LESSONS FROM VIRGINIA TECH FOR ATTORNEYS, SCHOOLS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, STUDENTS AND FAMILIES

When:	Thursday November 1st, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Where:	New York City Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street, between 5th &6th Aves

The VA Tech tragedy focused attention on the mental health and security issues facing today's colleges and universities, and the respective roles of students, parents, counselors, campuses, and law enforcement authorities. Privacy law protections are widely misunderstood, and there are no clear guidelines for schools’ responsibility and legal liability when students–at–risk endanger themselves or others. Anti–discrimination law comes into play when well–intended but punitive campus security practices discriminate against students with actual or perceived mental illnesses. These are recurring issues, as evidenced by recent shootings at Delaware State University, the gun arrest and hospitalization of a St. John's University student, The Wall Street Journal's report of a mother's quest for information about her missing son from M.I.T., and a recent student suicide at New York University. The Mental Health Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association has assembled a multi'disciplinary panel of experts to clarify the issues and propose solutions. Speakers:

• Carolyn Reinach Wolf, Esq., Program Moderator; Senior Partner, Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Greenberg, Formato & Einiger, LLP, and Founder, Campus Behavioral Health Risk Consultants, LLC.
• Karen A. Bower, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney, The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Washington, D.C.
• Kenneth Elmore, Esq., Dean of Students, Boston University, Boston, MA.
• Ralph Hatley, Security Operational Solutions, Inc., Bartlett, TN; formerly Director of Public Security, Rhodes College.
• Alison K. Malmon, Founder & Executive Director, Active Minds, Inc., dedicated to raising the student voice of mental health awareness on college campuses.
• Victor Schwartz, MD, University Dean of Students, formerly, Director, Student Counseling and Mental Health Services, Yeshiva University, New York, NY.

This program is sponsored by the Mental Health Law Committee of the NYC Bar Association, Donna Marie Werner, Esq., Chair; Carolyn Reinach Wolf, Esq., Moderator; Gina S. Anderson, Esq., Donna Marie Werner, Esq., and Carolyn Reinach Wolf, Esq., Program Co-Chairs.

Please RSVP by calling 212-382-6713 or emailing ompi@nycbar.org. Space is limited.

About the Association
The New York City Bar Association (www.nycbar.org) was founded in 1870, and since then has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the profession, promoting reform of the law, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association continues to work for political, legal and social reform, while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities.