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Association in the News
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“A startling petition arrived at the New York City Bar Association in October 2008, signed by 100 men, all locked up without criminal charges in the middle of Manhattan. In vivid if flawed English, it described cramped, filthy quarters where dire medical needs were ignored and hungry prisoners were put to work for $1 a day….Galvanized by the petition, the bar association sent volunteers into the jail to offer legal counsel to detainees — a strategy the Obama administration has embraced as it tries to fix the entire detention system.”
The New York Times
November 2 nd, 2009
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“A 2007 report by the New York City Bar Association said the Hudson Yards financing scheme “bears an eerie resemblance to the development of Battery Park City,” which nearly defaulted and helped plunge the city into a fiscal crisis in the 1970s. And, it asked, if development of the West Side is inevitable, ‘why should costly artificial economic incentives be offered to encourage that development?’”
The New York Times
October 28 th, 2009
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A "disaster" of an experiment to streamline the Bronx courts has led to a logjam that's delaying justice in hundreds of cases. The backlog is so severe that the number of felony cases brought to trial annually has plunged by half over the last five years…When the merger began, there were 48 judges. Now there are 40, and only 20 to 25 are available at any given time because of vacations and required night and weekend shifts, according to a June report from the New York City Bar Association.
New York Daily News
October 11 th, 2009
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In comments prepared by its Council on Judicial Administration, the New York City Bar also urged that the [State Council on Judicial Administration] scrap the recommendation that its members meet with governors to discuss outreach and recruitment efforts. In addition, the city bar asked that the commission delete a proposal that the nominating panel's chair form a search committee comprised of some of its members to solicit recommendations from the legal community to enhance outreach. The city bar council, chaired by Jay G. Safer of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, contended that formation of the subcommittee could sow discontent on the commission as a whole and give the appearance that the chair has inordinate authority over the search and screening process.
The New York Law Journal
October 2 nd, 2009
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“Leslie Crocker Snyder, Cy Vance and Richard Aborn face off Tuesday in a Democratic primary that will effectively determine who replaces Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. His office has dealt with defendants ranging from football star Plaxico Burress to the son of socialite Brooke Astor and has been the model for television's ‘Law & Order.’… All three candidates are striving to claim a progressive mantle in a Democratic contest that comes with crime rates near historic lows. At a New York City Bar Association and New York Law Journal forum Thursday, they stressed their interest in sending some nonviolent offenders to treatment instead of jail and reducing the possibility of wrongful convictions.”
Associated Press
September 12th, 2009
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“The Securities and Exchange Commission will allow its enforcement division to subpoena documents and compel testimony without the approval of the agency's five commissioners, a major grant of new powers that is likely to fuel faster and more frequent investigations. Enforcement division director Robert Khuzami made the announcement in a speech on Wednesday to the New York City Bar Association. ‘[I]f defense counsel resist the voluntary production of documents or witnesses, or fail to be complete and timely in responses or engage in dilatory tactics, there will very likely be a subpoena on your desk the next morning,’ he said.”
The Washington Post
August 6th, 2009
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“ New York City’s bar association says Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is ‘highly qualified’ to be a justice. The group calls Sotomayor exceptionally qualified on all its key criteria for a high court nominee. It says she has a formidable intellect, approaches her decisions carefully, is unbiased, and respects the powers of the legislative and executive branches.”
Associated Press
June 30th, 2009
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“The merger of Criminal and Supreme courts in the Bronx has created "serious problems" and "must be re-evaluated" if additional judicial resources are not made available, a report issued yesterday by the New York City Bar concluded. The report recommends that "strong and immediate attempts" be taken to handle a growing backlog in felony cases… "Unless and until it can be demonstrated that merger can be achieved without deleterious effects on the adjudication of felony cases," the report states, "it must be deemed a failure which should not be extended to other counties.’”
New York Law Journal
June 11 th, 2009
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“ New York’s 20 million citizens deserve the same kind of clarity as to who would succeed to the governorship if a vacancy arises. That is why the New York City Bar Association has proposed legislation requiring the governor, with the consent of the Legislature, to appoint a lieutenant governor when the position is vacant. The governor, working with an executive partner, could be reasonably assured that his policies would be continued by a successor. And there would be no danger that internecine turmoil within the State Senate would affect succession — even when a governor temporarily leaves the state.”
New York Times
Op-Ed by Jerry H. Goldfeder, Chair, Election Law Committee, New York City Bar Association
June 10 th, 2009
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A "disaster" of an experiment to streamline the Bronx courts has led to a logjam that's delaying justice in hundreds of cases. The backlog is so severe that the number of felony cases brought to trial annually has plunged by half over the last five years…When the merger began, there were 48 judges. Now there are 40, and only 20 to 25 are available at any given time because of vacations and required night and weekend shifts, according to a June report from the New York City Bar Association.
