ny county lawyer

Annual Dinner Theme is “LegalCompliance and Enforcement”The New York County Lawyers’

Association’s (NYCLA) 97th AnnualDinner will honor Chief ComplianceOfficers of major corporations and heads ofmajor law enforcement and regulatory enti-ties for their commitment and dedication tothe improvement of their organizations andour legal system on Tuesday, December 13,2011 in the Grand Ballroom of the WaldorfAstoria Hotel. The Annual Dinner will alsohonor two women pioneers in the legal pro-fession –Mary Jo White, the only womanto serve as the U.S. Attorney for theSouthern District of New York in the morethan 200-year history of that office and apartner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, willbe presented with the 2011 William Nelson

Cromwell Award for “unselfish service tothe profession and the community” byHon. Barbara S. Jones, Judge, U.S.District Court, Southern District of NewYork, and Rosalind S. Fink, the firstwoman President of NYCLA and OfCounsel at Brill & Meisel, will be present-ed with the Boris Kostelanetz Medal, whichis conferred upon a member whose recordof dedication and service to the Associationand legal profession comport with its high-est standards, by Hon. Shira A.Scheindlin, Judge, U.S. District Court,Southern District of NewYork.

Legal Compliance and EnforcementAt the Dinner, NYCLA will salute Chief

Compliance Officers of major corporationsand heads of major law enforcement and

regulatory entities. NYCLA’s HonoredDais Guests at the Dinner will include theChief Compliance Officers of the followingcompanies: American International Group,Inc.; Angelo, Gordon & Co. L.P.; ApolloGlobal Management, LLC; ArrowElectronics, Inc.; Brown Brothers Harriman& Co.; Catholic Health East; CIT GroupInc.; Colgate-Palmolive Company;Deutsche BankAG; First Niagara FinancialGroup, Inc.; Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.;Hospital Corporation of America; IDBBank; KPMG LLP; Marsh & McLennanCompanies, Inc.; NCR Corporation; ONSemiconductor Corporation; PershingLLC; Prudential Financial, Inc.; RBSSecurities, Inc.; Standard & Poor’s, LLC;TIAA-CREF; Transatlantic Reinsurance

NYCLAisaCommunityYouCanCountOnAs it is November, we decided to dedi-

cate this issue to what we are thankful for;in this case, our membership – a communi-ty that you can count on. I invite membersto take advantage of this engaged commu-nity of legal professionals by: joining acommittee, visiting our Library, attendinga Membership networking program or aCLE skill-based course or volunteering fora Pro Bono program.

What NYCLA Can Do ForYouThe NYCLA community is a supportive

environment, particularly for those new tothe profession. A more formalizedMentoring Program, which debuted nearlytwo years ago, has paired dozens of newattorneys with more seasoned profession-als. From one-on-one meetings and month-ly get-togethers, to networking and cus-tomized CLE programs, mentees receivepractical advice and tips from their experi-enced mentors, in addition to gaining aunique understanding how to navigate thelegal profession in NewYork.

An empowering aspect of being part ofthe NYCLA community is that we are herewhen you need us the most. In today’s dif-ficult economic times, we are looking atways to communicate career opportunities,share resources to assist with your jobsearch and, within the next few months, wewill launch a program that will train unem-ployed lawyers and provide them litigationand networking opportunities.

The Task Force on Unemployed andTransitioning Lawyers is gearing up toprovide members with the opportunity torepresent the indigent and disadvantagedwho are seeking representation in civil

cases by training unemployed lawyers. Itwill offer them opportunities to handlecases and the idea is to have NYCLAlawyers supervise the unemployed lawyersin trying cases. We want these lawyers togo out there and help the needy in repre-sentations before courts and other tri-bunals. This program, which, in effect, willbe a civil Gideon program, will providevaluable experience to unemployedlawyers and assist them in procuringemployment. It also will assist the courtsand obviously be very useful for the unrep-resented.

In addition to helping with economicissues, we are creating opportunities toengage with the NYCLA community:The open committee structure wel-

comes all lawyers and law students solelyon the basis of interest and commitment,giving members the opportunity to join anyone of 50 committees or sections.

The Library’s research librarians arethere to assist patrons in legal research andsupport in navigating the wide range ofelectronic resources that are available.

The Membership Department hasrevved up its offerings to include more net-working opportunities so you can interactwith the community.

TheCLEInstitute’s innovative, often inter-active courses are taught by the best and thebrightest – leaders in their fields, judges andexperts from related disciplines. In addition, tomeet the changing need of practitioners, newprograms are continuing to be developed.

The Pro Bono Department’s dedicatedgroup of volunteer attorneys assisted morethan 1,200 individuals last year. Volunteersreceive free training, which gives them theopportunity to learn about an area of thelaw they may be unfamiliar with and, at thesame time, assist individuals who havenowhere else to turn.

The Ethics Institute acts as an umbrellaentity for NYCLA’s ethics activities and,each month, offers substantive CLE pro-grams on diverse topics that have a strongethics component. The Professional EthicsCommittee issues ethics opinions; addi-tionally, committee members staff anethics hotline that members and nonmem-bers can call to get their questions aboutethical issues answered.

The NYCLA community is continuing tolook at ways it can expand and enhance itsservices and offerings to meet your profes-sional needs. I invite you to get started, getconnected and get involved in a communi-ty you can count on. Please contact me [email protected] if you have suggestionsabout what NYCLA can do for you. Also,please follow me on Twitter: www.twit-ter.com/NYCLAPres.

I N S I D E

Bouncing Back from anInterview Mistake Pg. 6

Ethics, Professionalismand Your Law License

Pg. 5

How to Create Work-LifeBalance

Pg. 6

Jeffrey Toobin to ReceiveNYCLA’s Law andLiterature Award

Pg. 12

Let’s Demand a SustainableCourt System, by ABAPresident Wm. T. (Bill)Robinson III

Pg. 7

November 2011 Visit us at www.nycla.org Volume 7 / Number 8

T A B L E O FC O N T E N T S

NYCLA’s Annual Dinner Celebrates Legal Compliance and Enforcementand Honors Two Women Pioneers in the Legal Community

(See NYCLA Annual Dinner on 1)

N E W Y O R K

COUNTY LAWYERMESSAGE FROM STEWART D . AARON

PRES IDENT OF THE NEW YORK COUNTY LAWYERS ’ AS SOC IAT ION

Administrative Law Committee ................. 12Attorneys Guide........................................... 10Book Review – Justice for None ................ 10Bouncing Back from an Interview Mistake... 6CLE Institute ................................................. 4CLE Programs............................................... 4CLE Tech Programs .................................... 10Committee Connection.................................12Ethics Hotline ............................................... 5Ethics, Professionalism and Your LawLicense ....................................................... 5

Events Calendar ............................................ 2How to Create Work-Live Balance ............... 6In Chambers Program ................................. 14Let’s Demand a Sustainable Court System... 7Library Notes .............................................. 10Member News ............................................... 9Membership................................................... 6Message from Barbara Moses, President of theNYCLA Foundation .................................. 3

Message from Stewart Aaron, President ofNYCLA...................................................... 1

New York City Criminal Courts Manual ..... 11NYCLA Film Festival................................. 13NYCLA Welcomes New Board Member ..... 3NYCLA Professional Ethics Committee IssuesOpinion 744 ............................................... 5

NYCLA’s Annual Dinner.............................. 1Recent Events ............................................... 8Young Lawyers ........................................... 14

November 2011 / The New York County Lawyer2

NOVEMBERPRACTICE OF LAW SERIES:KEEPING YOUR FIRM’SFINANCESThursday, November 3 – 6:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 VeseyStreetFREE AND OPEN TO NYCLAMEMBERS ONLYSpeaker: Richard A. KlassDiscussion of various financial mattersconcerning starting and running your lawpractice, including taxes, insurance,bookkeeping, software, time recordingand office systems.

