committee co-chair for the Task Force toIncrease Diversity in the Legal Profession.Judge Finerty is a NYCLA representative tothe New York State Bar Association’sHouse of Delegates. She is a graduate ofCornell University School of Law.

Stacey J. RappaportMilbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLPPartner

Ms. Rappaportbegan her career atMilbank,Tweed, Hadley& McCloy LLP in 1996.She returned toMilbank in 2001 aftershe served as a law clerkto the Hon. Loretta A.Preska of the SouthernDistrict of New Yorkand taught at her almamater, FordhamUniversity School ofLaw, where she trainedstudents in counseling, interviewing andnegotiation skills. She became a partner atMilbank in 2004. Her practice involves bothfederal and state litigation and focuses onsecurities and complex commercial disputes.She currently serves on Milbank’s Diversityand Associate Life Committees.

Ms. Siegel is the former CommunicationsAssistant at New York County Lawyers’Association.

Meet the members of the NYCLA Board of Directors – Part II

Thomas G. Draper Jr.

Stacey J.Rappaport

Stewart D. Aaron

Rhea KembleDignam

Gail Donoghue

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8 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r

by James B. Kobak Jr.

Most lawyers I know are good peopledoing good work for the good of theirclients and - in that way, and often,through pro bono and civic service - con-tributing to the good of our society. Yetthe public perception is otherwise, withmembers of the legal profession rankingever lower in lists of occupations.Claims of disenchantment are heardwithin the profession, ranging overeverything from the increased commer-cialization of practice and pressure tobill more hours, to a lack of civility andcollegiality, to the effects of enormousamounts of student debt. And thoughnot the chief culprits, a few lawyersseemed to play supporting roles - or atleast display an alarming lack of vigi-lance or sense of social responsibility - inthe corporate governance scandals of afew years ago.

Although some of these manifesta-tions are new, the underlying issues havebeen endemic to the profession since ithas been a profession. Even in the 19thcentury, lawyers were decrying the com-mercialization of practice and lack ofcollegiality. Disdainful comments aboutlawyers and tasteless lawyer jokes pre-date Shakespeare.

These concerns tend to be lumpedtogether under the term “profession-alism,” a portmanteau into which manymeanings may be packed. Fostering pro-fessionalism is something lawyers andtheir bar associations have always done.One of NYCLA’s core purposes at itsfounding nearly 100 years ago was “toelevate the standards of integrity, honor,and courtesy in the legal profession” andthis objective led, among other things, topublication of the first ethics opinions inthe United States. With the increasedpublic attention on lawyers - and oftentheir frailties and excesses - it hasseemed especially important to takestock. What does it mean to be a lawyerin New York City? Has that meaningchanged and, if so, for better or forworse? To the extent professional valuescan be defined and are widely shared,what can be done to instill and promotethem? What can the various segments ofthe profession (courts, law schools, barassociations, law firms and other lawoffices) realistically accomplish and arethey doing enough? What can we do toimprove public perception of lawyersand the role they play in society?

To this end, NYCLA created the TaskForce on Professionalism under the aegisof its Justice Center and in collaborationwith its Professional Ethics Committee.(NYCLA’s Justice Center is now chairedby Hon. George Bundy Smith and wasformerly chaired by John Feerick. TheProfessional Ethics Committee ischaired by Barry R. Temkin and was for-merly chaired by Martin Minkowitz, whochampioned the idea of a study of theprofession.) NYCLA has not been alonein these efforts; aspects of profession-alism have been studied by the ABA,State Bar through its Committee onProfessionalism and other bar associa-tions across the country. New York StateChief Judge Judith S. Kaye convened acommission widely referred to as theCraco Commission after its originalchair, Louis Craco, which has held studygroups and convocations around thestate. Although its focus is on lawyers inthe metropolitan area, NYCLA’s TaskForce has been informed by the work ofthese other groups, which have beengenerous in sharing both their workproduct and experience.

Task Force members are a cross sec-tion of lawyers in New York City,including major law firm partners, soloor small firm lawyers, law professors,judges, and a Fortune 500 legal depart-ment, lawyers from offices such as theNew York City Corporation Counsel,and in-house counsel. (The Task Forcewould like to have more in-housecounsel participate, just as NYCLAwould like to have more in-housecounsel as members.) We have an espe-cially active cadre of law firm associateswho, as recent law school graduates,bring a fresh and valuable perspective toour meetings.

The first aspect of our work was tohash out a definition of professionalismin order to give cohesion to what wewere talking about and the informationwe would seek from others. After muchdiscussion, we arrived at the followingworking definition, melding observa-tions by Roscoe Pound, Hon. SandraDay O’Connor and others.

Definition of ProfessionalismBy professionalism we mean a group

pursuing a learned art as a higher callingin a spirit that it is performing a publicservice, a service that is indispensable ina democratic nation founded on the ruleof law. This calling is no less a public ser-vice because it may also be a means oflivelihood. Pursuit of a learned art in thespirit of a public service is the essence ofbeing a lawyer. It implies an obligationof dignity, integrity, self-respect andrespect for others.

The essence of professionalism is acommitment to develop one’s skills tothe fullest and to apply them responsiblyand with the utmost diligence to theissue at hand. Professionalism requiresadherence to the highest standards ofintegrity and a willingness to subordi-nate narrow self-interest in pursuit ofthe fundamental goal of client service.Because of the tremendous power theywield in our system, lawyers must neverforget that their duty to serve theirclients fairly and skillfully takes priorityover the personal accumulation ofwealth. Lawyers must be willing and pre-pared to undertake zealous advocacy onbehalf of their clients, while retainingenough perspective to provide thoseclients with considered, well-informedand objective advice.

Although duties to their clients inparticular matters are paramount,throughout their careers lawyers mustremain conscious of and committed tothe goal of improving the profession andthe system of justice. This commitmentincludes taking personal and profes-sional measures to increase the avail-ability of legal services and abeteven-handed and efficient applicationand administration of the legal systemfor all segments of society.

I stress that this is a tentative,working definition, not a final one. Notethat while it includes such concepts ascivility and the importance of service tosociety, its emphasis is somewhat dif-ferent from other definitions and creedsthat we have seen recently as it focusesheavily on fidelity to the client, whoseneeds and interests are paramount. Wedo not endorse diluting or omitting thelawyer’s duty of zealous representationas some state ethics codes have done.

With a definition in hand, we distrib-uted a survey to local area law schools,seeking information about their effortsto teach professionalism and what theyfelt the role and limitations of lawschools might be. (The ABA has also

conducted nationwide surveys on thissubject.) We received responses from adozen local law schools and have spokenwith their faculty. We discovered severalexciting initiatives, such as early indoc-trination to ethics and professionalismin orientation programs, integration ofethical considerations into courseworkand clinical programs, centers for thestudy of ethics, professionalism and thelegal profession at schools such asFordham Law School and New YorkLaw School, and a course on the lawfirm as an institution at Columbia LawSchool. We also learned of theinevitable limitations on expecting thefull dimensions of this subject to becompletely absorbed at an incipientstage of a future lawyer’s career.

In addition to the law school respon-dents, we received responses from morethan 150 NYCLA members and nearly ascore of state court judges. We engagedin a roundtable discussion with roughlythe same number of judges and magis-trate judges in the Southern District, andmet with representatives from the CracoCommission, New York State Bar’sProfessionalism Committee, academics,the Corporation Counsel and an in-house legal department.

Their comments have varied and mosthave been extraordinarily thoughtful. Amajority perceived some decline in thebehavior of the profession or some of itsmembers. (In the words of one respon-dent, the state of professionalism is“excellent at the top - rotten at thebottom.”) This perceived decline isattributed variously to financial pres-sures (too many lawyers and too muchstudent debt), media fascination with“Rambo” tactics abetted by lawyeradvertising and self-promotion, toomuch emphasis on hours and dollars atlarge firms, too little mentoring at smallones, ignorance of tradition and a gen-eral decline in societal values. However,this perception of decline is not uni-versal; a minority report some improve-ment, observe that any past golden ageof universal dedication and decorum isitself a myth or mention many lawyers’pro bono commitments or willingness, inthe words of one survey respondent, togo the “extra mile to help their clients.”Perhaps most discouraging are the morethan occasional comments (includingsome from the judiciary) about lawyerswhose word cannot be trusted. Anotherpersistent theme has been the need formentoring in all types of practice, some-thing that will inform the next stage ofour work.

This brings me to where our TaskForce is today. Adopting a model sug-gested to us by the Craco Commission,we are planning a series of focus groupsat which a group of ten to 12 practi-tioners will consider a number of issuesin discussions facilitated and led by TaskForce members. The focus groups wecontemplate are: law firm associates, lawfirm partners, solo and small firm practi-tioners, lawyers from institutions such as

the State Attorney General’s office, NewYork Corporation Counsel and pro bonogroups, and in-house corporate counsel.(For those interested in participating in afocus-group session, particularly the oneinvolving in-house counsel, please con-tact me at kobak@hugheshubbard.comor my associate, Jason Masimore, at masi-more@hugheshubbard.com.)