New York Daily News
October 11 th, 2009
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In comments prepared by its Council on Judicial Administration, the New York City Bar also urged that the [State Council on Judicial Administration] scrap the recommendation that its members meet with governors to discuss outreach and recruitment efforts. In addition, the city bar asked that the commission delete a proposal that the nominating panel's chair form a search committee comprised of some of its members to solicit recommendations from the legal community to enhance outreach. The city bar council, chaired by Jay G. Safer of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, contended that formation of the subcommittee could sow discontent on the commission as a whole and give the appearance that the chair has inordinate authority over the search and screening process.
The New York Law Journal
October 2 nd, 2009
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“Last May, the New York Fed teamed with The Association of the Bar of the City of New York on a pilot program that would let big-firm lawyers help residents facing foreclosure. At the time of its launch, the program, called the Lawyers Foreclosure Intervention Network ( LFIN), stressed waivers for firms that represent financial institutions; the expectation was most of the lawyers would come from such firms. But a year later, the program's participants are largely solo practitioners and small firms, with only a couple lawyers from large firms.”
The American Lawyer Daily
May 22nd, 2009 |
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“ New York legal experts who support same-sex marriage gathered in a conference room at the New York City Bar on Thursday evening for a panel discussion on the effort to legalize it in the state. The discussion was wide-ranging and fast-paced, touching on the rapid legislative and judicial developments that have resulted in same-sex marriage becoming legal in five states — Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa and Maine — even as the State Assembly in Albany is poised to take up the matter.”
New York Times City Room Blog
May 8th, 2009
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“This economy, of course, is also causing hardships for lawyers and law graduates, who are either losing their jobs or seeing their hiring deferred in unprecedented numbers. Many of these lawyers and graduates want to work and to help those who are less fortunate. There is a great opportunity here. Many firms would like to place lawyers who would otherwise be working for them with organizations that can provide the necessary structure to help these lawyers meet legal services needs while maintaining their legal skills. These organizations would be delighted to add those lawyers to their staffs. Many firms have announced, and others are considering, providing stipends so these lawyers can work for up to a year in a legal services setting, with the expectation they will then join the firm.
”What remains is to match the lawyers with the opportunities. That's where the City Bar comes in. In March, we surveyed legal services providers on whether they had positions available for lawyers seconded by law firms. We received responses as to more than 70 available positions. We then hosted a meeting for law firm pro bono coordinators and these providers to discuss the various issues involved in setting up these arrangements. We also asked the firms to advise the eligible lawyers and graduates of the opportunities available. As word of our efforts grew, we learned of additional opportunities available, including some in the public sector, and we are making those known as well.”
New York Law Journal
Letter from City Bar President, Patricia M. Hynes
May 1st, 2009 |
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“With foreclosures and evictions on the rise and consumers increasingly saddled with debt, New York City officials are enlisting attorneys to volunteer their time for a new pro bono effort.
Approximately 40 representatives from pro bono organizations, the court system, several bar associations and city law schools gathered Monday at City Hall to kick off ‘NYC Legal Outreach.’
“…the need for attorneys to help homeowners facing foreclosure is ‘tremendous,’ said Lynn M. Kelly, the executive director of the City Bar Justice Center, which launched the Foreclosure Project in June 2008. Kelly also spoke at Monday's meeting.”
New York Law Journal
April 30th, 2009
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“As law firms continued to shed jobs, more than 125 lawyers gathered in New York City on Monday night to get tips on how to find a new job.
At the offices of the New York City Bar Association, recruiters and job search executives tried to counsel the room of lawyers on how to get the few jobs remaining in this dismal economy. On a day when law firms ranging from White & Case to K&L Gates laid off 300 lawyers, the well-timed session was particularly bleak. Some of the lawyers in the room had been laid off from firms themselves.”
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“More than 100 former clients of a man accused of falsely posing as an immigration lawyer thronged the 19th-century marble lobby of the New York City Bar Association on Monday night, drawn by an offer of free advice from real lawyers.
Filing upstairs, the clients waited under chandeliers and portraits of legal giants, then jammed conference rooms where 54 volunteer lawyers, working in pairs, tried to untangle the messes left in their immigration cases by the accused man, Victor M. Espinal.”
The New York Times
February 25th, 2009
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“Confronting what it says has been a ‘sharp increase’ in the number of people who come to court without an attorney, the New York City Bar Association is reminding lawyers that they have an ethical obligation to self-represented individuals adverse to their clients.
Moreover, the city bar's recently issued Formal Ethics Opinion 02-2009 stresses that ‘refraining from misleading or deceptive conduct’ when dealing with self-represented litigants may not be enough to satisfy that obligation. ‘For some self-represented persons, further action may be necessary,’ it advises.”