PRACTICE OF LAW SERIES: WHATJUDGES WANT YOU TO KNOWThursday, November 10 – 6:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 VeseyStreetFREE AND OPEN TO NYCLAMEMBERS ONLYSpeaker: Jeffrey M. KimmelGet important tips on what judges expectduring motion practice, preliminary con-ferences, pre-trial conferences, settle-ment conferences and the trial. Propercourtroom etiquette and behavior willalso be discussed.

PRACTICE OF LAW SERIES:LEGAL ETHICS YOU NEED TOKNOWThursday, November 17 – 6:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 VeseyStreetFREE AND OPEN TO NYCLAMEMBERS ONLYSpeaker: Lewis F. TesserAn inside look at the attorney discipli-nary process and the new Rules ofConduct. The discussion includes anexamination of how to avoid discipli-nary complaints and how to respond todisciplinary complaints.

SPECIAL EVENT: LAWANDLITERATURE AWARD RECEPTIONMonday, November 21 – 6:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14Vesey StreetFREEAward Recipient: Jeffrey Toobin,author of The Nine: Inside the SecretWorld of the Supreme Court, staff writerat The New Yorker and senior legal ana-lyst for CNNSponsor: NYCLA’s Law and LiteratureCommitteeFor more information, refer to page 12.

“IN CHAMBERS’ PROGRAMTuesday, November 22 – 12:30-1:30 PMPlace: TBDFREE AND OPEN TO NYCLAMEMBERS ONLYHost: Hon. Robert S. Smith, AssociateJudge of the NewYork Court of AppealsRSVP: [email protected]

DECEMBERPRACTICE OF LAW SERIES: WHATEVERY LAWYER NEEDS TOKNOWABOUT THE PART 137 FEEDISPUTE RESOLUTION PROGRAMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14 VeseyStreetFREE AND OPEN TO NYCLA MEM-BERS ONLYThursday, December 1 – 6:00 PMSpeakers: Martin L. Feinberg and HeidiLeibowitzYour rights and responsibilities whenyour client disputes your fees and the lawrequires that you arbitrate.

SPECIAL EVENT: TASK FORCE ONJUDICIARY BUDGET CUTSPUBLIC HEARINGFriday, December 2 - 10:00AM – 5:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14Vesey StreetFREEAn examination of the effects the budgetcuts are having on the courts and thepublic.

PUBLIC FORUM: WHEN BAILMEANS JAIL - ARE NYCCRIMINAL COURTS SETTINGBAIL APPROPRIATELY?Tuesday, December 6 – 6:00 – 8:00 PMPlace: NYCLA Home of Law – 14Vesey StreetFREEPanelists:Marika Meis, assistant directorof Litigation and Training, BronxDefenders; Mary T. Phillips, Ph.D., deputydirector, Research Department, NewYorkCity Criminal Justice Agency; and repre-sentatives from a human rights organizationand the NewYork City Criminal CourtsSponsors: NYCLA Justice Center andCriminal Justice SectionFor more information, refer to page 7.

NYCLA’S 97TH ANNUAL DINNER:CELEBRATING LEGALCOMPLIANCE ANDENFORCEMENTTuesday, December 13Reception: 6:30 PM; Dinner: 7:30 PMPlace:Waldorf Astoria Hotel – 49thStreet and Park AvenueFor more information, refer to the front-page article.

EVENTS CALENDAREvents are subject to change; please check the Association’s website,

www.nycla.org, for schedule changes and additions.

To Advertise in

New York County Lawyer,

Call (631) 427-7000Correction

In the October issue of New YorkCounty Lawyer, the article about therenaming of the Minority JudicialInternship Program to “The Hon.Harold Baer Jr. and Dr. Suzanne BaerMinority Judicial Internship Program”stated the wrong titles for Asha Smithand Seth Steed.Asha is the chair of theMinorities and the Law Committeeand Seth is the vice chair.

November 2011 / The New York County Lawyer 3

Dear Friends:

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time torelax with family and friends. It also is atime to be grateful for what we have, tobe generous to those less fortunate and—for members of NYCLA—to think aboutall of the work that our Association doesthroughout the year to improve our courtsystem, protect access to justice for allNew Yorkers, provide young people withcivics education programs that manystruggling school districts can no longerafford, assist unemployed and under-employed lawyers to get back on theirfeet, and provide crucial pro bono servic-es to low-income New Yorkers.

As you know, your dues do not cover allof NYCLA’s programs and services. Wedepend on your contributions (made to theNYCLA Foundation, which is recognizedby the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization) tocarry out the programs that make us proudto be members of NYCLA. Fortunately,we make relatively modest donations go along way. Thanks to the tremendousefforts of our volunteer pro bono attor-neys, NYCLA’s Legal CounselingProject—providing direct counseling tolow-income clients in the areas of family,employment, consumer bankruptcy and

landlord/tenant law—operates on anannual budget of less than $100 per client.A gift of $500 covers the first-place prizeawarded annually to the winner of thepublic high school essay contest spon-sored by the Law-Related EducationCommittee. And $1,000 pays for one ofthe new Lenovo computer terminals beinginstalled in the NYCLA Library for thebenefit of our members, many of whomdepend on the Association to provide theresearch capabilities that solo practition-ers and small firms would otherwise beunable to afford.

You can make donations in theseamounts – or in any amount you choose– simply by going to www.nycla.org andclicking on “Giving to NYCLA.” You

can also mail a check, payable to“NYCLA Foundation,” to NYCLAFoundation, 14 Vesey Street, New York,NY 10007. We are grateful for everycontribution and are pleased to say“thank you” with a selection of DVDs,books, prints and other gifts, alldescribed on our website. If you make adonation now, you will not only have thesatisfaction of giving back to your com-munity; you will be able to ignore theremaining annual appeal emails that youreceive this year without feeling guilty!Since the NYCLA Foundation is recog-nized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organiza-tion, gifts are deductible to the extentprovided by law.

NYCLA needs both your support andyour ideas. Please do not hesitate to con-tact me with suggestions for fundraisingor related topics. You can reach me [email protected].

Sincerely,

Barbara MosesPresident of the NYCLAFoundation

MESSAGE FROM BARBARA MOSESPRES IDENT OF THE NYCLA FOUNDAT ION

Eugene B. Nathanson, a solo prac-titioner specializing in civil rightsand criminal defense issues, hasbeen appointed to a one-year term onthe NYCLA Board of Directors tofill the vacancy of a board memberwho moved to the Midwest. Mr.Nathanson is a member of the medi-ation panel for the CommercialDivision, Supreme Court, New YorkCounty, and a volunteer mediator forthe Part 137 Attorney Fee DisputeResolution Program.Mr. Nathanson previously served

on NYCLA’s Executive Committeeand, while co-chair of the CivilRights Committee, drafted its reporton videotaping custodial interroga-tions, which was adopted by theABA and New York State BarAssociation. He currently serves onnumerous NYCLA committees andtask forces, including the: CriminalJustice Section, Library andMembership Committees, in addi-tion to the Task Force on JudicialBudget Cuts and Task Force onUnemployed & TransitioningLawyers.Mr. Nathanson graduated cum

laude from Boston College of Lawand was a member of the Order ofthe Coif.