Following the focus groups and fur-ther study, we plan to sponsor one ormore forums at NYCLA and possiblyother places around the city. At theseevents, invited speakers would presentviews and submission of written com-ments from all comers would berequested. Our ultimate objective is toissue a report with a three-fold purpose:defining the concept of professionalismand the challenge it presents; assessingwhere the profession finds itself at thetime of the report; and making sugges-tions for the future tailored to the reali-ties of New York City practice. We areneither naïve nor arrogant enough tothink that our report will suggest a one-size-fits-all conclusion, although it wouldnot surprise me to see an emphasis onmentoring as an activity that bar associ-ations could undertake with other insti-tutions. I envision issuing such a reportin 2009, shortly after NYCLA completesthe celebration of its Centennial, as aguide and reference point for the next100 years.

Mr. Kobak is Vice President of NYCLA,President of the NYCLA Foundation andchair of the Task Force onProfessionalism.

Task Force on Professionalism Members

James AltmanStephen BlaunerCarol A. BucklerHon. John T. BuckleyMadeleine Giansanti CagRamsey ChamieLouis CrespoGail DonoghuePaul DoyleBruce GreenJohn GrossJohn D. FeerickDavid KelleyWally LarsonGeorge D. MarlowJason MasimoreMartin MinkowitzNancy MorisseauMahendra RamgopalStacey RappaportGerard E. ReinhardtNorman L. ReimerEdwin David RobertsonDanielle RothmanJoseph SenaBarry TemkinLewis Tesser Hon. Laura A. WardLinda Willett

Task Force tackles professionalism

MAY 18, 2007 – NEW YORK, NY –NYCLA’s Matrimonial Law Sectionissues a report in opposition to A6418/S 2447, an amendment to thedomestic relations law, in relation to thetime period for a conversion divorce.

To read reports, amicus briefs, let-ters and other documents related toNYCLA’s public policy initiatives,log on to www.nycla.org and click onNews and Publications.

PPUUBBLLIICC PPOOLLIICCYY DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTT

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 9

SEPTEMBER

Wednesday, September 56:00 – 9:00 PMVIDEO REPLAY: FORMING THENY LIMITED LIABILITYCOMPANY 3 MCLE Credits: 1 Skills, 2 ProfessionalPractice; Non-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 9/3)Member: $95 Non-member: $120 Registration Fee (9/4-9/5)Member: $125 Non-member: $150

Friday, September 78:30 – 11:30 AMBREAKFAST WITH NYCLA-VIDEO REPLAY: ACCOUNTINGFOR LAWYERS3 MCLE Credits: 3 Skills; Non-TransitionalMember: $95 Non-member: $120

Monday evenings - September 10,September 17, September 24, October 15:30 – 9:00 PM BRIDGE THE GAP: A PROGRAMFOR NEWLY ADMITTEDATTORNEYS16 MCLE credits: 3 Ethics; 6 Skills, 2Law Practice Management, 5Professional Practice; TransitionalAll Four SessionsEarly Registration (on or before 9/8)Member: $255 Non-member: $355 Registration Fee (9/9-9/10)Member: $280 Non-member: $380

Two Sessions (8 MCLE credits —Indicate desired dates when registering)Member: $ 175 Non-member: $275

Single Session (4 MCLE credits –Indicate desired date when registering)Member: $100 Non-member: $150

Tuesday, September 186:00 – 9:00 PMCOPYRIGHT LAW ANDPRACTICE FOR THE GENERALPRACTITIONER3 MCLE Credits: 2 Professional

Practice; 1 Skills; Transitional and Non-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 9/16)Member: $125 Non-member: $165 Registration Fee (9/17-9/18)Member: $150 Non-member: $190

Tuesday, September 256:00 – 8:00 PMINTERNATIONAL ETHICS2 MCLE Credits: 2 Ethics; Transitionaland Non-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 9/23)Member: $95 Non-member: $135 Registration Fee (9/24-9/25)Member: $120 Non-member: $160

Wednesday, September 269:00 AM – 5:00 PM2007 LANDLORD/TENANTPRACTICE INSTITUTE: THE JACKNEWTON LERNER LECTURESERIES7.5 MCLE Credits: 1 Ethics; 3 Skills; 2Law Practice Management; 1.5Professional Practice; Transitional andNon-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 9/24)Member: $195 Non-member: $245 Registration Fee (9/25-9/26)Member: $220 Non-member: $270

Friday, September 288:30 – 11:30 AMBREAKFAST WITH NYCLA-VIDEO REPLAY: HOT TOPICS INLEGAL ETHICS3 MCLE Credits: 3 Ethics; Non-TransitionalMember: $95 Non-member: $120

OCTOBER

Wednesday, October 39:00 AM – 12:00 PMALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAXREFORM3 MCLE Credits: 3 ProfessionalPractice; Transitional and Non-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 10/1)Member: $125 Non-member: $165 Registration Fee (10/2-10/3)Member: $150 Non-member: $190

Wednesday, October 35:30 – 8:00 PMETHICS FOR THE NEW YORKATTORNEY: 20072 MCLE Credits: 2 Ethics; Transitionaland Non-TransitionalRegistration FeeNon-NYCLA Members joiningNYCLA when registering for or at pro-gram: No Charge NYCLA Members: $50 Non-NYCLA members (who do notjoin NYCLA): $75

Thursday, October 46:00 - 8:00 PMFriday, October 5 & Saturday, October69:00 AM - 5:00 PMFEDERAL CRIMINAL PRACTICEINSTITUTE17 MCLE Credits: 1 Ethics; 7 Skills; 3Law Practice Management; 6Professional Practice; Transitional andNon-Transitional Early Registration (on or before 10/2)Member: $255 Non-member: $355Registration Fee (10/3-10/4)Member: $280 Non-member: $380

Thursday, October 11 & Friday, October129:00 AM – 5:00 PM29TH ANNUAL CRIMINAL TRIALADVOCACY INSTITUTE16 MCLE Credits: 3 Ethics, 6 Skills, 2Law Practice Management; 5Professional Practice; Transitional andNon-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 10/9)Member: $255 Non-member: $355 Registration Fee (10/10-10/11)Member: $280 Non-member: $380

Wednesday, October 176:00 – 9:00 PMCONTRACT DRAFTING ININTELLECTUAL PROPERTYTRANSACTIONS3 MCLE Credits: 3 Skills; Transitionaland Non-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 10/15)Member: $125 Non-member: $165Registration Fee (10/16-10/17)Member: $150 Non-member: $190

Thursday, October 186:00 – 8:00 PMSEC UPDATE FOR SMALLERPUBLIC COMPANIES2 MCLE Credits: 2 ProfessionalPractice; Transitional and Non-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 10/16)Member: $95 Non-member: $135 Registration Fee (10/17-10/18)Member: $120 Non-member: $160

Tuesday, October 236:00 – 9:00 PMPREPARING FOR THE REALESTATE CLOSING: HOW TOAVOID THE PITFALLS3 MCLE Credits: 1 Skills; 2 ProfessionalPractice; Transitional and Non-TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 10/21)Member: $125 Non-member: $165Registration Fee (10/22-10/23)Member: $150 Non-member: $190

Friday, October 26 & Saturday, October279:00 AM – 5:00 PMBLUEPRINT FOR BUILDINGYOUR LAW PRACTICE 2007: ACONFERENCE FOR SOLO ANDSMALL FIRM PRACTITIONERS16 MCLE Credits: 2 Ethics; 12 LawPractice Management; 2 ProfessionalPractice; TransitionalEarly Registration (on or before 10/24)Member: $255 Non-member: $355Registration Fee (10/25-10/26)Member: $280 Non-member: $380

Tuesday, October 308:30 – 10:30 AMBREAKFAST WITH NYCLA-VIDEO REPLAY: ETHICALISSUES ARISING DURINGINTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS2 MCLE Credits: 2 Ethics; Non-TransitionalMember: $95 Non-member: $120

Message From Bari Chase, The CLE DirectorCLE Institute welcomes distinguishedspeakers in September

The CLE Institute is kicking off the fallwith a number of new programs, as well asan innovative way for newly admittedattorneys to earn their first- and/orsecond-year MCLE credits.

Spend Monday evenings after work(from 5:30-9:00 PM – September 10, 17, 24and October 1) at the CLE Institute andattend Bridge the Gap: A Program forNewly Admitted Attorneys. Attorneys canearn all 16 required first- or second-yearMCLE credits by attending all four ses-sions or mix and match sessions and earnbetween 4 and 12 MCLE transitionalcredits, depending on the number of ses-sions enrolled in. Experienced attorneyscan also benefit from this program bybrushing up on their skills or exploringnew areas of the law. See the CLECalendar for a list of topics presented ateach of the sessions, as well as pricing, orgo to www.nycla.org.

On Tuesday, September 18, from 6:00-

9:00 PM, the CLE Institute welcomes twoexperienced litigators, Raymond Dowd,Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller, LLP,and Joseph Peterson, Kilpatrick StocktonLLP, to discuss Copyright Law andPractice for the General Practitioner. Theprogram will focus on the basics of copy-right law, including assignments, licensing,recording security interests, dealing withthe Copyright Office, pre-litigation duediligence and litigation. Fee: $125, mem-bers; $165, non-members. The followingTuesday evening, September 25, from 6:00-8:00 PM, Mary C. Daly, Dean of St. John’sUniversity School of Law, will presentInternational Ethics, a program on corpo-rate and cross-border practice. Fee: $95,members; $135, non-members.