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“Illegal immigrants in deportation proceedings do not have a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel, according to an opinion by Attorney General Michael Mukasey reversing a position followed by many federal courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals for the last two decades.
The opinion is a ‘cruel turn of events at the end of this administration,’ Suzanne Tomatore, director of the New York City Bar Justice Center's Immigrant Women and Children Project, said in an interview. ‘It really strips away many, many years of legal precedent. It is a complete and utter disregard of due process.’”
New York Law Journal
January 12th, 2009 |
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“In particular, the New York bar has recognized the enormous need for pro bono assistance and is rising to the occasion, as it has done so many times before. The Division of Housing and Community Renewal is distributing nearly $20 million to dozens of organizations around the state to provide foreclosure prevention services. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has provided funding to underwrite the Bar Association Foreclosure Network of New York City, a cooperative pro bono effort by lawyers from the New York City Bar Association, Brooklyn Bar Association and Queens County Bar Association. The New York State Bar Association is working with local bar groups to provide free training to hundreds of volunteer lawyers, including 250 Queens and Brooklyn lawyers this month who have pledged to accept pro bono clients as a condition of training. The New York County Lawyers' Association has also recruited and trained attorneys.”
New York Law Journal
December 19th, 2008
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“From my vantage point as the executive director of the New York City Bar Association for over a decade, I am struck by what an extraordinary supporter of lawyers and of their good works Judge Kaye has been. She is always available to bar associations and other legal groups to speak about the courts and access to justice, and to develop and participate in programs focusing on important areas of the law.
If there is an award to present for selfless work, Chief Judge Kaye is there to present it. If there is an important cause that is supported by lawyers, such as the Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert, she is there to support it. She is unmatched in her support of pro bono, having, for example, provided new opportunities for volunteer attorneys through the New York County Supreme Court's pro se office.
Superlative jurist, brilliant manager, community leader: They all describe our chief inspirer, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye.”
New York Law Journal
Tribute by Barbara Berger Opotowsky, Executive Director of the New York City Bar
December 15th, 2008
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“Judith S. Kaye, the longest-serving chief judge in New York State history, who is retiring at the end of the year, had some parting advice on Saturday for a roomful of lawyers aspiring to become judges: Don’t waste one minute.
Judge Kaye’s remarks came during one of her last speeches as the chief judge of the state’s highest court. She is stepping down at the end of the month because she is 70, the mandatory retirement age for judges. She spoke at a conference sponsored by the New York City Bar Association called ‘How to Become a Judge,’ an event aimed at demystifying the process of becoming a federal or state judge and increasing the number of women and minorities who serve.”
The New York Times
December 7th, 2008
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“When the Association of the Bar of the City of New York hosted a session in mid-October to train commercial lawyers to handle pro bono foreclosure cases, they expected about 70 to 80 people to show up.
‘We ended up with 245,’ says Lynn Kelly, executive director of the City Bar Justice Center, the public interest arm of the city bar association. ‘It took us completely by surprise.’ Fortunately someone was able to rush to the corner copy shop to photocopy extra training materials. Still, says Kelly, ‘we didn't have enough food for them all.’
If there's a silver lining to this economic meltdown, it's that a lot of lawyers at large firms have time on their hands to do pro bono work. And unlike the last recession, they're taking advantage of the slowdown. ‘They're not doing structured finance deals, so they're becoming available to do some of this financial work,’ says Kelly.”
The American Lawyer
December 2008
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One of the world’s largest bar associations has conferred its Honourary Membership on Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court… “This is a very proud moment for our association,” Ms. Hynes told Chaudhry as a large gathering of lawyers and other guests gave him a standing ovation.
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The New York City Bar Association released its evaluations for judicial candidates running in the Nov. 4 elections in all five boroughs and there are two of particular note.
The Bar, which only offers two ratings – “approved” and “not approved” – did not approve Atanasio “by reason of the candidate’s failure to affirmatively demonstrate that he possesses the requisite qualifications for the court for which he is a candidate.”
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The Supreme Court Historical Society and the Historical society of the courts of the State of New York presented “Ladies of Legend: The First Generation of American Women Attorneys,” a lecture by political scientist and author Jill Norgren on Monday at the New York City Bar Association. On hand for the event, from left are city bar president Patricia Hynes, a senior counsel at Allen & Overy; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who introduced the speaker; and Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, who opened the program, which was attended by some 425 people.
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The Lawyers’ Foreclosure Intervention Network (LFIN), the brainchild of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and sponsored jointly with the New York City Bar Justice Center, is a volunteer program for attorneys to represent the most desperate homeowners facing foreclosure.