NYCLAWelcomes NewBoard Member

NewYork County Lawyer is publishedmonthly (except January andAugust) for$10 per year by NewYork County Lawyers’Association, 14Vesey Street, NewYork, NY10007. Periodicals postage paid is mailed atNewYork, NY and additional mailingoffices. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to: NewYork County Lawyer, 14Vesey Street, NewYork, NY 10007-2992.

USPS #022-995ISSN: 1558-5786

$10.00 of membership dues is deducted fora one-year subscription to the NewYorkCounty Lawyer.

Copyright © 2011 NewYork CountyLawyers’Association. All rightsreserved. NewYork County Lawyers’Association grants permission forarticles and other material herein orportions thereof to be reproduced anddistributed for educational or profes-sional use through direct contact withclients, prospective clients, profes-sional colleagues and students pro-vided that such use shall not involveany matter for which payment (otherthan legal fees or tuition) is madeand provided further that all repro-ductions include the name of theauthor of the article, the copyrightnotice(s) included in the originalpublication, and a notice indicatingthe name and date of the Associationpublication from which the reprint ismade. Subscription rate: $10.00 peryear for non-members

NEW YORKCOUNTY LAWYER

Stewart D. AaronPresident

Sophia J GianacoplosExecutive Director

Mariana HoganChair, Editorial Board

Melissa J. YahreAssistant Executive Director ofMarketing and Membership

Development

Anita AboulafiaEditor

Director of Communications

New York County Lawyer ispublished by

Long Islander Newspapersunder the auspices of

the New York County Lawyers’Association. For advertisinginformation, call 631-427-7000.

Mailing address: 149 Main Street,Huntington, NY 11743.

Photo Credits

Anita AboulafiaAlanna Gluck

November Events at theCLE Institute

Along with a full calendar of CLE pro-grams, the CLE Institute will once againpresent the Art Litigation and DisputeResolution Institute on Friday, November18. Now in its fourth year, join Co-ChairsHon. Stephen Crane (ret.), JAMS, andRaymond Dowd, Dunnington Bartholow& Miller LLP, and an unparalleled facultyof experts from the art world, academia,bench, bar and art galleries, as they takeyou through the most relevant issues intoday’s art world., including:• Photography: From Image to the Internet• Daubert & Expert Testimony in ArtCases: A Demonstration

• Moral Rights: Abolish or Enhance? TheControversy Rages

• So You Think It’s Stolen, Now What?FineArt Crossing International Borders:Problems and Perspectives

• Tracing Provenance: The Rules ofEvidence and the Art of Investigations

• The Malevich Estate: The Artist, TheLitigation, The LegacyPanelists include Amy Adler, NYU

School of Law; Hans Van de Bovenkamp(artist); Judith Bresler,Withersworldwide; Sandra Cobden,Christie’s; Andrea Crane, GagosianGallery; Jane Jacob, Jacob Fine Art;Hon. Barbara Jaffe, NYS Supreme CourtNY County; Hon. Louis Kaplan, U.S.District Court, SDNY; Pery Krinsky,Krinsky PLLC; Thomas Marino,Dunnington Bartholow & Miller LLP;Hon. Victor Marrero, U.S. District Court,SDNY; Hon. Michael Mukasey,Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Hon. DelissaRidgway, U.S. Court of InternationalTrade; and Nancy Wolff, Cowan DeBaetsAbrahams Sheppard LLP.Be sure to check our website at

www.nycla.org for additional informationand updated faculty information.

NYCLA’s Ethics InstituteUpdate

NYCLA’s Ethics Institute will host aspecial series of program, Ethics forLunch, beginning Wednesday, November9. The first program isUnderstanding theAttorney Advertising Rules and features

Lewis Tesser and Janessa Bernstein,Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP. Join us fora light lunch and the program that focuseson the do’s and don’ts in attorney advertis-ing. Attention will be paid to content of theads, disclaimers, misleading or deceptiveads, use of testimonials, use of websites,domain names and other forms of socialmedia.Can’t make it to the live program? No

problem. A SPECIAL WEBINARSIMULCAST of the Ethics for LunchProgram will be available onMarinolegal.com. Watch and participate inthe program fromyour office or home. Checkour website for additional details.On Tuesday evening, November 15,

NYCLA’s Ethics Institute will co-sponsorEthical Issues in Intellectual Property.Program Chair Adam Engel, A.E. Engel& Associates, LLC, a panel of intellectualproperty attorneys and an expert in ethicswill discuss how to deal with the ethicalissues that arise on a daily basis in intel-lectual property practice. Using a series ofhypotheticals, a lively and interactive dis-cussion will help attorneys sort out thethorny issues that arise in their practice.

Special Program Focusing onPracticing Law in a Difficult

Economy

Outsourcing is the wave of the future.But it’s not just for big firms and thestaffing agencies that serve those firms.Freelance attorneys are a growing cadre

of solo practitioners who, enabled by tech-nology, work on a project-by-project basisfor other lawyers. More and morelawyers—from newly-admitted attorneyswho are tired of sitting on the sidelines ofthe legal job market to experienced attor-neys who want an intellectually fulfillinglegal career and work/life balance—areentering this practice area.Join nationally-recognized freelance

attorney and legal research and writingpro, Lisa Solomon Lisa Solomon, Esq.,Legal Research & Writing, on November19 for Freelance Freedom: How to GetStarted as an Independent ContractorLawyer. Ms. Solomon will answer suchimportant questions as:• What is the most powerful way to mar-ket your services as a contract lawyer?

• How much should you charge and how

can you make sure you get paid?• What ethical issues arise in the freelancelawyering relationship and how arethose resolved?

• Should you obtain your own malpracticeinsurance?If you want to concentrate on legal

research and writing, do you need yourown Lexis or Westlaw/WestlawNext sub-scription? How can you get the best dealfrom these companies? What alternativesare available?How can you compete with foreign

LPOs?What impact will the ABA Ethics 20/20

Commission’s initial draft proposal con-cerning changes to the Model Rules ofProfessional Conduct have on freelanceattorneys and the lawyers who hire them?Why is a shaky economy good news for

freelance lawyers?

NYCLA’s Futures andDerivatives Committee Sponsors

CLE Event

Interest in structured products has gainedtraction in recent years as wealthy investorsuse them to diversify their portfolios andbrokerage firms have found a retail marketfor them with the relatively unsophisticatedinvestors. Join us for RecentDevelopments in Structured Products onNovember 16 to hear from a panel ofexperts about the many forms of structuredproducts, the risks and rewards, oversightand other recent developments concerningthe retail structured product market.

Save the Date

Pay to Play in the Financial Sector:Know the Rules, Monday, December 5Bridge the Gap, A Program for Newly

Admitted Attorneys, Consecutive Fridays,December 9 and 16NJ Bridge the Gap: 15 MCLE

Credits in 5 of 9 Specified PracticeAreas, Wednesday and Thursday,December 7 and 8.Certified Guardian, Court Evaluator

and Counsel for AIP Training, Tuesday,December 13.

Be sure to check our website for acomplete listing of November pro-grams.