The CLE Institute will conduct the pop-ular 2007 Landlord/Tenant PracticeInstitute: The Jack Newton Lerner LectureSeries on Wednesday, September 26, from9:00 AM-5:00 PM. Now in its 11th year, theInstitute is a comprehensive update of res-idential landlord/tenant litigation practicein Housing Court and other courts, pro-

viding you with need-to-know informationto protect your clients. A distinguishedpanel from the bench and bar will addressthe concerns and special problems encoun-tered in this area of the law from both thelandlord and tenant perspectives.Confirmed faculty includes: Mark H.Bierman, Beranbaum Menken Ben-Asher& Bierman LLP; Hon. Fern A. Fisher,Administrative Judge, New York CountyCivil Court; Hon. Pam Jackman-Brown,Supervising Judge, New York County CivilCourt, Housing Part; Edward JosephJosephson, Brooklyn Legal Services Corp.B; Hon. John S. Lansden, SupervisingJudge, Kings County Civil Court, HousingPart; Hon. Laurie Lau, New York CountyCivil Court, Housing Part; Hon. GeraldLebovits, New York County Civil Court,Housing Part; Hon. Jaya K. Madhavan,Supervising Judge, Bronx County CivilCourt, Housing Part; Steven Alfred Neil,Director of Enforcement, New York CityLoft Board; Joshua Clinton Price, SperberDenenberg & Kahan PC; Steven W.Smollens, Esq.; Neil Sonnenfeldt, Gutman

Mintz Baker & Sonnenfeldt PC; and Hon.Peter M. Wendt, New York County CivilCourt, Housing Part. Fee: member, $195;non-member: $245.

Mark your calendar for a special eventon Wednesday, October 3 whenNYCLA’s Professional Ethics Committeesponsors a reception from 5:30-6:30 PMfollowed by a program, Ethics for theNew York Attorney: 2007, where CLEcredit will be awarded. After enjoying thenetworking reception, hear a panel ofexperts discuss such important issues as:NYCLA and its pioneering ethics opin-ions initiatives; the ethical implications ofmigrating to another law firm; can alawyer engage in factual misrepresenta-tion (pretexting) for the benefit of aclient?; and ten ways to lose your license.As a special incentive, non-NYCLAmembers joining NYCLA when regis-tering for or at the program will be ableto attend as guests of NYCLA’sProfessional Ethics Committee. Fee formembers is $50 and fee for non-memberswho do not join NYCLA is $75.

CLE PROGRAMS

NYCLA’s 2007 Minority Judicial Internsby Shara Siegel

Since 1989, NYCLA’s Summer Minority JudicialInternship Program, established by NYCLA PastPresident Hon. Harold Baer Jr. and his wife, Dr.Suzanne Baer, has given minority law students theunique opportunity to complement their law schoolcareer with a paid summer judicial internship. TheProgram, administered by the Minorities and the LawCommittee, accepts first-and second-year law studentsfrom the five law schools in New York County, as wellas Brooklyn Law School, St. John’s University School ofLaw and City University of New York School of Law.

Each intern is assigned to a single state or federaljudge and is expected to perform legal research, draftmemoranda, assist with the preparation of jury instruc-tions and observe court proceedings. Participating judgesserve as mentors to the interns and insure that eachintern completes at least one comprehensive researchand writing assignment. Every intern is also assigned amentor from among the members of the Minorities andthe Law Committee. The 2007 interns are profiled below.

Sharon Hana ChoiSharon Hana Choi interned with New York Supreme

Court Justice Richard Lowe III. Each day, she entered therobing room at 9:00 AM and began sorting throughcases that would be heard that same morning. For her,“The most amazing part of the summer was that [she]was able to see the cases [she] had just briefed to thejudge being orally argued before [her]. This gave [her]the real life experience [she] did not have in school.”

Ms. Choi is entering her second year at St. John’sUniversity School of Law, where she is a member ofthe Asian American Law Students Association. Shegraduated magna cum laude from BinghamtonUniversity, where she majored in English Literatureand was a member of various honors societies. Ms.Choi is also a NASD Series 7 and 63 registered stock-broker in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Antoinette KempAntoinette Kemp interned with New York Supreme

Court Justice Charles Tejada. She worked closely withhim and his law clerk in drafting memos on both civiland criminal issues. She also helped prepare judicialopinions and sat at the bench with the judge to observehearings, jury selection and a trial. She said the experi-ence improved her research and writing skills and gaveher an opportunity to see how a judge views the law.

Ms. Kemp is entering her third year at New YorkLaw School. She previously attended the University ofthe District of Columbia School of Law. Ms. Kempreceived her BA in Criminal Justice from St. John’sUniversity, where she was treasurer of Alpha PhiSigma, the Criminal Justice Honor Society. She hascompleted internships at the Public Defender Servicefor the District of Columbia in Washington, DC and theQueens County District Attorney’s Office.

Paul NicholsPaul Nichols interned with Federal Southern

District Court Judge Deborah Batts. He is enteringhis third year at New York Law School, where heserves as Student Bar Association Senator. He grad-uated summa cum laude from John Jay College ofCriminal Justice with a BA in Government and aminor in English. In the summer of 2006, Mr. Nicholsworked as a summer associate at Pitney Hardin LLP(now Day Pitney LLP) where one of his assignmentsled him to lay the groundwork to obtain approvalfrom a publisher for a nonprofit group to redis-tribute copyrighted materials in a format accessibleto the disabled. Previously, Mr. Nichols worked as alegislative intern for Congressman Major Owens andwas the session assistant for New York StateSenator John Bonacic.

Vanessa PairisVanessa Pairis interned with Federal Southern District

Court Judge Robert Patterson. She said her experiencewas “exceptional” and allowed her to “learn so muchabout the day–to-day functioning of the court and thepeople involved in the process.” For Ms. Pairis, the intern-ship helped her decide that she wants to specialize in liti-gation. “While I am still not sure if I want to prosecute ordefend criminally, I know that this is where my passion is,and this is the stuff that really keeps me going.”

Ms. Pairis is entering her third year at St. John’sUniversity School of Law. She received her BA inPolitical Science from Tufts University and served asthe student outreach coordinator for the AdmissionsOffice. At the 2006 Reverend Joseph T. Tinnelly MootCourt Competition, Ms. Pairis was awarded SecondBest Oralist honors and was chosen to compete in theABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition. In thesummer of 2006, Ms. Pairis interned with LegalInformation for Families Today, assisting litigants inthe Family Court in Queens. Most recently, she com-pleted an externship at the Harlem-based GirlsEducational and Mentoring Services (G.E.M.S.), analternative-to-incarceration program for young girlsprosecuted for prostitution.

Dexterrie RamirezDexterrie Ramirez interned with New York Supreme

Court Justice Lottie Wilkins. Her responsibilities includedwriting verdict sheets, jury charges and a draft opinion forthe judge. Ms. Ramirez explained that through her expe-riences, she “was able to see judgments and opinionsfrom both sides of the spectrum, an experience that wasinvaluable in learning how to become a good lawyer.”

Ms. Ramirez is entering her second year at CUNY Schoolof Law. She has a BS in Psychobiology from the Universityof California in Los Angeles and an MA in EducationalPsychology from New York University. Fluent in Tagalog(Filipino), Ms. Ramirez has worked for such institutions asNew York University and Columbia University. Mostrecently, she worked as director of development for aBronx school, which was awarded five grant proposalstotaling $171,000 towards curriculum-enhancement pro-grams and capital repairs, as a result of her efforts.

Ms. Siegel is the former Communications Assistant atthe New York County Lawyers’ Association.

10 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r

P A S T E V E N T S

Three NYS Assembly Committeeshold public hearing at NYCLAThe New York State Assembly Committees onSocial Services, Correction and Housing held thefirst of two public hearings at NYCLA on the sub-ject of barriers to employment opportunities andaffordable housing for formerly incarcerated indi-viduals. The purpose of the hearing, which wassponsored by NYCLA’s Civil Rights Committee, wasto evaluate the adequacy of existing resources andprograms designed to prepare incarcerated indi-viduals to return home and the availability of suchprograms for people released from incarceration.

The panelists were: Hon. Jeffrion L. Aubry, Chair,Committee on Correction; Hon. Michael Benjamin,Chair, Subcommittee on Regulated MortgageLenders; Hon. Annette M. Robinson, Chair,Subcommittee on Retention of Homeownership andStabilization of Affordable Housing; and Hon. KeithL.T. Wright, Chair, Committee on Social Services.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 30percent of people released from prison are rear-rested in the first six months following release, 44percent in the first year and 67.5 percent in thefirst three years. This high rate of recidivism canbe partly explained by inappropriate planning atthe end of an inmate’s jail or prison term, as wellas a lack of employment opportunities and afford-able housing upon release. The housing situationfor formerly incarcerated individuals is also grim;private property owners typically inquire into thebackground of individuals and often deny housingto anyone with a criminal background. Publichousing was, at one time, a viable alternative;however, Congress has adopted a “one strike”eviction policy for tenants in federal housing whoengage in certain types of criminal behavior.

Another public hearing with New York Stateelected and appointed officials will again be spon-sored by NYCLA’s Civil Rights Committee and heldat NYCLA in the fall. Its purpose is to advise andinform regarding the Felon DisenfranchiseAssistance Bill, A554, and legislation to be intro-duced in the state legislature on collateral barriersto employment, housing and mental health care.

Caption: Collin Bull (at left), chair of the CivilRights Committee, and Robert Doar,Commissioner, Human Resources Administration,who was among those who testified.

Five bar associations host reception honoring newly appointed administrative judges of color

NYCLA joined with the Asian American BarAssociation of New York, MetropolitanBlack Bar Association, South Asian BarAssociation of New York and Puerto RicanBar Association in hosting a reception inhonor of newly appointed administrativejudges of color on August 16 at the Homeof Law. Pictured (from left to right) werethe honorees: Hon. Ariel Belen,Administrative Judge, Civil Term, SupremeCourt, Kings County; Hon. Randall Eng,Administrative Judge, Criminal Term,Supreme Court, Queens County; Hon. Pam B. Jackman-Brown, Supervising Judge, New York County Civil Court,Housing Part; Hon. John Lansden, Supervising Judge, Kings County Civil Court, Housing Part; and Hon. JayaMadhavan, Supervising Judge, Bronx County Civil Court, Housing Part. Also pictured were: Hon. Ann Pfau, ChiefAdministrative Judge, New York State Courts, a special guest, and three of the presidents of the sponsoring barassociations – Catherine A. Christian, NYCLA President; Vincent Ted Chang, Asian American Bar AssociationPresident; and Xavier R. Donaldson, Metropolitan Black Bar Association President.

At the conclusion of the 2007 internship program,the Minorities and the Law Committee hosted adinner. The interns are (from left to right): PaulNichols, New York Law School; Vanessa Pairis, St.John’s University School of Law; Antoinette Kemp,New York Law School and Dexterrie Ramirez, CUNYSchool of Law. (Not pictured: Sharon Hana Choi, St.John’s University School of Law)

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 11

by Shara Siegel

Ruth Lewinson(1895-1979)

Ruth Lewinson achieved severalnotable ‘firsts’ during her nearly 50 yearsas a NYCLA member: she was the firstwoman officer and the first woman whoseportrait adorns the second-floor Lounge, atribute to her by the Committee on theSurrogate’s Court, of which she was amember and liaison-director.

In a time when there were few womenattorneys, Ms. Lewinson graduated fromthe NYU School of Law in 1920,recounting, “I became a lawyer because Iwanted to be my father’s son.” That year,she joined NYCLA. She succeeded herfather, Benno Lewinson, as treasurer,serving from 1935 to 1971, and holding thisposition for the longest time in NYCLA’shistory. She participated in essentiallyevery NYCLA event of importance fornearly 50 years, serving as ‘poet laureate’of the Association as she provided com-mentary in verse on various occasions.

Ms. Lewinson was an active andrespected trust and estates lawyer. In 1925,while serving as a trustee of Hunter College,where Ms. Lewinson graduated Phi BetaKappa, she joined her father’s firm,Lewinson & Lewinson. A year later, MayorJimmy Walker appointed her a member ofNew York City’s Board of HigherEducation, where she served for 13 years.

In addition to her pursuit of law, Ms.Lewinson explored diverse interests, trav-eling extensively throughout the world,including a 3,000-mile camera safari, andenjoying painting, collecting miniature fig-ures from her travels and attending operas.

With all her accomplishments though,Ms. Lewinson was most proud of the por-trait that hangs opposite her father’s at theAssociation. Always a wordsmith, sheseems to have been well ahead of her timein declaring at the portrait unveiling that

the “once-firm hold of male chauvinism isfirm no longer.” Later, Ms. Lewinson glee-fully told friends that The New York Timesreported, “Lawyers Hang First Woman.”

Ms. Lewinson composed the poem(below) to attract lawyers to NYCLA’smembership list and delivered it on May 6,1959 at a dinner given by the Surrogate’sCourt Committee for Surrogates in themetropolitan area.

By Golly, He Was Dead

Once there was a lawyerWho tried to get along;He started out quite bravelyFrom a class of 300 strong.He got himself an officeAnd the finest letterhead,But when it came to patronage,By Golly, he was dead.

He wed a rich man’s daughter,But first he changed his name,He moved to better quarters,Went to every football game;

He entertained, he fraternized,He dined a Grand a head,But when it came to patronage,By Golly, he was dead.

He joined with the politicos,Made speeches by the score;Contributed with open hand,And knocked on every door.He changed his toothpaste, changed his soap,He asked his friends, “Is there no hope?”“What can I do; should I persist?”The answer, friend: GET ON THE LIST!

Cora T. Walker(1922- 2006)

Cora T. Walker grew up in the Bronx,working two or three jobs to help sup-port her family. She attended St. John’sUniversity School of Law. In an inter-view for the NYCLA Oral HistoryProject, she recalled, “Women were notwelcome in the bar and women of color

even less.” She relied on two books asrole models: Dale Carnegie’s How toWin Friends and Influence People andEdward J. Horowitz’s Practice of Law.

Ms. Walker joined NYCLA in 1951because the Association was open to alllawyers, including women lawyers, at a timewhen other bar associations were notfriendly to women lawyers and also becauseshe regularly used the Library.With encour-agement from Whitney North Seymour Jr.and Arthur N. Field to become active in theAssociation, Ms. Walker became a memberof the Pro Bono and Civil RightsCommittees. Mr. Seymour had known Ms.Walker for many years; he had representedher pro bono in a case in which buildinginspectors harassed her for failing to pay abribe to get a Certificate of Occupancy. Mr.Seymour acknowledged, “She taught methat principle is more important thanmoney. It changed my professional life.”Ms.Walker went on to become a member ofthe Board of Directors.

Ms. Walker, who practiced law in herHarlem neighborhood for more than 50years, was the youngest woman of African-American descent to pass the New YorkState bar examination and the first womanpresident of the Harlem Lawyers’Association. Additionally, she was the firstwoman to run for the office of president ofthe National Bar Association.

Due to her achievements and ardentcommitment to the pursuit of justice, Ms.Walker received numerous awards. Shewas given an honorary doctorate fromSt. John’s University in 1992 and itsMedal of Honor in 2000. In 2006, shewas the recipient of the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Justice Award, jointly given byNYCLA and the Metropolitan BlackBar Association. The Black AmericanLaw Students Association named anannual award in her honor.

Ms. Siegel is the former CommunicationsAssistant at the New York CountyLawyers’ Association.

A look back at two NYCLA pioneers:

Ruth Lewinson and Cora T. Walker

Ruth Lewinson Cora T. Walker early in her career.

by Steven Flanders

On September 6, Kenneth C. Frazier,Executive Vice President and President ofGlobal Human Health at Merck & Co., pre-sents the Charles Evans Hughes MemorialLecture at NYCLA. Named for one of theAssociation’s most distinguished presidentsand created shortly after the death of itsnamesake, the Hughes Lectures have beena high point of the NYCLA calendar sinceDean Roscoe Pound opened the series in1950. But apart from this lecture series andnumerous other legal celebrations of thename, Hughes himself is too little knowntoday. One demonstration of this is that thecity of Glens Falls, New York, whereHughes was born and spent much of hischildhood, takes no discoverable notice ofits most distinguished citizen. No hallowedbirthplace or boyhood home, no respectfulmuseum, not even a plaque.

Hon. Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948)had about as distinguished a legal and publiccareer as can possibly be achieved. Judge

Richard Posner, in his study ofHon. Benjamin N. Cardozo andhis reputation, advances thetheory that legal and especiallyjudicial reputations are unavoid-ably short-lived. Maybe so, butsome more than others andseemingly, Hughes as much asanyone. Serving twice on theUnited States Supreme Court, hewas elected twice as Governor ofNew York and missed election asPresident of the United States by only 23electoral votes in 1916.U.S.Secretary of Statefrom 1921 until 1925, he departed that officeto return to New York to resume his first pro-fessional love, the life of a New York lawyer.Always ready to undertake any task onbehalf of NYCLA, he served not only as itspresident but as president of almost every-thing else in sight, from The Legal AidSociety to the American Bar Association.Heled the effort to incorporate his internationalfraternity (Delta Upsilon), serving as its firstinternational president and was, in 1907, the

first president of the newly formedAmerican Baptist Churches,U.S.A. He undertook countlessmajor assignments by appoint-ment of governors and presidents:he chaired Al Smith’s StateReorganization Commission,served as a member of thePermanent Court of Arbitration,as a judge of the Permanent Courtof International Justice at TheHague and as a delegate to the

Pan American Conference on Arbitrationand Conciliation (1928-1930).

If Hughes’s colleagues are to bebelieved, he was without peer as aworking lawyer and judge. Accordingly tohis partner, Allen S. Hubbard:

I had the good fortune to work in closeassociation with Judge Hughes for a largepart of the time he was in private practice. Itwas an inspiring experience. Judge Hugheswas an extraordinarily rapid worker. Heseemed merely to glance at a page in arecord, but he, nevertheless, comprehended

its contents not only in general but in detail.He would state the facts in perfect order andarrangement, and the conclusion theninevitably followed . . . . He was modest withrespect to his work, and had no pride ofopinion. He was glad to receive suggestionsand, if the suggestions merited discussion,they would be discussed at length . . . . Hiswork on the court was described by formerJustice Roberts . . . . [who] referred to thepractice of the Chief Justice of opening alldiscussions of the Court concerning thecases before it by a statement of the facts ofeach case and his conclusions. Althoughthere were an average of one thousand casesa year for the exercise of the Court’s juris-diction and two or three hundred a year onoral argument or submission, JusticeRoberts said that he could not recall aninstance in which the Chief Justice made anerror in his opening statement, and that hewas always prepared to refer to the appro-priate place in the record to support anystatement that he made.