Along with the hundreds of lawyers who have volunteered for the program, I attended the mandatory two-day, eight-hour training session on October 21st and 22nd. Many more lawyers showed up on a “walk-in” basis. The room was so crowded that there were lawyers sitting on the floor.
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Lynn M. Kelly, the executive director of the City Bar Justice Center, a pro bono arm of the New York City Bar Association, said the city’s Lawyers’ Foreclosure Intervention Network (which her center co-sponsors) is thriving in terms of interest among small firms and solo practitioners. “We have all these volunteers,” she said. However, “we’re hopeful that more people will come forward from the [large] firms, because they have a lot of resources and a lot of muscle.”
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More opposition emerged on Tuesday afternoon to a plan by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and members of the City Council to rescind term limits by legislation and allow the mayor to run for a third term. The 23,000-member New York City Bar said the matter should be put before the voter, while a state senator said he would introduce a bill in Albany to require such a vote.
The bar association issued a strongly worded statement:
“It is critically important that voters have confidence that when they vote on a matter, it counts. Taking the decision on a change in term limits away from the voters who have twice voted on them can only serve to engender cynicism regarding the political process, derogate the referendum process and potentially discourage voter participation in the future.”
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Thomas C. Baxter, general counsel and executive vice president for the legal group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, announced that the New York Fed would cosponsor a pilot program to provide borrowers with limited pro bono representation for mortgage counseling, negotiation, and bankruptcy filings. Administered by the City Bar Justice Center of the New York City Bar Association, the proposed citywide Lawyers’ Foreclosure Intervention Network (LFIN) would help homeowners at all income levels.
Lynn Kelly, executive director of the City Bar Justice Center, says that since June about six cases a week have been coming to LFIN. “We’ve already had 27 foreclosure cases,” she says, “and all involved litigation.”
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Addys Lamb, a Manhattan postal employee, is trying to hold onto his two-bedroom at 300 West 135th Street…He has also sought help from the New York City Bar Association’s Lawyer’s Foreclosure Intervention Network. His lawyer, Diego Velazquez, was able to delay a hearing on the foreclosure last week and is in negotiations with Mr. Lamb’s lender.
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In April, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s standing Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics issued an informal opinion regarding homeowner representation by firms that represent financial institutions…The bar found there was a potential for a conflict of interest, but that it could be handled either by referral or waiver…The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the City Bar Justice Center are sponsoring a pro bono legal services effort called the Lawyers’ Foreclosure Intervention Network that pairs homeowners at risk of foreclosure with attorneys and certified law students.
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A trio of bar groups yesterday announced the formation of the Bar Association Foreclosure Network of New York City, a cooperative pro bono effort by lawyers in three boroughs…The network is an outgrowth of a city bar project in May in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in which some 125 lawyers were recruited to counsel New Yorkers facing loss of their homes due to the subprime mortgage crisis.
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As part of its push to legalize gay marriage in New York State, the Pride Agenda joined with the New York City Bar Association to mine state and local law books and find privileges reserved for married couples, and came up with 1,324 items.
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Eastern District Judge Jack B. Weinstein reads the inscription on one of the New York City Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Awards for Capital Representation at a ceremony Monday at the bar group’s headquarters. More than 200 attorneys and some 30 law firms that have provided significant assistance in capital cases were honored with the awards, which were first given in 1998. This year marks only the second time the honors were given. Judge Weinstein gave the evening’s keynote address.
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US District Court Judge and longtime Brooklynite Jack Weinstein was presented with the Thurgood Marshall Award, which is named after the iconic judge best known for his victory in the monumental school-segregation case, Brown v. Board of Education.
The Thurgood Marshall award ceremony was held at the New York City Bar Association on 44th Street in Manhattan. Approximately 200 people attended the event, filling the landmark meeting hall.
The ceremony was held in honor of Judge Weinstein, who has dedicated his life and career to promoting and practicing the importance of free-thinking and independence in the United States judicial system.
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The Leader of the Lawyers’ Revolt in Pakistan last year that challenged President Musharraf’s power, Aitzaz Ahsan, criticized the Bush administration for not speaking out against Mr. Musharraf’s stance toward the judiciary in Pakistan.
Last November, Mr. Musharraf fired the 17-member Supreme Court of Pakistan, putting some members, including its chief justice, under house arrest. Speaking at the New York City Bar Association, Mr. Ahsan said there was “not a word or whimper of concern” from America about the school-age children of the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who were also imprisoned at home behind barbed wire.
In his speech, Mr. Ahsan said the security of an independent judiciary in Pakistan was an important bulwark against “Talibanization” there. A failure of the civil justice system in Pakistan, Mr. Ahsan warned, could turn people toward extremists willing to provide “rough justice.”