CLE Programs in November

Wednesday, November 912:30 – 1:45 PMEthics For Lunch: Understanding theAttorney Advertising Rules1.5 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Ethics;Transitional and Non-transitionalRegistration Fee:Member: $35, Non-Member: $55SPECIALWEBINAR SIMULCAST ofProgram on Marinolegal.comCan’t make it to the live program? Viewthe program from the comfort of yourhome or officeRegistration Fee: Member: $35Non-Member: $55

Thursday, November 106:25 –8:30 PM**A networking cocktail reception will takeplace from 6:00-6:25 PM immediatelybefore the programFreelance Freedom: How to Get Startedas an Independent Contractor Lawyer2.5 MCLE Credits: 1 Ethics; 1.5 PP;Transitional and Non-transitionalRegistration Fee:Member: $55, Non-Member: $75

Tuesday, November 156:00 – 9:00 PMEthical Issues in Intellectual PropertyPractice3 MCLE Credits: 3 Ethics; Transitionaland Non-transitionalRegistration Fee:Member: $125Non-Member: $175

Wednesday, November 166:00 – 9:00 PMRecent Developments in StructuredProducts3 MCLE Credits: Credit Breakdown tbd;Transitional and Non-transitionalRegistration Fee:Member: $125Non-Member: $175

Friday, November 188:45 AM -5:30 PM4th Annual Art Litigation and DisputeResolution Institute8.5 MCLE Credits: 3 Ethics; 3 Skills; 2.5PP; Transitional and Non-transitionalRegistration Fee:Member: $200Non-Member: $250 Non-attorney: $50


CLE Institute

Please note: Tuition Assistance is available for qualified attorneys for live programs offered by the CLE Institute. Check our website at www.nycla.org for more informationand how to apply for Tuition Assistance. Check our website for course details, faculty, complete program descriptions and pricing.


By Lewis Tesser

The courts and the public are payingincreasing attention to the way we attor-neys behave as attorneys and as people.Errant attorneys frequently receive unde-sirable publicity; it piques the public inter-est. The New York Law Journal fea-tures “Disciplinary Proceedings” on thefront page. The disciplinary rules affect-ing lawyers were recently overhauled andnow New York follows the ABA’s ModelCode format and our state courts haveimplemented the New York Rules ofProfessional Conduct (“RPC”).NYCLA has been attentive to this trend

by monitoring and influencing the courseof these developments. NYCLA’s TaskForce on Ethics Reform, which I was for-tunate to co-chair with Martin Minkowitz,worked for three years and the TaskForce’s work significantly influenced theshape and content of the RPC. As ethics isessential to our profession, here are someNYCLA resources to help you if you arein need.Our Ethics Institute, which acts as an

umbrella for the below-mentioned ethics-

related committees and Task Force, advis-es NYCLA on the ethical positions weshould take, conducts popular monthlyCLEs about the ethical issues concentrat-ing in various fields (e.g., bankruptcy,immigration, real estate, litigation, etc.)and has written the acclaimed treatise, TheNew York Rules of Professional Conduct,published by Oxford University Press.The Professional Ethics Committee,

chaired by Barry Temkin, issues ethicsopinions and operates a hotline thatinstantly responds to your ethics ques-tions. Its opinions have been widely citedand the hotline has assisted thousands oflawyers with responses to urgent

inquiries.NYCLA’s Professional Discipline

Committee, chaired by Pery Krinsky,studies and reports on the manner inwhich professionals are licensed and dis-ciplined in New York. Its Report compar-ing discipline in the various judicialdepartments of New York receivedNYCLA’s prestigious Eppler Award.The Professionalism Task Force,

chaired by Ronald Minkoff, studies andreports on ways to improve attorney pro-fessionalism. NYCLA’s tremendouslysuccessful Mentoring Program grew froma Professionalism Task Force Report.The members of the Ethics Institute’s

Board of Advisors, along with the mem-bers of the Professional Ethics Committee,Professional Discipline Committee andProfessionalism Task Force, will be edit-ing a monthly column in the New YorkCounty Lawyer. If there are any ques-tions you would like us to discuss in thiscolumn or if you would like to partici-pate in any of our ethics-related com-mittees, please let me hear from you.

Mr. Tesser, Vice President of NYCLAand director of the NYCLA EthicsInstitute, can be reached [email protected]. He is seniorpartner at Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP,with a litigation practice focusing oncriminal and civil trials, negotiations,arbitrations and mediations, includingclass actions.

Ethics, Professionalism and Your Law LicenseA Regular Feature Column of the NewYork County Lawyer

Ethics HotlineNovember 1-15Malvina Nathanson212-608-4211

November 16-30Sarah D. McShea212-679-9090

Please Note: Assignments aresubject to change.

Questions to the Hotline are limit-ed to an inquiring attorney’sprospective conduct. The Hotlinedoes not answer questions regard-ing past conduct, the conduct ofother attorneys, questions that arebeing litigated or before a discipli-nary committee or ethics commit-tee, or questions of law. This nota-tion shall not be construed to con-tain all Hotline guidelines. For afull discussion of Ethics Hotlineguidelines, please see “Guidelineson NYCLA’s Ethics Hotline,”September 2006, New York CountyLawyer, Vol. 2, No. 7. To view thearticle, visit NYCLA’s website atwww.nycla.org, click on Ethics (onthe left-hand side of the page) andthen on Ethics Hotline.

NYCLA Professional Ethics Committee IssuesFirst Opinion to Interpret New Amendment to

Rule of Rules of Professional ConductOn October 19, NYCLA’s Professional Ethics Committee issued EthicsOpinion 744, the first ethics opinion in New York State to interpret anew amendment to Rule 6.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct,which addresses a lawyer’s involvement in law reform activities.

To read the complete text of the Opinion, visit www.nycla.org andclick on Ethics and then on Ethics Opinions.

To Advertise inNew York County

Lawyer, Call

(631) 427-7000


By Robert Half Legal

The job market for the legal industryremains highly competitive, especiallyfor recent law school graduates and less-experienced lawyers. It’s important to putyour best and most professional self for-ward every time you meet with a hiringmanager. Surprisingly, a significant num-bers of candidates encounter problems atthe interview stage, even though they arequalified for the position. Thirty-two per-cent of executivespolled for a surveycommissioned by ourcompany said candidates are more likelyto slip up during the interview than anyother time in the application process.Moreover, one of the most common mis-takes interviewees made is failing to dis-play knowledge about the company orposition.Interview mistakes, while uncomfort-

able, are not necessarily fatal. Preparationis the best way for job seekers to ensurethey make a good impression on the hiring

manager. The following tips may help yourecover from an interview faux pas andregain your stride.• Take a few seconds to compose your-

self. Don’t allow panic to overwhelm you.Your ability to keep your composure mightimpress the interviewer.• Buy some time. It’s all right to ask the

interviewer to clarify a question, provide alittle more detail or give an example thatillustrates the point.• Be concise. If you’re asked a question

you’re unsure about,your first instinct maybe to talk a lot to

cover your lack of knowledge. It’s better tobe brief and convey just one well-stated ideathan to ramble on without focus.• Let it go. Once you’ve gotten past the

mistake, don’t dwell on it. Concentrate onputting your best self forward for theremainder of the interview.• Follow up. Send a thank-you note after

the interview. It’s another opportunity toclarify your responses and make your caseto be hired.

Bouncing Back from an Interview Mistake

This article originally appeared in alleight regional editions of NYMetroParents magazines, including BigApple Parent, and can also be found onthe website www.nymetroparents.com.

By Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme

I’m often asked, “How do you do it?”Three kids, a demanding full-time job inNewYork City, and a house in the suburbs(not to mention a dog, a guinea pig, andtwo gerbils). I find the question to be a bitirritating. I just do it. Lunches need to bepacked, witnesses need to be prepped,runny noses need to be wiped, summaryjudgment motions need to be argued. It allgets done, somehow, because it has to.

After I had my second child, I decided toreturn to work at my old firm on a part-timebasis. One morning on my day off, Ireceived an urgent email from a partner thatI should call him immediately. I had justdropped off my 2-year-old at nursery schooland was getting ready to nurse her baby sis-ter. I called the partner and learned thatopposing counsel had just filed court papersrelating to a case of mine, and although itwas the Friday before President’s Dayweekend, the partner felt it was important toget a response on file before the end of theday. Did I refuse to do so because it was myday off? No, because you just can’t do that(one key to success as a working parent isyour willingness to be flexible). It ended upbeing a day from hell — at one point, I was

nursing the baby, typing with one finger,and answering a barrage of questions fromthe partner on speakerphone. Seriously, Idon’t exaggerate. Nursing, typing, answer-ing difficult questions all at once. It was theultimate multi-task.

At 12pm, it was time to pick up my otherdaughter from nursery school (at thatmoment, I so regretted not having her in thefull-day program). Next challenge: how tooccupy a 2-year-old while drafting a brief?Oreos to the rescue! My daughter wasdelighted — never before had Mom givenher a whole sleeve of Oreos and hit the“repeat play” feature on the CinderellaDVD. While Cinderella swept the halls, Inursed, researched, and typed. By 5pm thebrief was filed, and I was able to shower andunload the dishwasher from the night before.

Did the partner thank me? No. Whenpressed on the issue a few days later, helooked at me perplexed and said, “Whydid I need to thank you? I thought youwould have gotten satisfaction on produc-ing an exceptional brief on such a shortturnaround time.” He was right. I did takeenormous pride in that brief because it wasgreat, and even greater considering thecontext in which it was drafted. (By theway, my 2-year-old also didn’t thank me

for those Oreos.)

What did I learn from that experience?Don’t waste time worrying about how itwill get done. Just get it done, and don’texpect to be thanked by anyone that yougot it done because the expectation fromyour employer and your kids is that it willbe done.

To read the rest of the article, visit:www.nymetroparents.com/article/How-to-Create-Work-Life-Balance-and-Avoid-Burnout—or-Do-a-Good-Job-Faking-It-

Ms. Finguerra-DuCharme is counselin the Intellectual Property practicegroup of White & Case LLP inManhattan. She balances her full-timelegal career with her full-time mother-hood duties of three girls between theages of 4 and 10. (Proof of juggling?Dyan is the Chair of the Women in IPSubcommittee of the City BarAssociation AND is the Chair of theannual welcome back and end-of-yearpicnics at her daughter’s elementaryschool; get inspired!) She lives with herfamily in Port Washington, NY. Ms.Finguerra-DuCharme is also a NYCLAboard member and member of severalNYCLA committees and sections.

How to Create Work-Life Balance and Avoid Burnout (or Do a Good Job Faking It)Membership

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By Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III

We all experience delays that slow downand frustrate our daily lives, from trafficjams on a city street to long lines at a gro-cery store. But some delays are more thanan inconvenience—these delays threatenthe very core of our constitutional democ-racy.

For several years, the American BarAssociation has observed a troubling trendin state court budgets. In fiscal year 2010,40 states—including New York—cutfunding for their judiciaries. These cutshave had effects, both big and small, onaccess to justice.

In May, the chief judge of New York,Jonathan Lippman, testified before theABA’s Task Force on Preservation of theJustice System. He explained that NewYork is seeing record filings of up to 4.7million new cases a year, including a 33percent increase in family violence cases.And yet, the state ordered an unprecedent-ed $170 million cut in funding for thecourts. Judges and court employees in thisstate were effectively asked to do morewith less.

As a result, 400 people lost their jobs.The courthouse day now ends a half-hourearly. Small claims courts in the city haveonly one night session, compared withfour before the cuts. Arraignment courts’hours were also reduced, a move thatcould make it difficult to meet the require-ment that those arrested appear in courtwithin 24 hours.

Courts around the country are forced tomake difficult decisions just as they did inNew York. New Hampshire delayed civiltrials for a year. Amunicipal court in Ohioannounced that no new cases could befiled unless the litigants brought their ownpaper to the courthouse.

People should never have to jump overbudgetary hurdles to reach the courtroom.We, as lawyers, have a responsibility asofficers of the court to remind our peers,the public and those with the power of thepurse why our courts are important.

Access to justice isa fundamental tenetof our society.

The constitution-al argument for sus-tainable funding forour courts is simple:the judiciary is a co-equal branch ofgovernment respon-sible for protectingour rights. Thepractical argument is equally compelling.The courts decide matters that go to thevery core of our daily lives—like childcustody cases—and protect us from threatsto our safety through criminal adjudica-tion.

Financially speaking, courts typicallyreceive just 1 percent or so of their state’sentire budget. In some states, the judiciaryreceives less funding than some executivebranch agencies or less than it takes tobuild a school. The highest state judiciaryappropriations rarely top 3 percent of thetotal state budget.

Members of the legal community arebeginning to understand this situation.The ABA is continuing the work of itsTask Force on Preservation of the JusticeSystem, bringing judges, lawyers, courtemployees and those affected by this crisistogether to discuss strategies to help ourjudiciary. But we need to go beyond ourprofession to explain why the courts mat-ter and why they are a safe place to gowhen people are in need.

It’s important to note that many courtsare adjusting to the “new normal.” Thejudiciary must continue to demonstrateintegrity, efficiency and innovation in thistime of intense competition for scarcebudget resources. In NewYork, courts areimplementing electronic filing and docu-ment management, and emphasizing caseflow management.

But courts can’t do it alone.

The ABA is working with state andlocal bar associations to reform and

reduce costs in ourcriminal justice systemwhile maintaining pub-lic safety. In 1974,about 175,000 peoplewere incarcerated instate prisons in theUnited States. In 2010,that number had risen to1.4 million, an increaseof 705 percent. Wecan’t sustain the costsof a system that spends,

on average, $23,000 per inmate per year.

Then there’s the issue of the punish-ment fitting the crime. In some states,fish and game violations, dog leash viola-tions and feeding the homeless areoffenses punishable by time in jail.Minor infractions of the law are causing amajor drain on resources. We need toaddress the over-criminalization in ourjustice system and re-think how to sensi-bly spend taxpayer dollars to ensure pub-lic safety.

Even in times of extreme economichardship, our courts need adequate finan-cial support and essential resources to ful-fill their constitutional responsibility. Wemust articulate what courts do and whythey are important—each and every day—to the legal community, to legislators andto the general public, but especially toyoung people, because that knowledgewill drive a renewed dedication to thepreservation of our justice system. Inaddition to speaking out on this issue,share your court funding stories and cre-ative solutions on our task force listserv athttp://bit.ly/mPjNoc.

There is nothing more precious than ourfreedom, and that comes from access tojustice. Let’s join together to fight for thisaccess, otherwise … No courts. No jus-tice. No freedom.

Mr. Robinson is President of theAmerican Bar Association and Member-in-Charge of the Northern Kentuckyoffices of Frost Brown Todd, LLC.

“Let’s Demand a Sustainable Court System”

Save the DateDecember 6 Public Forum: When Bail Means Jail - Are NYC Criminal CourtsSetting Bail Appropriately?

On Tuesday, December 6, from 6:00-8:00 PM, NYCLA is hosting a free public forum,“When Bail Means Jail - Are NYC Criminal Courts Setting Bail Appropriately?,”sponsored by the NYCLA Justice Center and Criminal Justice Section. Currently, NewYork City criminal courts are authorized to set bail only to the extent that it is necessaryto secure a person’s appearance in courtwhen required. At any given time, approximately39 percent of the Rikers Island population consists of people with pending criminal caseswho have not, or cannot, post bail.