Charles Evans Hughes and NYCLA

Charles EvansHughes

See HUGHES, Page 15

Criminal Court after working as an associateand later as a partner trying bankruptcy,labor and taxation cases in state and federalcourts.Among the various NYCLA commit-tees on which Justice Crane serves are theCLE Institute Advisory Board, as co-chair,and the History and William NelsonCromwell Awards Committees, as chair. Heis also the founding co-chair of the CriminalJustice Section.

Among the many organizations in whichJustice Crane is affiliated is the Anti-Defamation League, where he serves on theNew York Regional Board and ExecutiveCommittee. He has received numerousawards in recognition of his professionaland communal work – the New York StateBar Association’s Robert L. Haig Award forDistinguished Public Service, NYCLA’sLouis J. Capozzoli Gavel Award and theTort Section’s Harold A. Stevens JewelAward, and Law Secretaries & LawAssistants Collegium’s DistinguishedService Award. Justice Crane is a graduateof Cornell Law School.

Regarding his plans for the Section,Justice Crane intends to address judicialindependence and judicial salaries.

HON. MILTON MOLLENOf Counsel, Herrick, Feinstein LLPChair, Arbitration and ADR Committee

Justice Mollen has served extensively inthe public sector, both on the bench and inother high-level offices. A former PresidingJustice of the Appellate Division, SecondDepartment, Justice Mollen was recognizedas one of the 500 leading judges in Americain 2006 by Lawdragon magazine. He is cur-

rently of counsel toHerrick, Feinstein LLPand an arbitrator andmediator at JudicialArbitration &Mediation Services,Inc. (JAMS), ethicalpractices counsel to theI n t e r n a t i o n a lL o n g s h o r e m a n ’ sAssociation and aFederal Court-appointed monitor andcorruption counsel to Local 282, TeamstersInternational. He has mediated and servedas an arbitrator in cases on topics such asinsurance coverage, real estate, construction,labor, personal injury, wrongful deathclaims, class action disputes and variouscommercial disputes.

Justice Mollen is a member of the SpecialCommission on the Future of the New YorkState Courts and the Mayor’s AdvisoryCommittee on the Judiciary. In 2006, heserved on the newly created New York StateBar Association’s Special Committee toExamine the Issue of Age Discrimination inthe Legal Profession. From 1992-1994,Justice Mollen served as chairman of theSpecial Commission to InvestigateCorruption within the Police Department ofthe City of New York, more commonlyknown as the “Mollen Commission.”

“ADR is a means of supplementing thecourt system,” explained Justice Mollen.“ADR, in particular mediation, has taken ondynamic proportions and I look forward toworking with committee members to fur-ther the growth of ADR to resolve dis-putes,” he added.

Among the many honors bestowed on himis the Rule of Law Gavel Award,presented byNYCLA; Harlan Fiske Stone MemorialAward, presented by the Association of TrialLawyers of the City of New York; JamesMadison Award, presented by St. John’sUniversity School of Law; and an award forOutstanding Service on Behalf of Victims ofCrime, presented by the National Institute ofJustice of the U.S. Department of Justice. Heis a fellow of the New York State BarFoundation and a frequent CLE lecturer onarbitration and mediation.

Justice Mollen has a longstanding historyof public service, including serving as an avia-tion cadet during World War II. He was takenprisoner in occupied France in July 1944 andwas transferred to a prisoner of war campuntil he escaped in April 1945. He is a grad-uate of St. John’s University School of Law.

CAROL A. SIGMONDPartner, Dunnington, Bartholow &Miller, LLPChair, Construction Law Committee

Ms. Sigmond is amember of Dunnington,Bartholow & Miller,LLP’s litigation and arbi-tration and real estateand construction prac-tice groups. Ms.Sigmondconcentrates on con-struction industry mat-ters, including contractpreparation, mediation,litigation, suretyship, bidprotests, appeals andarbitration. She has extensive experience in liti-gation of construction disputes for public worksand buildings in both the public and private sec-tors, as well as preparation of contract docu-ments, including design build, ConstructionManager (CM), guaranteed maximum priceand fixed price. She earned her law degree

from Catholic University School of Law.“In the coming year, the committee will

evaluate the effectiveness of the New YorkCity Contract Disputes Resolution Board inproviding a fair and meaningful opportunityfor contractors to present claims to the city,”Ms. Sigmond said.

MAXINE A. KETCHERSenior Family Law Attorney andCommunity Outreach Specialist, LegalServices for New York City (LSNY) -Bronx, Co-Chair, Family Court andChild Welfare Committee

As a senior familylaw attorney, Ms.Ketcher conducts walk-in screenings of appli-cants for services forpossible representation,represents clients andassists less experiencedattorneys in preparingand presenting casesand reviews their legalpapers prior to submis-sion to court. Her out-reach work includes participation in planningmeetings with local community-based orga-nizations and groups with contracts with gov-ernment agencies seeking improved ways todeliver child welfare services to Bronx neigh-borhoods. Additionally, she participatesmonthly in Service Planning Area meetingsof the Administration for Children’s Servicesof the City of New York. Ms. Ketcher, a Co-Chair of Lawyers for Justice in 1995, is a grad-uate of Brooklyn Law School.

“The Committee plans to follow throughon some of the recommendations fromNYCLA’s July 2007 Family Court forum,” Ms.Ketcher explained. “A series of legislative ini-tiatives have been introduced that will likely

12 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r

Presents

‘DOING BUSINESS IN ITALY’

A seminar to be held onTuesday, October 2, 2007

8:45 a.m. – 12:00 noon

at theAssociation of the Bar of the

City of New York42 West 44th Street, New York, NY

Agenda

Mergers & Acquisitions – Roberto AlbertazziVenture Capital and Financing in Italy – Dominick J. Porto Overview of Italian Succession Law – Anthony V. ElisioTaxes and Fiscal Issues – Francesco Pau Case Study – Francesco Pau / Albertazzi & Associati

(Milano)Derek Wolman / Snow Becker Krauss (New York)

The Law Firm of

ALBERTAZZI & ASSOCIATI

RSVP: 202-580-8760 by September 25, 2007Website: www.studioalbertazzi.it E-mail: info@studioalbertazzi.it

Meet the ChairsFrom Page 6

Maxine A. Ketcher

Hon. Milton Mollen

Carol A. Sigmond

See MEET THE CHAIRS, Page 15

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 13

by Anna Smallen

To make suggestions about book purchases,please contact the Library Director NuchineNobari by email at nnobari@nycla.org or byphone at 212-267-6646, ext. 201.

FREE ADMINISTRATIVE LAWINTERNET SITE

ELECTRONIC CFR (ecfr.gpoaccess.gov)For those who find the index to the Code ofFederal Regulations (CFR) difficult to use, theUnited States Government Printing Office hascreated this unofficial, helpful website that isupdated daily. You can browse or search it;Boolean and proximity searching are accessmethods that are not available with the officialversion. Once a search is completed, you canreplicate it using the Search History feature.Federal Register pages that affect the mostrecent updates to the Code and errata are pro-vided, as is a list of government agencies withtheir corresponding parts of the Code. Becausethe information is not official and does not allowmany printing options, there are links to the offi-cial version of the CFR from 1996 updated annu-ally,List of CFR Sections Affected from 1986 andthe Federal Register going back to 1994.HEIN ONLINEIf you are interested in law reviews, HeinOnline at heinonline.org is the research systemto use. William S. Hein is a vendor of micro-forms and reprinted titles. The Library has anew trial subscription to its Law Journal Libraryfor members’ use at our public access terminals.The 1,051 law reviews are complete from theinception of the law review to its next-to-lastvolume; significantly more coverage than other

commercial vendors is provided. Signing in tothe website permits the user to search by cita-tion, title, author, text, date, document word orby the format of the material; the reader lookingfor a note, law review article, editorial or a casecan find the specific type of material. Searchingfor a field such as the date of the article is pos-sible, as well as browsing as one would do whenleafing through a periodical. The literaturefound can be printed or emailed in PDF format.The publisher provides help screens, tutorialsand an online newsletter. The service includesthe Legal Classics, Famous Trials and manyother libraries. Please Note: If you ask theLibrary staff, you can receive a password foraccess to this website from your home or office.

NEW EDITIONSCovenants Not to Compete: a State-by-StateSurvey, 5th edition (Bureau of NationalAffairs).Harper, James and Gray on Torts, 3rd edi-tion (Wolters Kluwer Law and Business).Immigration Legislation Handbook, 2007edition (Thomson West).Law of Real Estate Brokers, 3rd edition(Wolters Kluwer Law and Business).Simon’s New York Code of ProfessionalResponsibility Annotated, 2007 edition(Thomson West).

NEW TITLEWorkplace Discrimination, Privacy andSecurity in an Age of Terrorism: Proceedings ofthe New York University 55th AnnualConference on Labor, edited by Matthew Bodieand Samuel Estreicher. Attorneys practicing inthe areas of civil rights and employment will beinterested in this detailed account of the legal

issues stemming from the war on terror fol-lowing the attacks of September 11 withnumerous references to cases, statutes and sec-ondary sources. Among the workplace-discrim-ination issues included are: profiling, requiringon the job use of the English language,Immigration Reform Act, H1-B visas and theconcept of citizenship in the light of enemycombatants.Workplace privacy is balanced withthe need for electronic surveillance and moni-toring of electronic communications. There is adetailed discussion of collective bargainingrights for job and workplace security, employ-ment following leaves for military duty, pre-venting labor-management strikes or lockouts,effects on freedom of association and homelandsecurity. The responsibilities of employee assis-tance programs and labor unions to mitigate theworkplace stress and injury caused by globalinsecurity are discussed. Some material in thebook was previously published in law reviews.

NEW UPDATESAmerican Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, Thirdseries (Thomson West) 2007 pocket part sup-plement.American Jurisprudence, Second Series(Thomson West). 2007 supplement.Advocacy: The Art of Pleading a Cause, 3rdedition (Thomson West) 2007 supplement.American Law of Products Liability, 3rd edi-tion (Thomson West). 2007 supplement.Dobbs - The Law of Torts, (Thomson West)2007 supplement.Federal Information Disclosure, 3rd edition(Thomson West). June 2007 semiannual sup-plement.Federal Local Court Rules, 3rd edition(Thomson West). June 2007.Handling Misdemeanor Cases (ThomsonWest). 2007 cumulative supplement.Immigration Law and Crimes (ThomsonWest), Release no. 10 (June 2007).Immigration Law and the Family (ThomsonWest). Release no. 5 (June 2007).Manual on Employment Discrimination andCivil Rights Actions in Federal Court(Thomson West). Release no. 9 (2007).

PERIODICALS2005-2006 Survey of New York Law, SyracuseLaw Review, vol. 57, no. 4 (2007).

Animal Law and Policy, Law andContemporary Problems, vol. 70, no.1 (Winter2007).Chinese Law in the Global Context, FordhamInternational Law Journal, vol. 30, no. 4 (April2007).Director Liability for Bad Judgment and BadFaith, Trial, vol. 43 no. 6 (June 2007).Elder Empowerment as a Strategy for Curbingthe Hidden Abuses of Durable Powers ofAttorney, Rutgers Law Review, vol. 59, no.1(Fall 2006).Habeas Corpus Jurisdiction, Substantive Rightsand the War on Terror, Harvard Law Review,vol. 120, no. 8 (June 2007).The Incompatibility Principle, AdministrativeLaw Review, vol. 59, no. 2 (Spring 2007).Legal Issues Surrounding Guantanamo Bay,Fordham International Law Journal, vol. 30(February 2007).Let My People Go (online): The Power of theFCC to Preempt State Laws that ProhibitMunicipal Broadband, Columbia Law Review,vol. 107, no. 5 (June 2007).Licensing the Word on the Street: The SEC’sRole in Regulating Information, Buffalo LawReview, vol. 55, no.1 (May 2007).“Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics,” How ThePeter Principle Warps Statistical Analysis ofAge Discrimination Claims,The Labor Lawyer,vol. 22, no. 3 (Winter/Spring 2007).Maintaining and Improving the Public’s Trustin the Judiciary, “The Judges’ Journal, vol. 46,no. 2 (Spring 2007).The New AIA Design-Build Contract from theDesign-Builder’s Perspective, Probate &Property, vol. 21, no.4 (July/August 2007).Of Equal Wrongs and Half Rights, New YorkUniversity Law Review, vol. 82, no. 3 (June2007).Professional Corporations: To Be or Not toBe a Member of a Consolidated Group. TheTax Adviser, (July 2007).Symposium: The CSI Effect: The True Effect ofCrime Scene Television on the Justice System,The New England Law Review, vol. 41, no. 3(Spring 2007).

Ms. Smallen is a Reference Librarian at theNew York County Lawyers’ Association.

L I B R A R Y N O T E S

See CLE PROGRAMS, Page 17

Trial Techniques for Beginners

Detailed discussions concerning trial strategy, witness preparation, jury selection,opening/closing statements and direct/cross examination. Hearsay objections and other evi-dentiary issues will be discussed.

October 4, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeaker: Jeffrey M. Kimmel

Preparing a Trial Notebook

Learn the basics of preparing a trial notebook, issuing subpoenas, jury selection,opening/closing statements and direct/cross examination. Evidentiary issues, including inlimine motions, demonstrative evidence and objections, will be discussed.

October 11, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeaker: Jeffrey M. Kimmel

Writing Retainer Agreements, Setting Fees and Getting Paid (Part I)

Legal, ethical and practical considerations when you write your retainer agreements and setyour fees. How to treat your clients so they want to pay you.

October 18, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeaker: Martin L. Feinberg

Writing Retainer Agreements, Setting Fees and Getting Paid (Part II)

Legal, ethical and practical considerations when you write your retainer agreements and setyour fees. How to treat your clients so they want to pay you.

November 8, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeaker: Martin L. Feinberg

Keeping Your Firm’s Finances

Discussion of various financial matters concerning starting and running your law practice,including taxes, insurance, bookkeeping, software, time recording and office systems.

November 15, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeaker: Richard Klass

Great Tips for Building a Successful Practice

Doron and Clyde, with a combined 30 years of experience, provide their top suggestions forbuilding a successful solo and small-firm practice. The emphasis is on specific, straightfor-ward, no-holds-barred, practical advice and personal insights.

November 29, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeakers: Clyde Eisman & Doron Zanani

Manage Your Relationships with Clients, Judges and Opposing Counsel, So That They Don’t Manage You!

An analytical and practical approach to anticipate, be prepared for, handle and avoid con-flicts with other players in the legal profession. Discussion of problems that attorneys rou-tinely face (including the “unexpected” curve balls) and suggested resolutions. Attendanceis limited to 20

December 6, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeakers: Clyde Eisman & Doron Zanani

What Every Lawyer Needs To Know About The Part 137 Fee DisputeResolution Program

Your rights and responsibilities when your client disputes your fees and the law requiresthat you arbitrate.

December 13, 2007 – 6:00 PMSpeakers: Martin L. Feinberg & Heidi Leibowitz

The series is free to all NYCLA members. All programs are held on Thursdays from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Home of Law, 14 Vesey St. (between Broadway and Church Street) NewYork. Refreshments are served. To register: email cfragliossi@nycla.org or fax this page to212-406-9252. Please check boxes of all programs you wish to attend.

NAME _______________________________________________________________________

EMAIL _______________________________________________________________________

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In May, NYCLA hosted an awards cer-emony for its third annual New York CityHigh School Essay Contest, with ten highschool students receiving honors.Overseen by the Association’s Law-Related Education Committee, chaired byHon. Richard Lee Price, Bronx SupremeCourt Justice, this year’s essay contestdrew a record 176 entries from 20 highschools throughout New York City. EdwinDavid Robertson, then NYCLA’sPresident, joined with Justice Price to pre-sent the awards. Deputy ChancellorAndres Alonso, New York CityDepartment of Education, and Judge AnnPfau, First Deputy Chief AdministrativeJudge of the Courts, were among those inattendance.

The essay topic this year was “What arethe pros and cons of permitting students tobring cell phones to school?” Each studentwrote an essay that was judged on thebasis of content and writing.

James Hounsell, a student atArchbishop Molloy High School inQueens, was the first-place prize winnerand received $500.00. The second-placeprize of $300.00 went to Melissa Eng ofJohn Bowne High School in Queens, thethird-place prize of $200.00 to MelissaReres of Bayside High School, in Queens,and the fourth-place prize of $100.00 wentto Sanjeevni Wanchoo of John BowneHigh School in Queens.

The following students receivedHonorable Mention: Tyree Alexander,August Martin High School, Queens;YuanGao, Bronx High School of Science, the

Bronx; Shalini Kishan, John Bowne HighSchool, Queens; Polina Pinkhasova,Shulamith High School for Girls,Brooklyn; Ian Rawdon, Curtis HighSchool, Staten Island; and Mercy Sabblah,Forest Hills High School, Queens.

First-Place Winning Essay

by James Hounsell, Archbishop MolloyHigh School, Queens, NY

What Are the Pros and Cons ofPermitting Students to Bring

Cell Phones to School?

The debate regarding the practicality and con-stitutionality of public school cell phone bans hasrecently come to the fore with the decision ofNew York City public schools to subject studentsto random searches with portable metal detectorsthis past May. With the original intent of findingweapons, this practice has led to the confiscationof many cell phones, which, along with all otherelectronic communication devices, have beenbanned in New York City public schools since1988. The confiscations have not gone withoutcontroversy, generating both praise and outragefrom the public. There are many arguments sup-porting the bans, but just as many vehementlycondemning them, including those of parents con-cerned with the safety of their children. In fact, asuit filed by eight parents of schoolchildrenagainst New York City Mayor MichaelBloomberg, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein andthe New York City Department of Education wasrecently brought before the New York StateSupreme Court.

In 1988, New York City was in the midst of adrug war and the City’s public schools were far

from exempt. Gang members used communica-tion devices such as beepers to coordinate drugdeals, fights and other gang activities inside schoolbuildings, which were becoming their safe haven.In an attempt to keep schools safe from the ragingdrug war, the City banned all electronic communi-cation devices in public schools. This policy hassince been interpreted to apply to more recenttechnological innovations such as cell phones.New York City’s policy is more stringent than thepolicies of most school districts around thecountry, as it is one of the only school districts toban cell phones from even entering school build-ings.

