The Network of Bar Leaders joined the New York Women’s Bar Association with their Guardianship Diversity Initiative: Introduction to various Counties Guardianship Benches. The initiative seeks attorneys of diverse backgrounds for Article 81 Guardianships. Learn about the role of attorneys in these proceedings from judges and practitioners from various counties and how adding guardianship to your practice could enhance it.  

Download: Guardianship flyer

Download: Bronx flyer

The New York City Bar Working Group on Racial Equity in NYS Courts hosted a joint remote meeting with the National Center for State Courts and various stakeholders in the NY State Court System on October 14, 2021 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM). The Network of Bar Leaders was  pleased to assist with this initiative.

We invited leaders of the affinity bar associations to participate in this meeting.  The  collective input is important and improving diversity, equity and inclusion in our state court system has been an increasingly continuous concern at the forefront over this past year. Our hope is that by continuing to have open, transparent discussions we can continue this momentum and provide productive input while also serving as a collective pipeline to the community.

The meeting included: (1) Judge Edwina Mendelson, head of the Office of Justice Initiatives, (2) Tony Walters, head of the Office of Justice Initiatives, along with Rena Micklewright (3) Sherrill Spatz, the Inspector General and Kay Ann Porter, Inspector General of Bias Matters (4) Justice Shirley Troutman and Justice Troy Webber, the two chairs of the Williams Commission (5) Judge Lillian Wan, head of the Asian Judges Association (6) Judge Verna Saunders, head of the Judicial Friends Association and (7) Judge Walter Rivera, President of the Latino Judges Association. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Vidya Pappachan, a member of the NYC Bar’s Council on Judicial Administration and Chair of the Working Group on Racial Equity in NYS Courts by e-mail to Vidya.Pappachan@gmail.com or to Network of Bar Leaders President Eve Guillergan at eve@knowyourvisa.com.

The Network of Bar Leaders joined the Federal Bar Association’s Southern District of New York Chapter in writing the attached letter to the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel about the lack of diversity among magistrate judges in the SDNY.  Please read the letter dated August 4, 2021. 

Download: Letter to the Merit Selection Panel, Southern District of New York

The Network of Bar Leaders is pleased to join other bar associations in an effort to increase the selection of ADR professionals from historically underrepresented communities. To promote this goal, we have collaborated with the other groups in an effort to compile a directory of association members who are ADR professionals and self-identify as a member of a historically underrepresented community including but not limited to: a person of color, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, as having a disability, or identify as a woman. 

This directory is being built in partnership with the following bar associations: Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association, Asian American Bar Association of New York, Bar Association of Erie County, Brehon Law Society, Caribbean Attorney Network, Dominican Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, New York Chapter, LGBT Bar Association of NY, Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association, Metropolitan Black Bar Association, New York County Lawyers Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of New York, Westchester Bar Association, NYC Bar Association ADR Committee, and the New York State Bar Association ADR Section. 

If you are a member of a partnering organization and self-identify as a member of a historically underrepresented community and wish to be included in the directory, please fill out the following survey on or before July 23, 2021.  Please reach out to Eve Guillergan, eve@knowyourvisa.com if you have any questions. 

Thank you for joining us at the induction and installation of officers and executive council, which took place at the Korean American Association of Greater New York’s Museum of Korean American History on September 13, 2021. The installation was performed by the Hon. George B. Daniels, and we were joined by a distinguished guest speaker, the Hon. Diane Gujarati.  

The Network of Bar Leaders is pleased to join other bar associations in an effort to increase the selection of ADR professionals from historically underrepresented communities. To promote this goal, we have collaborated with the other groups in an effort to compile a directory of association members who are ADR professionals and self-identify as a member of a historically underrepresented community including but not limited to: a person of color, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, as having a disability, or identify as a woman.  If you are a member of a partnering organization and self-identify as a member of a historically underrepresented community and wish to be included in the directory, please fill out the following survey on or before July 23, 2021. If you are representing a bar association interested in joining as a partner to this initiative, please contact Robyn Weinstein at robyn_weinstein@nyed.uscourts.gov or Catherine Carl at ccarl@nysba.org.

Thanks to all who came to NYCLA to attend the induction of the 2019-2020 Network of Bar Leaders officers and executive council members by the Honorable Paul G. Feinman, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.

***

Congratulations to the Incoming Leaders of the Network of Bar Leaders (effective July 1, 2019)

The final meeting and election for the 2018 to 2019 term was conducted at the home of our former President, Honorable Hilary Gingold. Thank you again Judge Gingold for making your home available to us for a very successful event. The following individuals were elected to the leadership of the Network of Bar Leaders. Many congratulations to our leaders for the 2019 to 2020 term. We look forward to Meredith R. Miller’s leadership as President of the Network of Bar Leaders in the upcoming year! Congratulations to Bridgette Y. Ahn for her impressive term as President of the Network of Bar Leaders during this term.

President
Meredith R. Miller | Member Organization: LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York

First Vice President
Yacine Barry-Wun | Member Organization: New York Women’s Bar Association

Second Vice President
Eve Guillergan | Member Organization: Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York

Treasurer
Michael Kohan | Member Organization: Queens County Bar Association

Recording Secretary
Edwina F. Martin | Member Organization: Staten Island Women’s Bar Association

Corresponding Secretary
Denisse Mira | Organization: Metropolitan Black Bar Association

Executive Council
Gloribelle Perez, Dominican Bar Association William F. Dahill, Federal Bar Association
Domenick Napoletano, Brooklyn Bar Association
Ron Katter, Jewish Lawyers Guild
Margaret Ling, Asian American Bar Association of New York
Jason Clark, Metropolitan Black Bar Association Hon. Jeffrey Levin, New Rochelle Bar Association
Tanya Blocker, Association of Black Women Attorneys
Bridgette Y. Ahn, Immediate Past President (Mandatory Position)

*A Gathering to Honor the Presidents of Our Bar Association Members*

Many thanks to our honorees, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers for the fantastic dinner at Golden Unicorn Restaurant. The evening included a fantastic line-up of speakers and we were pleased to honor approximately 35 Presidents of our bar association members.

See the electronic booklet and photos from the event. Dinner committee members: Bridgette Ahn, Yacine Barry-Wun, Hon. Hilary Gingold, Eve Guillergan (Chair), Michael Kohan, Margaret Ling, and Meredith R. Miller) Day of Volunteers: Josh Choi, Sandra Ung

Official Address:

Hon. Letitia A. James, Attorney General of the State of New York

Keynote Speaker and Honoree:

Hon. George Benjamin Daniels, United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (see bio here)

Presentation of Presidents’ Awards By:

Hon. Jeffrey K. Oing, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department (see bio here)

GOLD

Asian American Bar Association of New York | Jewish Lawyers Guild | Managing Attorneys and Clerks Association | New York Women’s Bar Association

SILVER

Association of Black Women Attorneys | Defense Association of New York, Inc. | Federal Bar Association / Southern District of New York Chapter | Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York | LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York | Metropolitan Black Bar Association | Muslim Bar Association of New York | National Employment Lawyers Association / New York | New Rochelle Bar Association | New York County Lawyers Association | New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers | Puerto Rican Bar Association | South Asian Bar Association of New York

ADVERTISEMENT SPONSORS

Capital One Bank | Law Office of Bridgette Y. Ahn | New York Women’s Bar Association