The New York Sun
July 2nd, 2008
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The Editor of the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel interviews Patricia M. Hynes, newly elected President of the New York City Bar Association and Senior Counsel at Allen & Overy LLP about her record of public service and her hopes for the Bar under her leadership.
A major professional milestone for Ms. Hynes is her service as an Assistant US Attorney in the United State’s Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan from 1967 to 1982. “Working in a prosecutor’s office whose clients were the United States government and its agencies and doing both civil cases and criminal prosecutions was a wonderful experience professionally,” she says.
During her presidency, Ms. Hynes hopes to “promote access to justice in keeping with the long history of the Bar Association” by “enlarging upon pro bono activities of the City Bar Justice Center and also by supporting the funding efforts for the betterment of the justice system.”
The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
July 2008
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Following on the heels of Gov. David Paterson’s order for state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages, some New York couples are rushing to head down the aisle in California, where they can legally wed.
“Same-sex couples have realized a very important advance in their legal status as married couples in New York,” said Allen A. Drexel, a family law attorney and a co-chairperson of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Rights Committee of the New York City Bar Association.
Drexel co-edited “1,324 Reasons for Marriage Equality”, a New York City Bar Association report that is cited in the governor’s executive order. The bar report identifies more than 1,000 state policies and regulations that could change under the agency-spanning directive.
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The National Law Journal named Preeta D. Bansal as one of the fifty most influential minority lawyers in America on May 26th. Bansal is a member of the National Advisory Council of the North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA).
Bansal heads the appellate litigation practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York. She recently won one of the largest constitutional takings cases at the United States Appeals Court for the Second Circuit, and currently serves as a policy advisor to Senator Barack Obama. She also serves on the board of numerous public service and governmental organizations, including the National Women’s Law Center, New York City Campaign Finance Board, and the New York City Bar Justice Center.
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The Lawyers’ Orchestra of the New York City Bar Association, founded in 1996 by lawyer and oboist David Greenwald, played its last concert on June 21st at Fordham University. The orchestra has performed three major concerts a year, sponsored monthly Friday evening chamber music performances at the City Bar, and even dropped its hourly fees to give free concerts to residents at nursing homes and hospitals around the city.
Given the pressure cooker of its members’ work day, the orchestra has also been a creative outlet for lawyers happy to trade their legal briefs for Bach, memoranda for Mozart.
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The New York Civil Liberties Union has won a round in its two-year battle to gain access to an electronic stop-and-frisk database that it contends will shed light on alleged racial profiling tactics employed by the New York Police Department.
In an amicus brief on behalf of the NYCLU, the New York City Bar Association wrote in January that “the Rand Report raises more issues than it resolves and should serve as the beginning, not the end, of the process for reviewing the NYPD’s methods relating to investigatory detention.”
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Patricia
M. Hynes, who was set last night to become
the 63rd president of the New York City Bar
Association, brings to her new post a long
commitment to public service.
She
has served on numerous boards and commissions
over the past two decades. With respect to
judicial nominations alone, she has served
on committees that screen candidates for mayoral
appointments in New York City; federal appointments
throughout the nation, including the U.S. Supreme
Court, and magistrate judges in the Southern
District.
New York Law Journal
May 29,
2008
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The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the
City Bar Justice Center are joining forces
to help New Yorkers in danger of losing their
homes to foreclosure.
The two organizations today announced the formation
of the Lawyers’ Foreclosure Intervention
Network, a pro bono pilot program that will
marshal the resources of the city’s legal
community to assist residents facing foreclosure.
Crain’s New York Business
May 27, 2008
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“[J]udges haven’t received raises
in nearly a decade, while the cost of living
has risen at least 30 percent,” said
Kamins, the president of the New York City
bar association and former president of the
Kings County Criminal Bar Association. “[O]n
the day a law school graduate is admitted to
the bar and joins a large firm, that ... person
makes a salary in excess of what is made by
the chief judge of the state.”
May 1, 2008
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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About
700 lawyers rallied Tuesday afternoon in front
of New York Supreme Court in Manhattan to show
support for lawyers and judges in Pakistan
battling for the restoration of the rule of
law.
Addressing
the throng that poured down the courthouse
steps and spilled onto the sidewalk, Barry
Kamins, president of the New York City Bar
Association, said the rally was called "to
embolden" the Pakistani lawyers and judges
who have been "physically manning barricades
and trying to face down an entire army."
New York Law Journal
November 14, 2007
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Lawyers in Pakistan have found an ally in
their fight for the restoration of the judiciary
- the New York City and State Bar Associations
- among the largest, oldest and most prestigious
associations of lawyers in the United States.