Panelists are:Marika Meis, assistant director of Litigation and Training, Bronx Defenders;Mary T. Phillips, Ph.D., deputy director, Research Department, NewYork City CriminalJusticeAgency; andRepresentatives from a human rights organization and the New York City CriminalCourts.

They will discuss the effects of pre-trial detention, research on the efficacy of bail in ratesof return to court, current litigation about forms of bail and whether there are less oner-ous alternatives to the customary practices in NewYork City courts.

RSVP: http://bit.ly/qyM2yw

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Hon. Sandra Townes, District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, wasthe guest speaker at the October 19 Committee meeting hosted by Vincent Changof Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP. Judge Townes is pictured with Mr. Chang(at left) and Gregg Kanter, chair of the Committee.

Federal Court Committee Meetings Host Judges

Hon. James Cott (pictured in the middle), Magistrate Judge for the SouthernDistrict of New York, was the guest speaker at the September 27 Committeemeeting hosted by Tom Filardo of Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese &Gluck P.C. Pictured with Judge Cott are Vincent Chang (at left), vice chair of theCommittee, and Mr. Filardo.

On October 4, NYCLA’s Civil Rights & Liberties Committee hosted a receptionat the NYCLAHome of Law for Colombian attorneyAdil José Melendez Marquez,Esq., a human rights and labor lawyer who has represented farmers and laborers in

the rural areas of northernColombia and its coastalcommunities. CommitteeChair Louis Crespo (pic-tured at left) and ViceChair Naomi I.Werne pre-sented Mr. MelendezMarquez with a plaque inappreciation of his humanrights work, where headvocates for the Afro-Colombian community.Committee members aremaintaining ties with Mr.Melendez Marquez toreport on his progress.

Civil Rights & Liberties Committee HostsColombian Human Rights Lawyer

On October 12, NYCLA’s Young Lawyers’ Section co-sponsored a public forum,“Multilingual Lawyering – Challenges and Opportunities,” which explored the job

opportunities and careerdevelopment resourcesavailable to multilingualattorneys, as well as thechallenges that can arisewhen working with multi-lingual clients. Pictured(from left to right): forummoderator Dawn Marunaposed with the panelists –Lauren Buonome, associ-ate, Jones Day; Kin Ng,director of training, Kings

County DistrictAttorney’s Office; and Sandra Bryan, coordinator, Court InterpretingServices, OCA, NYS Unified Court System. Also pictured is Daniel K. Wiig, co-chair of the Young Lawyers’ Section.

Young Lawyers’ Section’s Forum Explores Opportunitiesand Challenges of Multilingual Lawyers

RECENT EVENTS

NYCLA’s Federal CourtsCommittee RecognizesHon. John F. KeenanOn October 26, NYCLA’s

Federal Courts Committee pre-sented its Edward WeinfeldAward for “distinguished contri-butions to teh administration ofjustice” to Hon. John F. Keenan(pictured center). Judge, U.S.District Court for the Southern District of NewYork, at its annual luncheon.Also pic-tured (from left to right): Gregg H. Kanter, committeee chair; Hon. Kevin ThomasYork, award presenter; Judge Keenan; Stewart D. Aaron, NYCLA President; andHenry J. Kennedy, luncheon chair. Photo credit: Rick Kopstein


On November 17,Simeon H. Baum willbe inducted President ofthe Federal BarAssociation’s SouthernDistrict Chapter by Hon.Loretta A. Preska, ChiefJudge of the SouthernDistrict of New York.The event will take placeat the Daniel Patrick

Moynihan United States Courthouse at 500 PearlStreet. Simeon is a former chair of the Arbitrationand ADR Committee.

Dora Galacatos, sen-ior counsel at FordhamLaw School’s FeerickCenter for Social Justice,received ManhattanLegal Services’ 2011Medal of Honor for heroutstanding work onCLARO (Civil LegalAdvice and ResourceOffice) at an award

reception on October 25. Dora helped launch theManhattan CLARO Project, a collaborative effortbetween NYCLA’s Pro Bono Department and theFeerick Center, which assists low- and moderate-income New Yorkers on a host of consumer lawissues, particularly consumer debt. She is a memberof the NYCLA Justice Center Advisory Board andPro Bono Committee

MEMBER NEWSFormer NYCLA Board memberWilliam Kuntz II was unanimously con-

firmed by the United States Senate to serve as a judge in the Eastern Districton October 3. A former partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP, where he was acommercial litigator, Mr. Kuntz has long been deeply involved in publicservice and in the New York community.

If you know about an award or other accolades conferred upon a NYCLAmember, please forward the information to Melissa Yahre, assistant execu-tive director for marketing and membership development, [email protected],

Featured Internet Site

Avalon Project: Documents in Law,History and Diplomacy (http://avalon.-law.yale.edu/) is a collection of about3500 digitized documents in 350 cate-gories dating from 4000 BCE to 2003.The homepage houses a timeline and twodocument collections: Project Diana —an Online Human Rights Archive and theTribunal for Germany. You canretrieve the full text of a document alongwith supporting documents if available.

The Tribunal for Germany is a record ofthe Nuremburg Trials. There is a completeset of the Trial of the Major WarCriminals known as the “Blue Set” butonly partial records of Nazi Conspiracyand Aggression, also known as the “RedSet.” Rules of practice and documentsabout the military occupation of Germanyafter the Second World War have beendigitized for the collection.

Project Diana is a source for humanrights primary source material from thelast century and includes the trial recordof Doe v. Karadzik. There are too manygreat documents to mention here, but youcan find historical documents that preced-ed the United States Constitution, includ-ing the Federalist Papers and Blackstone’sCommentaries on the Laws of England.

Many treaties and conventions from the19th century were digitized for theAvalonProject, including the Convention of 1800between the United States and France andthe bilateral Barbary Treaties of 1731-1836 between the United States, Libya,Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco that dealwith admiralty law. Civil War buffs canstudy the Confederate War Papers,Gettysburg Address and EmancipationProclamation.

Primary source documents from the 20thcentury describe Israel’s formation andsubsequent relations with its neighbors.On the 21st century of the timeline you canfind a PDF version of the 9/11 CommissionReport and a collection of documentsabout the attacks on that day. If you clickon “Document Collections” on the home-page, you can browse by document title. Ifound The Narrative of Sojourner Truthwhen I clicked on “African Americans,Biography and History.”

Periodicals

The Associates’ Survey: SpecialReport, The American Lawyer(September 2011).

Corpora te Res t ruc tur ing andBankruptcy: a New York Law JournalSpecial Section, New York Law Journal(September 26, 2011).

Hot Sheet: Spinal Fractures, VERDICT-SEARCH New York (September 26, 2011).

LawyersWho Lead By Example: a NewYork Law Journal Special Section, NewYork Law Journal (September 19, 2011).

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November

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Using Bloomberglaw.com for LitigationThursday, November 1710:00 - 10:50 AM1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; TransitionalMember: FreeNon-Member: Free

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2011 Attorneys’ Guide to Civil Practicein the New York County Supreme Court

Purchase the only publication that outlines procedures followed in theSupreme Court of New York County, along with providing Part informationand biographies of the Justices who sit there.