Opponents of the cell phone bans will arguethat we live in a post-9/11 world, a world whereinnocent civilians, including schoolchildren andtheir parents, have become potential terrorist tar-gets and drug dealers no longer pose the threatthey once did. Consequently, in the event of an

emergency similar to that of 9/11, children need tohave the means to quickly contact their parents.With the magic of 21st -century technology, cellphones provide that means and students can con-tact their parents with the simple push of a button.However, since cell phones are not permitted tobe brought into public schools, students lack themeans to contact their parents in the event that aterrorist attack does occur. In addition, studentsmay find themselves in dangerous situations trav-eling to and from school. Not being allowed tohave cell phones in school means that studentswon’t have their phones during their commuteand will consequently be unable to contact theirparents or law enforcement in an emergency.Many parents will argue that their children’sability to contact the appropriate people in thecase of an emergency was their reason for pur-

NYCLA hosts awards ceremony for highschool essay contest winners

Pictured (from left to right): Edwin David Robertson, then NYCLA President; JamesHounsell, Archbishop Molloy High School, first-place winner; Melissa Eng, JohnBowne High School, second-place winner; Melissa Reres, Bayside High School, third-place winner; Sanjeevni Wanchoo, John Bowne High School, fourth-place winner;and Hon. Richard Lee Price, Chair, Law-Related Education Committee.

See AWARDS CEREMONY, Page 15

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 15

Student Law ConferenceNathanson, Brian D. Rauer, Norman L.Reimer, Marie Richardson, LindsayStarr, Andrew R. Tulloch, Susan J.Walsh, Gary R. Weil and KarenZander. Marilyn J. Flood, NYCLACounsel and Executive Director of theNYCLA Foundation, served as editorin chief.

The June conference was the thirdin a series of presentations forManual users with more planned forthe 2007-2008 school year. Precedingthe conference workshops, there wasan award presentation to RonGilmore, a 10th-grade student at theHigh School of GraphicCommunication Arts in Manhattan,who designed the cover to theManual, followed by a keynoteaddress presented by Catherine A.Christian, NYCLA President.

The workshops and presenterswere: Careers in Law, presented byMarie Richardson, The Legal Aid

Society, Hon. Louis Crespo, SpecialReferee, New York Supreme Court,and Robert Evans, U.S. Marshal;Immigration and Citizenship, pre-sented by Eugene Glicksman, LawFirm of Glicksman & Cardoso; ChildAbuse and Neglect, presented by JillZuccardy, Women’s PrisonAssociation; Civil Rights, presented byCollin Bull, private practitioner, andJenny Rivera, New York State Officeof the Attorney General;Constitutional Law, presented byWilliam Natbony, Cadwalader,Wickersham & Taft LLP; StudentsAgainst Violence Initiative, presentedby Galen Kirkland, New York StateOffice of the Attorney General;Sexual Harassment, presented by AmyKatz, Legal Momentum;Environmental Issues, presented byLarry Carbone, Con Edison; CriminalLaw, presented by Michael Dougherty,Manhattan District Attorney’s Office;Hate Crimes, presented by Ivan J.Dominguez, Journalism Student

(former chair of NYCLA’s Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual and Transgender IssuesCommittee); CARE (Credit Abuse),presented by Sally Siconolfi, ArentFox LLP; Jury Selection, presented byAndrew Eibel, The Legal Aid Society,and Candace McLaren, ManhattanDistrict Attorney’s office; Stop/ArrestRights, presented by Deidre R. Moore,Law Office of Deidra R. Moore; andSearch and Seizure, presented by LouKlieger, private practitioner.

The NYCLA Foundation acknowl-edges with gratitude the generousfunding for the Youth Law EducationProject provided by the J. AronCharitable Foundation, Con Edison,Commission to Promote PublicConfidence in Judicial Elections, NewYork Women’s Bar AssociationFoundation, Inc., and The New YorkCommunity Trust.

The Manual can be downloaded fromNYCLA’s website by logging on to:http://www.nycla.org/pdf/manual.pdf.

From Page 1 Hubbard’s description of his colleague’searly history is also of interest.At Hughes’sNYCLA memorial, his partner describedan educational history in which Hugheswas often not in school because he waswaiting for his age cohort to catch up withhim. His father taught him Latin and Greekand his mother taught him mathematicsbefore he entered Colgate University at theage of 14. Graduating from Columbia LawSchool in 1884 with highest honors, he hadspent several years along the way doing pri-vate teaching and tutoring to earn enoughto further his education.

The Supreme Court was in session whenNYCLA’s Home of Law was opened in a cer-emony held on May 26, 1930. Unable to bepresent, Chief Justice Hughes sent a highlypersonal letter of regret to President WilliamNelson Cromwell, which was read at theopening ceremony. Among other sentimentsand congratulations, he said, “I cannot refrainfrom expressing my hope that this edifice willbe not only a well-equipped workshop, and aplace of agreeable contacts, but a symbol ofthe organized effort of the Bar to promote amore efficient administration of justice.”

Mr. Flanders is an author.

HughesFrom Page 11

chasing the cell phone, in the hopes that if anemergency did occur, the phone would prove tobe a vital lifeline. Also, if teachers are allowed tocarry cell phones to class, then why not students?Shouldn’t they enjoy the same right to protectthemselves in an emergency? In addition, cellphones are quite practical apart from emergen-cies, allowing students to let their parents knowthey have arrived at school safely as well asarrange rides home after school.

Despite this argument, supporters of the cellphone bans believe that the ability to contact par-ents in an emergency is far outweighed by the haz-ards of cell phone use that stem from studentmischief. In fact, a report released by the NewYork City Department of Education documented

2,168 behavioral incidents involving cell phones inthe first eight months of the past school year. Thepicture and text messaging capabilities of cellphones make it possible for students to cheat onexaminations, right under the noses of unsus-pecting teachers. The cheating has infiltratedhigher levels of learning as well. Recently, theCollege Board requested that high schools banstudents from carrying cell phones to AdvancedPlacement exams and several students werecaught using cell phones to cheat on anaccounting exam at the University of Maryland.In addition, several cases have surfaced in recentyears involving students taking inappropriatephotographs of students in locker rooms andbathrooms. The New York City Department ofEducation reported 16 instances of sexual harass-ment in all. Cell phones also tend to distract stu-

dents during school, as students often use them tosocialize with their friends or play games duringclass. Ringing cell phones disrupt classes and dis-tract both students and teachers. However, if cellphones can cause mischief, cheating and distrac-tion but are a vital lifeline, then wouldn’t anacceptable solution be to allow students to bringtheir phones to school for use during an emer-gency but agree to have them turned off duringclass? Most ban opponents find this to be anacceptable compromise and would not object topunishments imposed on students violating aphones-off policy.

It certainly appears that a phones-off policywould prevent much of the mischief that stemsfrom allowing students to bring cell phones toschool but school officials believe this compro-mise is unworkable. Not all students will complywith the phones-off policy and will continue tokeep their phones on while class is in sessiondespite the punishments incurred for violating thepolicy. It would be virtually impossible to ensurethat every student’s phone was turned off andattempts to do so would prove extremely difficult,requiring far greater security measures. However,ban opponents believe that schools should bewilling to take the necessary measures to ensurethat their students have phones to keep them safeduring emergencies, noting that a phones-offpolicy is, in fact, employed by many New YorkCity private schools. Many believe that a mutuallyattractive compromise would be for schools toinstall storage lockers for cell phones where stu-dents would be able to store their phones duringschool hours and pick them up at the end of theday. The phones would never enter the classroomand only be accessible to the student at the end ofthe day or in the event of an emergency occurringduring school hours. Perhaps schools could evenprofit from the installation of these storagelockers by charging a nominal fee for the service,a fee that many would be more than willing to pay(though some would say that it is the right of stu-dents to carry cell phones and a fee is unconstitu-tional). However, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein,having considered the compromise, holds that theinstallation of storage lockers would be tooexpensive and the system itself too complex toever be put into practice. Nevertheless, schoolofficials began considering whether lockers couldbe installed outside some of New York City’spublic schools in December of 2006.

Supporters of the ban deny that a cell phone isthe only means students have of contacting theirparents or law enforcement in the event of anemergency, pointing to the payphones locatedthroughout the city. However, opponents of theban argue that with the advent of cellular phones,payphones have become obsolete and there arefar fewer payphones than there once were. In

addition, city payphones are notorious for beingpoorly maintained. In an emergency where everysecond counts, the risk of attempting to use a dys-functional payphone (if one even happens to be inthe vicinity) is dangerous and, in the opinion ofmany, not a risk one should be forced to take.However, some argue that cell phones are just asunreliable, pointing to the tendency of cell phonesto lose service in certain locations such as thesubway. Another component of this aspect of thedebate is the cost. With payphones, 911 calls arefree of charge but if a student needs to contact hisor her parents, he may not be carrying the neces-sary change for use of the payphone. Cell phonesdon’t require a student to be carrying change; aslong as the phone has service, a call can be made.

However, cell phone ban supporters will arguethat the very act of allowing students to carry cellphones to schools itself facilitates violence. Manystudents have been assaulted by attackers insideand outside of school seeking to steal their valu-able cell phones. Along with iPods, cell phones arethe most frequently stolen items in schools, as theNew York City Department of Education reportdocumented 581 cell phone thefts. However, banopponents counter that allowing students to carrycell phones in case of emergency is worth the risk.

The framers of the Constitution never antici-pated the technological surge of modern times andit is unclear what their opinion would have beenregarding the searches. Many will argue that therandom metal detector probes constitute aninstance of unreasonable search and seizure, as theschools have no reason to suspect wrongdoing andare not required to produce a search warrant. Inaddition, the eight parents who filed the suit beforethe New York State Supreme Court argue that theban violates the constitutional rights of parents tokeep their children safe from harm. Ban sup-porters will argue that the searches are not unrea-sonable and are performed in the hopes of keepingstudents and teachers safe. To them, the searchesare akin to the constitutional searches conductedin public places around the country, including air-ports, subways and sports stadiums. Also, ban sup-porters believe that banning cell phones eliminatesa major detriment to the learning environmentand public schools are simply fulfilling their dutyto their students by providing them with an educa-tion free of distractions.

Since the arguments of ban supporters andopponents both have merit, the optimal solutionwould be a compromise that keeps students safeduring an emergency but also eliminates mischie-vous cell phone use. Perhaps the installation of cellphone lockers will prove to be the perfect solutionif a workable system can be established. When thecourts finally rule, they should seek a decision thatcan be accepted by all parties engaged in thisheated debate.

NYCLA hosts awards ceremony - first place winning essayFrom Page 14

change the practice for everyone in FamilyCourt, such as limits on the numbers of caseshandled by law guardians and a requirementfor the State Central Registry for ChildAbuse and Maltreatment clearances beforethe Family or Supreme Courts can issue eventemporary visitation orders to anyone. Wewill continue to strengthen our relationshipwith the Commissioner of the Office ofChildren and Family Services and will pub-lish one of our pro se litigant booklets.”

NANCY THOMSONAdministration for Children’s Services,Division of Family Court LegalServices (FCLS), AssociateCommissioner Co-Chair, Family Court and ChildWelfare Committee

Ms.Thomson has been associate commis-sioner of the Administration for Children’sServices, Division of Family Court LegalServices (FCLS) since 2000. She providessubstantive legal guidance and supervisionto FCLS supervising attorneys and staff onindividual cases and trial practice. She alsoparticipates in agency-wide reform initia-tives to ensure a safe, permanent home forchildren in the child welfare system andimprove overall performance of the Family

Court process. Ms. Thomson provides legalcounsel to child protective, preventive andfoster care program areas for individualcases through direct consultation and legalguidance on Family Court procedures andapplicable law. In collaboration with theOffice of Domestic Violence Policy andPlanning, she has developed trainings forattorneys by law enforcement, domestic vio-lence service providers and batterer-inter-vention programs, and conducted trainingsfor attorneys on decision making and peti-tion drafting in domestic violence cases.

In addition, she represents the agencyin collaborative initiatives with the NewYork City Family Court administrationand other Family Court stakeholders.

Previously, Ms. Thomson served as assis-tant general counsel to the agency,where shesupervised a unit of 40 attorneys and 20 sup-port staff litigating and preparing child abuseand neglect cases in Bronx Family Court.Sheprovided training and consultation on trialpractice, legal and agency policy, and theimplementation of the Adoption and SafeFamilies Act. Ms. Thomson is a graduate ofVanderbilt University School of Law.

Ms. Siegel is the former CommunicationsAssistant at the New York CountyLawyers’ Association.

Meet the ChairsFrom Page 6

SEPTEMBERWednesday, September 56:00-7:30PMCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS:MICROSOFT OUTLOOK1.5 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Skills;TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

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Monday, September 1011:00AM-12:00PMLIVEDGAR: LIFE OF A COMPANY1 MCLE Credit: .5 Skills, .5Professional Practice;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Wednesday, September 1210:30-11:30 AMLEXIS: BASIC1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Wednesday, September 1212:00–1:00 PMLEXIS: LITIGATION1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Friday, September 1410:00-11:00AMWESTLAW: LITIGATIONRESEARCH1 MCLE Credit; 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Monday, September 173:00-4:00PMWESTLAW: SECURITIES 1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Tuesday, September 1811:00AM-12:15PMBLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL:INTRODUCTORY CLASS1.5 MCLE Credits: 1 Skills; .5 LawPractice;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Wednesday, September 1910:00AM–12:30PMBANKRUPTCY COURT ELEC-TRONIC CASE FILING SYSTEM2.5 MCLE Credits: 2.5 Skills;TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

Thursday, September 203:00–4:00PMWESTLAW: ADVANCED1 MCLE Credit; 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Thursday, September 206:00-7:30PMINTERNET LEGAL

RESOURCES: AN OVERVIEW1.5 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Skills;TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

Wednesday, September 2610:00-11:00AMWESTLAW: TAX RESEARCH1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Thursday, September 272:00-3:00 PMWESTLAW: INTERNATIONALLAW RESEARCH1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

OCTOBERWednesday, October 36:00-7:30PMCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS:MICROSOFT EXCEL1.5 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Skills;TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

Tuesday, October 93:00–4:00PMWESTLAW: BEGINNER1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

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Member: FREENon-Member: FREE

Wednesday, October 1012:00–1:00PMLEXIS: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Thursday, October 116:00-7:30PMINTERNET LEGALRESOURCES: AN OVERVIEW1.5 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Skills;TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

Monday, October 1511:00–12:00PMLIVEDGAR: PRECEDENTRESEARCH AND DRAFTPREPARATION1 MCLE Credit; 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

Wednesday, October 1710:00AM–12:30PMBANKRUPTCY COURT ELEC-TRONIC CASE FILING SYSTEM2.5 MCLE Credits: 2.5 Skills;TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

Wednesday, October 176:00–7:30PMINTERNET LEGALRESOURCES: IMMIGRATION1.5 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Skills;

TransitionalMember: $65Non-Member: $85Non-Legal Staff: $35

Thursday, October 1810:00-11:00AMWESTLAW: FAMILY LAWRESEARCH1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Thursday, October 182:00-3:00PMWESTLAW: INTERNATIONALLAW RESEARCH1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Tuesday, October 2311:00AM-12:15PMBLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL:INTRODUCTORY CLASS1.5 MCLE Credits: 1 Skills; .5 LawPractice;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Wednesday, October 243:00-4:00PMWESTLAW: EMPLOYMENTLAW RESEARCH1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

Wednesday, October 3110:00-11:00AMWESTLAW: INTERMEDIATE1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills;TransitionalMember: FREENon-Member: FREE

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 / N e w Y o r k C o u n t y L a w y e r 17

DIRECTIONS TO NYCLANYCLA is located at 14 Vesey Street between Broad-way and Church, across the street from St. Paul’s Chapeland around the corner from City Hall.By Subway: 2 and 3 to Park Place;A, C and E to Cham-bers Street; 4, 5 and M to Fulton Street.By Bus: M103 to City Hall; M1 and M6 to Fulton Street

SUBSTANCE ABUSE HOTLINEAttorneys, judges, law students and membersof their immediate families can get confiden-tial help with alcohol or substance-abuseproblems 24 hours a day, seven days a week,by calling the toll-free hotline 800-255-0569.

September 1-15Joseph A. Vogel

212-997-7634

September 16-30 Mark Bower212-240-0700

October 1-15Martin Minkowitz

212-806-6256

ETHICS HOTLINE

*Questions to the Hotline are limited to an inquiring attorney’s prospective conduct. The Hotline doesnot answer questions regarding past conduct, the conduct of other attorneys, questions that are being lit-igated or before a disciplinary committee or ethics committee, or questions of law. This notation shall notbe construed to contain all Hotline guidelines. For a full discussion of Ethics Hotline guidelines, please see“Guidelines on NYCLA’s Ethics Hotline, September 2006, New York County Lawyer, Vol. 2, No. 7.

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Jeff: One thing about the meetings – we try tokeep them under an hour. We understand thatmembers are volunteering their time, so we’redetermined to stay focused and efficient duringthe meetings. I think everyone appreciates that.

Do you enjoy being co-chairs of the YoungLawyers’ Section?Jeff: I no longer qualify as a young lawyer, butmy involvement in the Section has kept mecurrent and in tune with the ever-changingwants and needs of the bar’s newest members.It’s actually an honor for me to attempt toguide and influence young lawyers embarkingon their legal careers.

Brett: I feel the same.Time is an issue for everyworking lawyer but the sense of accomplish-ment after putting together a successful pro-gram is very rewarding. I remember thefrustrations and fears I faced as a young lawyer.We’re really just trying to help our membersfind their way. Come to our next few meetings

and find out for yourself!

To join the Young Lawyers’ Section andother NYCLA Committees, log on to:www.nycla.org, click on Members Only, Joina Committee.

Jeffrey M. Kimmel is a partner in theManhattan firm of Salenger Sack, Schwartz &Kimmel. He is a proven, experienced trialattorney and actively manages the firm’smedical malpractice department. Jeff hasearned the highest ranking among attorneysby Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer ReviewRatings Service.

Brett Ward is an associate at Blank Rome. Heconcentrates his practice in the area of matri-monial and family law, counseling clients inareas such as negotiation and litigation ofactions for divorce, paternity and custody.Brett provides pro bono legal services toclients of Sanctuary for Families and was a2005 recipient of Sanctuary for FamiliesAssociate’s Committee’s Award forExcellence in Pro Bono Advocacy.

Young Lawyers’ Section –plans for 2007-2008

From Page 4

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