They are extremely busy and charge by the hour
but hundreds of lawyers from law firms across
Manhattan took time out to gather on the steps
of the New York County Courthouse to protest
the arrest and detention of thousands of lawyers
and judges under emergency rule in Pakistan.
New Delhi Television
November 14, 2007
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Today, the New York City Bar presented a letter
to Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the president of
Pakistan, urging him to reverse his decision
to fire justices of the Supreme Court, impose
emergency rule, crack down on protesters and
detain lawyers and other activists without
charges.
New York Times
November 7, 2007
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The New York City Bar Association is pushing
the city council to ease a police code that
defines any gathering of 50 or more people
as a "parade" requiring a permit
from the police department.
"The police will inevitably engage in
a wide degree of selective and discretionary
enforcement, which has the very real potential
for becoming a means for suppressing particular
points of view," the group's president,
Barry Kamins, warned in the letter to Council
Speaker Christine Quinn.
New York Sun
October 19, 2007
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To the Editor:
Members of the bar were appalled by the suggestion of merit pay for judges based upon holdings in cases, in two recent Sun editorials ["Judge Sues for a Raise," April 11, 2008, and "Overpaid Judges," May 2, 2008].
One of the oldest, most established principles in American law is the doctrine of judicial independence. That is, judges ought to decide cases free from the interference of politics and public opinion, and without worry of incurring sanctions for their decisions.
Merit pay for judges depending on the popularity of their decisions would be the beginning of the end of judicial independence.
As former chief justice Earl Warren wrote, it is in the public's interest "that the judges should be at liberty to exercise their functions with independence and without fear of consequences."
The New York City Bar Association supports judicial pay increases on the premise that fair salaries are necessary to attract and retain a qualified and dedicated judiciary. Judicial independence is not for sale.
Barry Kamins,
President
New York City Bar Association
The New York Sun
May 8, 2008 |
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[The U.S. Department of Justice] accuses lawyers of provoking unrest among the detainees and threatening camp security.Barry M. Kamins, the bar group’s president, deemed it an unjust insult that could not be taken lying down. His is one of the oldest and largest associations of lawyers in the country, with more than 23,000 members...
"Guantanamo has developed into a symbol of abuse, mistreatment and injustice in the eyes of the entire world," Mr. Kamins said. "The practices tolerated there have done incalculable damage to the reputation of the United States as an advocate of fundamental justice and the rule of law."
The New York Times
May 11, 2007
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Our strongly held view is that the best way to select justices–and all judges–is through a commission–based appointment system. We believe this provides the highest–quality judiciary. We recognize that this change would require a constitutional amendment, and at least in the interim the court decision must be addressed. We would much prefer a reformed judicial convention system to open primaries, which have the worst fund–raising implications.
Barry Kamins, President
New York City Bar Association
Crain's New York Business
January 22, 2007
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Barry Kamins is New York’s latest legatee and legend...The fact that he’s become the 62nd president of a prestigious organization whose members include 23,000 of the city’s 75,000 lawyers isn’t what’s made him a legend. Rather, it’s the fact that in the 136–year history of the bar association — the largest of any city in America — there has never been a president from outside Manhattan until Mr. Kamins came along...
The New York Sun
July 12, 2006
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Last month, the New York City Bar published a policy paper stating that sex offender civil commitment laws could easily be abused and that "misplaced fears" could keep sex offenders incarcerated for years after their sentence and could represent a threat to civil liberties.
The New York Times
February 6, 2006
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Last
week’s Federal Court ruling, which
struck down as unconstitutional New York’s
decades-old system of electing state Supreme
Court justices, marked the culmination of more
than a century of calls to break the stranglehold
of party bosses over our state courts. Reformers
should take a well-deserved bow – and
then start running for office.There may never
be a better chance than right now to put a
crop of honest, independent men and women on
the bench. Federal Judge John Gleeson has ordered
open party primaries for Supreme Court, the
state’s general trial
court. Gleeson also abolished judicial conventions,
which were nothing more than rubber stamps
on the patronage picks of county bosses …
For New York, that’s revolutionary. In 1847, our state became the second
(after Mississippi) to choose judges by popular vote – but the elections
quickly became bogged down in political corruption. By 1870, according to a history
of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, “the decline of
quality on the bench under the elective system and the necessity for reversing
this trend had been among the chief reasons for founding the Association.”
Daily News
January 31, 2006
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For the first time in many years, the New
York City Bar Association looks ahead to the
2006 legislative session with optimism, albeit
a cautious one. From Assembly rules reform,
to budget, public authorities and lobbying
reform in 2005, change toward a better government
is a real possibility … Whether this
is a sign of a new Albany where productivity
and reform rule the day, or just a lucky break
fueled by last year’s intense public
pressure to fix Albany, remains to be seen
[said Jayne Bigelsen, director of Communications
and Public Affairs at the New York City Bar
Association].