Highlights include:• Commencing a Lawsuit• Assignments and Case Processing under CCJP• Motion Practice• Back Office and Major County Clerk Operations

Pricing:$50 for NYCLA Members$100 for non NYCLA Members

View Table of Contents and order now http://bit.ly/rmNHjw

Questions? Contact [email protected] or call 212-267-6646 ext. 208

Reviewed by Sheila M.Rossi

A trial is the vehicle bywhich the American jus-tice system dispenses jus-tice; this vehicle is rustedand running on empty.Trials are presided overby judges who are sub-standard and pre-dis-posed. There is no fairplay and the truth appearsonly as a fleeting concept.These are the basic prem-ises of Jessica James’sbook, Justice for None.Ms. James, a CPA tax pre-parer, arrived at theseopinions from her experience as one often defendants in a criminal prosecutionfor tax fraud.The book opens with a series of raids in

San Diego, Washington, Colorado,Missouri, Texas and Florida conducted bythe Criminal Investigation Division of theInternal Revenue Service; raids thatended in confiscation of property andarrest of people; raids engineered toinstill surprise and fear. The author’shome and office were the target of theraid in Naples, Florida and the beginningof a four-year nightmare for her.Ms. James and her co-defendants were

charged with conspiracy to defraud thegovernment of tax revenue through ascheme involving the preparation and fil-ing of false income tax returns on behalf oftheir clients. After a horrific experience injail, until she was able to secure an attor-ney and her bond, she lived in the forebod-ing shadow of the approaching trial.The trial arrived and brought new

assaults upon the author’s already dis-tressed sense of justice. According to Ms.James, the government lawyers enjoyedfavor with the presiding trial judge, whogranted motions made by the governmentas a matter of course and denied those bythe defendants with “sarcastic, unprofes-sional remarks in a disrespectful tone andmanner.”

There were differentverdicts for eachdefendant and the ver-dict for Ms. James was“no verdict,” whichleft her with the optionof a re-trial or accept-ing a much reducedguilty plea. Sickenedby the unfairness ofthe whole procedure,unable to believe thatanother trial would bedifferent, she acceptedthe plea, despite herconstant assertion ofinnocence.Can one trial really

expose fatal flaws inan entire system? Are there fatal flaws?Is one person’s experience sufficient tomake these far-reaching claims? Itdepends.Ms. James experienced only one trial.

But what of the judges and lawyers whomake their living in a courtroom? Do werecognize her experience? If your col-leagues at the bar told you these things,would they sound familiar? Do you cau-tion your clients against expected unfair-ness at trials? Do you factor it into yourthinking and trial strategy? Have youcome to expect less than fair-mindedjudges and ethical opponents? If so, Ms.James’s account is a warning.In the long run, is one person’s single

trial experience sufficient to support Ms.James’s indictment of our judicial sys-tem? What do you think?

Ms. Rossi, who has been practicinglaw since 1978, is an active litigator,experienced in both civil and criminallitigation. Currently, she is senior trialcounsel at the New York City LawDepartment. Ms. Rossi has given anumber of CLE courses in the areas oftrial skills and evidence. She serves asan arbitrator for the Civil Court of theCity of New York and is a foundingmember of NYCLA’s Law & LiteratureCommittee.

B O O K R E V I EW

Justice For NoneBy Jessica James (Zip ublishing/The Educational Publisher, 2011)

Library Notes

NewEditions

Bowmar Mechanics’ Liens in NewYork, 2011 edition (Thomson West).Bowmar Mortgage Liens in New

York, 2011 edition (Thomson West).Mckinney’s Law and the Family

New York, 2011 edition (ThomsonWest).New York DWI Defense Forms, 2011

edition and Forms on CD (ThomsonWest).New York Examination before Trial

and Other Disclosure Devices, 2011-2012 edition (Thomson West).

To make suggestions about book, e-book or database purchases, pleasecontact Anna Smallen or Dan Jordanby email at [email protected] [email protected] or by phone at212-267-6646 ext. 204.


Company; Tyco International; and YorkCapital Management.

Mary JoWhiteWhen Ms. White left her post as U.S.

Attorney for the Southern District of NewYork in 2002, she was acclaimed for hernearly nine years as the leader of what iswidely recognized as the premier U.S.Attorney’s office in the nation. She hadsupervised over 200 Assistant U.S.Attorneys in successfully investigatingand prosecuting numerous cases ofnational and international significance,including complex white-collar and inter-national terrorism cases. Ms. Whiterejoined Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in2002 and serves as a partner there andChair of the firm’s 225-lawyer LitigationDepartment. She has received numerousawards and honorary degrees, and is regu-larly ranked as a leading lawyer by direc-tories that evaluate law firms.

Rosalind S. FinkMs. Fink is of Counsel to Brill &

Meisel, and heads its employment lawpractice. She was NYCLA’s first womanpresident from 1997-1998 and previouslyserved as one of the early chairs of itsWomen’s Rights Committee (1981-1984).Under her leadership (and the watchful eyeof the incomparable Edith Spivack), thisCommittee continued to be in the forefrontof advocacy of equal rights under the lawfor women. Prior to joining Brill &Meisel, Ms. Fink was the director of theOffice of Equal Opportunity andAffirmative Action at ColumbiaUniversity. She has been a member of theDepartmental Disciplinary Committee of

the Appellate Division, Supreme Court ofthe State of New York, First JudicialDepartment for many years and is current-ly the president of the New York Inn ofCourt, which is affiliated with the NewYork City Bar Association. She wasinducted into the Academy of WomanAchievers of the YWCA of the City ofNew York in 1997 and is regularly recog-nized as a leading employment lawyer bydirectories evaluating attorneys.The Annual Dinner Co-Chairs are:

Sheila L. Birnbaum, partner, Skadden,Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP andSpecial Master of the 9/11 Health Fund;Don D. Buchwald, partner, Kelley Drye &Warren LLP and former Deputy Chief ofthe Criminal Division in the SouthernDistrict of New York; Zachary W. Carter,partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP and for-mer U.S. Attorney for the Eastern Districtof New York; Robert L. Haig, partner,Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and a formerPresident of NYCLA; David N. Kelley,partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel and for-mer U.S. Attorney, Southern District ofNew York; Sara E. Moss, Executive VicePresident and General Counsel, EstéeLauder Companies; Bart M. Schwartz,Law Office of Bart M. Schwartz and for-mer Chief of the Criminal Division in theSouthern District of NewYork; Richard H.Walker, General Counsel, Deutsche BankAG and former Director of the Division ofEnforcement, U.S. Securities andExchange Commission; and Stephen P.Younger, partner, Patterson BelknapWebb& Tyler LLP and Immediate PastPresident of the New York State BarAssociation.

To participate in the Annual Dinner,please contact Christina Andujar at [email protected].

Annual Dinner(Continued From Page 1)

NYCLA’s Annual Dinner is Recognizing the ChiefCompliance Officers from the Following Corporations

(In formation)

American International Group, Inc.Angelo, Gordon & Co.Apollo Management, L.P.Arrow Electronics, Inc.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.Catholic Health EastCIT Group Inc.

Colgate-Palmolive CompanyDeutsche Bank AG

DuPontFederal Reserve Bank of New YorkFirst Niagara Financial Group, Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.Hospital Corporation of America

IDB BankKPMG LLP

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.NCR Corporation

ON Semiconductor CorporationPershing LLC

Prudential Financial, Inc.RBS Securities, Inc.

