New York County Lawyers' Association

Formation 1908
Type Legal Society
Headquarters New York, NY
Location
  • United States
President
Carol A. Sigmond
Website Official website

The New York County Lawyers' Association (NYCLA) is a bar association located in New York City.

The New York County Lawyers' Association was founded in 1908 because the existing bar association excluded some lawyers from membership due to their race, gender, ethnicity or religion. A meeting held in Carnegie Hall in 1907 determined to create a "democratic bar association" and 143 attorneys incorporated the NYCLA a few months later.[1] Throughout its history, NYCLA has included all who wish to join and their focus has been the active pursuit of legal system reform.

The association is located at the New York County Lawyers' Association Building in Lower Manhattan. It provides opinions on candidates for judicial office,[2][3]>[4] organizes forums and investigations and expresses the associations opinions on matters concerning the legal system in New York and jurisprudence in general,[5][6][7][8][9][10] and provides Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for attorneys in New York and New Jersey.[11] NYCLA creates Task Forces and publishes reports highlighting issues of special concern to the public and legal community. NYCLA is currently certified as an accredited provider of continuing legal education for both New York and New Jersey.[12]

NYCLA is a bar association organized for charitable and educational purposes. Its objectives are to advance the science of jurisprudence, and to promote the administration of justice and reforms in the law. They elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession and foster the spirit of collegiality among members of the Association and throughout the bar. A main focus is to apply its knowledge and experience in the field of law to the promotion of the public good, and to arrange for the provision by its members of free legal services for indigent, low income and other persons in need. Throughout history they have encouraged diversity throughout the legal profession and ensured access to justice for all. They have always maintained high ethical standards for the bench and bar; and, and have promoted high quality legal education and other resources for law students and lawyers.

NYCLA has joint membership programs with seven minority bar associations. The Asian-American Bar Association of New York, Indian-American Lawyers' Association, Korean-American Lawyers' Association of Greater New York, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Law Association of New York, Metropolitan Black Bar Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association and South Asian Bar Association of New York.[13]

History

Committees, Task Forces & Public Policy

New York County Lawyers’ Association plays an active role in the development of legal and public policy, including spearheading efforts to support diversity in the legal profession with its Summer Minority Judicial Internship Programs which provides stipends to law students of color who are placed as interns with federal and state court judges, as well as pioneering some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence. NYCLA’s standing Committees and Sections continue to expand to cover the changing and growing interests of public sector and the legal community. Standing Committees and Sections include the following:

Task Forces

Publications

Pro bono work

On September 14, 2012, the New York State Court of Appeals adopted a new rule requiring applicants for admission to the New York State bar to perform 50 hours of pro bono services.[19] NYCLA is a strong supporter of voluntary pro bono efforts by the New York State Bar (NYSBA), and they devote thousands of hours each year to providing free legal advice and representation to New Yorkers who otherwise could not afford those services.[20]

NYCLA offers several pro bono programs to its members:

Annual events

Awards and honors

Leadership and Governance

NYCLA leadership consists of our officers, which include (1). President, who acts as CEO; (2). President-Elect, who is a member of all committees and sections, and who fills in for the President at meetings in his or her absence; (3). Vice President, who is delegated power by the President or the NYCLA Board; (4). Secretary of the Board, who keeps records of the Association and its proceedings, among other duties; and (5). Treasurer, who, subject to the control of the Board of Directors, is in general charge of Association funds.