New York Law Journal
January 9, 2006
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The City Bar Justice Center received the Distinguished
Public Service Award from the American Immigration
Law Foundation at the group’s Annual
Achievement Awards Ceremony at the Marriott
Marquis on Thursday.
New York Law Journal
December 14, 2005
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Thirty of the 55 large Manhattan law firms
asked by the New York City Bar Association
to endorse its aspirational “Statement
of Pro Bono Principles” did so yesterday.
Included in the statement is a pledge that
signatory firms perform 50 or more hours per
lawyer per year. A “substantial majority” of
those hours should be in the cause of civil
legal help for the poor – or about 30
hours, said Bettina B. Plevan, city bar president.
New York Law Journal
November 30, 2005
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Fresh from his big win on Tuesday, Mayor Bloomberg
is launching a new push aimed at changing the
way the city elects most judges – a secretive
process largely controlled by party bosses
and long riddled by scandal … It’s
not the first time Bloomberg has called for
changing the city’s arcane method of
electing judges. He first did so in May 2003
in a speech before the Association of the Bar
of the City of New York, and more recently
during his campaign.
Daily News
November 13, 2005
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As Scott Horton [Chair, International Law
Committee, New York City Bar Association] reminded
us on Amy Goodman’s syndicated program, Democracy
Now!, the vice president, back in 2002, “was
making the rounds of the talk shows and talking
about the need to use ‘the dark arts.’ He
was clearly advocating torture, and he was
advocating it within the CIA and later the
Defense Department.”
Nat Hentoff
The Village Voice
November 11, 2005
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As the Brooklyn district attorney looks into
whether judges have paid to get seats on the
bench, nine judicial candidates in Brooklyn
have been refused the coveted seal of approval
from the New York City Bar Association … The
bar association gives only “approved” and “not
approved” designations after candidates
submit questionnaires, writing samples, references,
and a full record of their job history. In
addition, a special committee conducts interviews
with the would-be judges.
The New York Sun
November 1, 2005 |
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After 135 years, the Association of the Bar of
the City of New York is sprucing up its public
identity to make it more contemporary and less
prone to mangling in the popular press. [Some
of the most common misidentifications were as “The
New York State Bar” or the “New York
Bar.”]
Though it will retain its formal name, the association started in June to identify
itself in its public communications as the “New York City Bar,” said
Barbara Berger Opotowsky, executive director of the 23,000-member group …
Also, Ms. Opotowsky said,
the city bar’s public name has been changed in
tandem with that of its fund-raising arm, the City Bar Fund, [now known as the
City Bar Justice Center] to cement the connection between the two organizations
in the public’s mind.
New York Law Journal
September 23, 2005 |
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When friends and colleagues gathered three years
ago at a memorial service for Cyrus R. Vance … cabinet
secretary under three U.S. presidents … it
seemed logical to all that he should become the
namesake of one of the most ambitious and far-reaching
agendas ever undertaken by the Association of
the Bar of the City of New York … the Cyrus
R. Vance Center for International Justice – an
opportunity for button-down New York lawyers at
white shoe firms to engage in social justice and
help promote legal reform in emerging democracies.
New York Law Journal
August 12, 2005 |
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A provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows
the FBI to collect personal information from institutions
without a warrant is unconstitutional, the New
York City Bar said yesterday in an amicus brief
filed in the Manhattan U.S. Court of Appeals.
The association says “National Security
Letters” that demand customer information
from Internet providers, universities and libraries
for terror investigations lack proper judicial
oversight.
amNewYork
August 5, 2005 |
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At the Legal Referral Service run by the Association
of the Bar of the City of New York, director Allen
Charne says he and his staff get 500 phone calls
a day from people looking for a lawyer … His
staff screens each lawyer before adding the lawyer
to its referral list for a given legal specialty.
Charne requires lawyers to submit proof of experience
in their areas of law, submit work samples and
be questioned by a panel of judges and lawyers.
Once his staff approves a lawyer for the referral
panel, they check the lawyer’s legal standing
annually and ask each referred client to complete
a satisfaction survey.
New York Magazine
August 1, 2005 |
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A major statistical report profiling the demographics
of the metropolitan legal community will be presented
to 82 participating firms on Monday during the
second annual diversity symposium of the Association
of the Bar of the City of New York … That
so many New York law firms were signatories to
the city bar study – 82 of 86 invited to
participate – was evidence of a commitment
to dramatic change, according to Edwin Bowman,
diversity manager at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
The 82 law firms employed 16,936 attorneys in
2004. “I’ve never seen a survey with
that high a response rate,” said Mr. Bowman. “People
are interested and taking it seriously, and they
want to be a part of anything that seems productive
and constructive.”