Standard & Poor’s, LLCTIAA-CREF

Transatlantic Reinsurance CompanyTyco International

WellCare Health Plans, Inc.York Capital Management

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2011 - 2012NewYork CityCriminal Courts

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Pricing:$50 for NYCLA Members$100 for non NYCLA Members

View Table of Contents or ordernow

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Committee Connection

To Advertise in

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Call 631-427-7000

AdministrativeLaw CommitteeNewYork City tribunals employ

Administrative Law Judges toadjudicate disputes between Cityagencies or companies and indi-viduals charged with violations ofCity codes and laws. The forma-tion of an Administrative LawCommittee would serve the pro-fessional needs of current andfuture NYCLA members by pro-viding a platform for administra-tive law professionals to discussagendas and engage in panel pre-sentations, networking events,educational opportunities viaaffordable CLE programs, andprovide other NYCLA members –including lawyers and law stu-dents – with information aboutthis career path. Let us know yourthoughts by filling out our ques-tionnaire at hhtp://www.survey-monkey.com/s/NYCLAAdmin


NYCLA’s ArtCommittee extends itssincere congratulations toNobel Laureate LeymahGbowee, who, along withEllen Johnson Sirleaf andTawakkul Karman, hasbeen awarded the 2011Nobel Peace Prize. Ourspecial thanks to AbigailDisney and Gini Reticker;as a result of their efforts,Film Festival attendeeswere able to witnessLeymah Gbowee’s criticalrole in bringing peace toLiberia in Pray the Devil Back to Hell,which was our December 2010 full-lengthfeature film. The film intimately capturedthe courage and solemn conviction of asmall band of Liberian women who –armed only with white t-shirts – cametogether in the midst of a very bloodycivil war to take on the violent warlordsand a corrupt regime to win peace fortheir shattered country.

Call For Entries – Submission DueDate: Last year’s Film Festival featuredan Academy Award- winning filmmakerand films that were both controversial andwell on their way to being widely received.Festival attendees were also treated tounique talk-back sessions with the film-makers, actors, writers, journalists and law

professors, all of whomwere interested in talkingout about their craft andwhy their films mattered.NYCLA’s Film Festivalprovides a venue forshowcasing one’s workand obtaining feedback.

In keeping with ourmission to provide mem-bers with a forum inwhich to showcase theirart, the Art Committeeinvites members to sub-mit their work for our

Second NYCLAFilm Festival. Non-mem-bers’ work is welcome by invitation of aNYCLAmember in good standing. Shortsand feature-length films in all genres willbe accepted, including drama, comedy,documentary and animation. Legal sub-ject matter is preferred but not required.

Please fill out the entry form at rightand return it by February 29, 2012. Sendyour entries to Isabel Abislaiman, 305Broadway, 14th Fl., NewYork, NY 10007or Monique Mulcare, Mayer Brown LLP,1675 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

For more information, contact the ArtCommittee Co-Chairs -- Isabel [email protected] or Monique Mulcareat [email protected].

NYCLA Film Festival Post Script and Callfor Entries for Second Film Festival

Entry Form for Film Festival

Please fill out the following form to submit your information to NYCLA’sArt Committee. You will be contacted shortly thereafter for the rest of the sub-mission procedures.

First Name:_____________________________________________________

Last Name:_____________________________________________________

Phone:_______________________________

Email:_______________________________

Title ofProject:________________________________________________________

Genre:_________________________________________________________

Producer:_______________________________________________________

Director:_______________________________________________________

Year:_________________ Length________________

Country:______________

Synopsis:_______________________________________________________

Starring:________________________________________________________

Website:________________________________________________________

Availability of Director/Actor/Producer for

Q&A:________________________________________


By Harold Rodriguez

Are trade agreements good for the U.S.economy?How do countries resolve trade imbal-

ances?How influential are international

treaties and jurisprudence on domesticfederal law?On October 6, NYCLA members dis-

cussed these issues and got a rare peek intothe inner workings of the United StatesInternational Court of Trade. On this occa-sion, theYoung Lawyers’Section organized

another installment of its “In ChambersSeries,” in which practicing attorneys inter-acted with Hon. Donald C. Pogue, ChiefJudge of United States International Courtof Trade (USICT), and discuss issues rele-vant to career development and to the legalpractice itself, in this case, focusing ontransnational commercial trade.During the informal conversation, Judge

Pogue touched on a wide variety issues,ranging from intellectual property, U.S. tradewith China, free trade agreement enforce-ments and the USICT’s collaboration withother federal agencies and judicial bodies.

Judge Pogue’s remarks struck a decid-edly personal tone as he reflected on hisprofessional journey from private prac-tice in Connecticut to overseeing thatstate’s healthcare industry to finally head-ing one of the most influential U.S. courtsin international commercial practice.Deriving from his own experience, JudgePogue urged all attendees to be persistentin following their objectives and lookingbeyond the disappointments that a legalcareer can, at times, bring in order to findthe opportunities for growth and redemp-tion that the profession also affords.

Don’t miss the next “In ChambersProgram” hosted by Hon. Robert S.Smith, Associate Judge of the New YorkCourt of Appeals, on Tuesday, November22, from 12:30-1:30 PM. RSVP:[email protected]

Mr. Rodriguez is a newly-admitted gen-eral practice attorney and former clerk atthe European Court of Justice with sub-stantive interests in international com-mercial practices. He graduated fromFordham Law School in 2009.

By Anna Mitchell

Question: How can newly admittedlawyers or those looking for a careerchange enhance their interviewing skills?

Answer: By attending a workshoppresented by Katherine James and AlanBlumenfeld of “ACT ofCommunication: Consultants in the Artof Advocacy.” The dynamic coupleshared their knowledge and techniqueson persuasion and communication in aparticipation-geared workshop onOctober 19. The program demonstratedthe ways attorneys can infuse the skillsof actors in their interviewing process.Katherine and Alan had attendees upand out of their chairs engaging in exer-cises designed to improve their ability tocommunicate using body language andby reading other people’s body lan-guage. For example, one exercise hadparticipants observe the changes in peo-ple’s body language while listening. Inthis exercise, two people first talked toeach other at the same time without lis-tening and then again while trying to lis-ten to each other. The exercise demon-strated how sitting upright and forwardshows that you are engaged in a conver-sation. Katherine and Alan also gavetips on how to prepare before walkinginto an interview.The next evening, Katherine and Alan

conducted a CLE program, “Acting forLawyers.” This highly interactive pro-gram focused on how lawyers can usetheatrical techniques to optimize resultsin client meetings, negotiations, trials,mediations, arbitrations or other profes-sional appearances. Using a series ofexercises, attendees learned what’s need-ed to create and enhance the authenticityand impact of their own communications.Katherine and Alan have extensive

experience in assisting attorneys tobecome better communicators – in theirinterpersonal communications, whenpresenting before juries, negotiating withadversaries or interacting with clients. Ifyou are interested in learning more abouttheir work, visit http://www.actofcom-munication.com.Looking for more skill-building pro-

grams? The CLE Institute has other pro-grams in November focused on skilldevelopment, including:

Freelance Freedom: Learn how to getstarted as an independent contractlawyer, why a shaky economy is good forfreelance lawyers, how to resolve the eth-ical issues arising in freelance relation-ships — and more on November 10.

Marketing Your Practice: AWorkshopfor Small Business and TechnologyLawyers: Learn how to work more effec-tively with clients and deal with the ethi-cal considerations inherent in socialmedia on November 29.

Ms. Mitchell, a law student atBenjamin N. Cardozo School of Law,is a member of the Young Lawyers’Section.

Holiday Kickoff 2011November 21, 2011Time: 6:30 p.m.

Join NYCLA as we kick off the Holiday Season atFiddlesticks Bar & Grillat 56 Greenwich Avenue

(between 6th and 7th Aves)!Visit the NYCLA event calendar to RSVP

www.nycla.org

“In Chambers” Program with Hon. Donald C. Pogue

Young Lawyers’ Section Co-Sponsors Skill-Building Event

Young Lawyers


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As a result of judicial budgetcuts and court layoffs…Has there been a negative impact on the administration of justice?

Is the processing time of documents in court longer?

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Resources, stories and additional information about the judicialbudget cuts can be obtained online at www.nycla.org

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