NYCLA Presidents

  • John F. Dillon: 1908-1909
  • Alton B. Parker: 1909-1912
  • Joseph H. Choate: 1912-1914
  • Thomas H. Hubbard: 1914-1915
  • Edgar M. Cullen: 1915-1916
  • Henry A. Gildersleeve: 1916-1917
  • Morgan J. O’Brien: 1917-1919
  • Charles E. Hughes: 1919-1921
  • Charles Strauss: 1921-1923
  • James A. O’Gorman: 1923-1925
  • Samuel Seabury: 1925-1927
  • William Nelson Cromwell: 1927-1930
  • Henry W. Taft: 1930-1932
  • Charles A. Boston: 1932-1934
  • Robert C. Morris: 1934-1936
  • Charles E. Hughes Jr.: 1936-1938
  • George Z. Medalie: 1938-1940
  • Robert Marsh: 1940-1942
  • William Dean Embree: 1942-1944
  • Ignatius M. Wilkinson: 1944-1946
  • Joseph M. Proskauer: 1946-1948
  • I. Howard Lehman: 1948-1950
  • John F. Brosnan: 1950-1952
  • Edwin M. Otterbourg: 1952-1954
  • William J. O’Shea: 1954-1956
  • Ben A. Matthews: 1956-1958
  • Arthur H. Schwartz: 1958-1960
  • Francis S. Bensel: 1960-1962
  • Eugene A. Sherpick: 1962-1963
  • Leo Gottlieb: 1963-1965
  • Mark F. Hughes: 1965-1967
  • James V. Hayes: 1967-1969
  • Boris Kostelanetz: 1969-1971
  • Thomas Kiernan: 971-1973
  • Henry N. Ess III: 1973-1975
  • Wilbur H. Friedman: 1975-1977
  • Lawrence X. Cusack: 1977-1979
  • Hon. Harold Baer Jr.: 1979-1981
  • James W. Lamberton: 1981-1982
  • Denis McInerney: 1982-1984
  • Daniel C. Draper: 1984-1986
  • Kenneth J. Bialkin: 1986-1988
  • Eugene P. Souther: 1988-1990
  • Arthur Norman Field: 1990-1992
  • Robert L. Haig: 1992-1994
  • Casimir C. Patrick II: 1994-1995
  • Klaus Eppler: 1995-1996
  • John J. Kenney: 1996-1997
  • Rosalind S. Fink: 1997-1998
  • Stephen D. Hoffman: 1998-2000
  • Craig A. Landy: 2000-2002
  • Michael Miller: 2002-2004
  • Norman L. Reimer: 2004-2006
  • Edwin David Robertson: 2006-2007
  • Catherine A. Christian: 2007-2008
  • Ann B. Lesk: 2008-2010
  • James B. Kobak Jr: 2010-2011
  • Stewart D. Aaron: 2011-2013
  • Barbara Moses: 2013-2014
  • Lewis Tesser: 2014

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 "About NYCLA" on the New York County Lawyers' Association website
  2. "Candidates for the Bench" New York Times (October 25, 1944)
  3. "Candidates for the Bench" New York Times (November 1, 1947)
  4. "Candidates for the Bench" New York Times (October 29, 1949)
  5. "Wants Lawyers to File Pictures; Head of County Lawyers' Association Says This Would Expose Fraudulent Practitioners" New York Times (May 11, 1913)
  6. "Reducing Litigation; Movement of New York County Lawyers' Association Against Legal Quacks" New York Times (June 11, 1922)
  7. "Two Groups Rate Court Aspirants;" New York Times (October 16, 1960)
  8. Saulny, Susan. "National Law Group Endorses Videotaping of Interrogations" New York Times (February 10, 2004)
  9. Weiser, Benjamin. "Prosecutor Sees Danger in Budget Cuts" New York Times (December 2, 2013)
  10. Glaberson, William. "New York Bar Seeks Limits on Investigations of Judges" New York Times (January 28, 2011)
  11. "Course Calendar" from the NYCLA website. Accessed: June 19, 2014
  12. "New York State CLE Accredited Providers" New York State Continuing Legal Education Board website (June 15, 2014)
  13. Kobak, James B. Letter From The President Of The New York County Lawyers' Association The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel (November 4, 2010)
  14. "Salenger, Sack, Kimmel & Bavaro Partner Jeffrey M. Kimmel Named Chair, NYCLA Committee on Committees" on Longisland.com
  15. 1 2 Moses, Barbara. "NYCLA: Its President “Minds The Gap”" The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel (June 18, 2013)
  16. 1 2 Ruppert, K. Jacob. "14 Vesey Street: Genealogy of an Address; A Brief History of the Ground Beneath the Home of Law"
  17. Koback, James B., Jr. "Letter From The President Of The New York County Lawyers Association" The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel (November 4, 2010)
  18. "NYCLA News and Publications" on the NYCLA website
  19. "Pro Bono Bar Admission Requirements" on the New York State Unified Court System website
  20. Moses, Barbara. Letter From The President Of The New York County Lawyers' Association The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel (April 17, 2014)
  21. "Charles Evans Hughes Lecture Series" on the Hughes Hubbard & Reed website
  22. "12th Annual Ida B. Wells-Barnett Justice Award Ceremony" on the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York website

External links

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