New York Law Journal
June 3, 2005 |
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On September 17, 1987, I was privileged to
be in the audience at the Association of the
Bar of the City of New York when Justice William
Brennan, who had become the conscience of the
Bill of Rights on the high court, gave the
42nd Annual Benjamin N. Cardozo Lecture.
That lecture, still available in the archives
of the Association of the Bar of this city,
should be read by members of Congress and every
law student and law professor in the country—as
well as by every judge, from local housing
and family courts to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Titled “Reason, Passion, and ‘The
Progress of the Law,’ ” Brennan’s
emphasis on what he called “the human
reality of the judicial process” is even
more vital now that the Rehnquist Supreme Court
has prioritized economic rights and the rights
of individual states over the rights and liberties
of individual Americans throughout the country.
Nat Hentoff
The Village Voice
May 11, 2005
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Several
groups, including the Association of the Bar
of the City of New York …, have written
to Mr. Putin and the Russian prosecutor general’s
office demanding that Ms. Bakhmina [a corporate
attorney for the Russian oil company, Yukos]
be released and put under house arrest. “It
wasn’t only denial of due process” that
prompted the New York City bar association to
write on her behalf, said Martin S. Flaherty,
chairman of the group’s committee on international
human rights and a professor at Fordham Law School,
in a telephone interview. “We understand
she was also denied medical treatment and roughed
up in prison.”
The New York Times
March 29, 2005 |
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Eight senior officers from the Office of
the Judge Advocate General – the highest military
legal authority – sounded an alarm in 2003
in a series of secret meetings with the New York
City Bar Association. The career military lawyers
complained that the Pentagon had sidelined them
because they supported Geneva Convention protections
for American prisoners. Retired Rear Adm. John
Hutson, judge advocate general from 1997-2000,
blames the decision to ignore the Geneva Conventions
for “the kind of chaos we’ve seen.”
Newsday
January 13, 2005 |
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As a result of New York’s obsolete divorce
law, families suffer, children are permanently
scarred, and abusive marriages are encouraged … Fortunately,
the city and state bar associations are backing
legislation in Albany to change to a no-fault
model. While New York State legislators are mostly
known for what they do not do – get a state
budget passed, control Medicaid costs, work across
party lines – now they have an opportunity
to agree on helping couples disagree, and divorce,
with dignity.
New York Observer
December 13, 2004 |
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Matrimonial lawyers, bar associations and judges
are pushing to have the [divorce] law changed,
saying it is archaic and heightens hostilities
between spouses, which particularly hurts children.
Both the New York State Bar Association and the
city bar are backing a legislative change in
Albany to add no-fault grounds, and several powerful
legislators appear to be receptive. “Even
Chile, one of the most Catholic countries in
the world, has no-fault divorce now,” said
Harold A. Mayerson, a Manhattan divorce lawyer
and chairman of the committee on matrimonial
law at the Association of the Bar of the City
of New York.
The New York Times
November 30, 2004 |
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Many legal immigrants take plea settlements without
realizing accepting certain sentences for even
seemingly minor crimes could get them deported … The
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
criticized the law in a report last spring. “Without
a warning, many non-citizen defendants plead
guilty to lesser New York offenses unaware
of these potential immigration consequences,” the
report found … “The interests
of justice require a warning mechanism that
puts the non-citizen defendant on notice, so
that he may make an informed choice as to whether,
and to what, to plead guilty.”
The New York Sun
November 16, 2004
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The New York Bar Association, in a statement,
said current U.S. regulations enacted under
the Convention Against Torture prohibit deporting
any individual to a country where “more
likely than not” the person will be tortured.
A person can be deported only after a finding
that torture is no longer likely. By contrast,
the bar association said, the new bill would
actually “mandate deportation of such
an individual to a country even if it is certain
that [he] would be tortured there.” The
provision amounts to “a tacit approval
of torture,” the New York Bar Association
said, and “is particularly shocking
in the aftermath of the recent revelations
of torture by U.S. personnel in Iraq.”
Newsweek
October 6, 2004
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In 2003, Rumsfeld’s apparent disregard
for the requirements of the Geneva Conventions
while carrying out the war on terror had led
a group of senior military legal officers from
the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG)
to pay two surprise visits within five months
to Scott Horton, who was then chairman of the
New York City Bar Association’s Committee
on International Human Rights. “They wanted
us to challenge the Bush Administration about
its standards for detentions and interrogation,” Horton
told me…The message was that conditions
are ripe for abuse, and it’s going to occur…“They
said there was an atmosphere of legal ambiguity
being created as a result of a policy decision
at the highest levels in the Pentagon. The JAG
officers were being cut out of the policy formulation
process.”
The New Yorker
May 24, 2004
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