44th Street Notes – Spring 2022

Moments of Civic Inspiration

The dynamic of grand jury duty is a bit different than regular jury duty, but I’ve served on the latter kind too (a medical malpractice case). The common thread is that groups of New Yorkers, all of them with different backgrounds and viewpoints, are gathered for a spirited conversation and work together to reach an important decision based on evidence, testimony, and law.

Upon taking office, City Bar President Sheila S. Boston identified six priorities built around her vision of a Bar of Hope that would rise to face the unprecedented challenges confronting New York and the Nation. Those priorities are: COVID-19 Recovery Projects; Criminal Justice Reform; Access to Justice; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Protection of the Rule of Law; and Mental Health and Wellness.

The City Bar’s 2022 New York State Legislative Agenda draws on these priorities and is rooted in our mission to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest. The agenda focuses on positions relevant to the current legislative debate or of particular importance to the City Bar, as well as legislative proposals drafted by our committees. The City Bar’s committees generate dozens of reports over the course of each legislative session and this agenda represents only a portion of those positions.

2022 New York State Budget Advocacy – A Discussion with City Bar Committee Members (Podcast)

Welcome, Folks, to the Adams Administration!

On December 14, the Policy Department, in collaboration with the New York City Affairs Committee (Jeremy Feigelson, Chair), hosted a policy briefing for City Bar committee members about 2021 New York City elections and what to expect from a newly elected City government. The program was a conversation between the City Bar’s Director of Advocacy, Elizabeth Kocienda, and Anthony W. Crowell, a member of the New York City Affairs Committee and Dean and President, and Professor of Law, at New York Law School. Dean Crowell served as a senior advisor, and appointments committee co-lead, for Mayor Eric Adams’s transition.

Legal X-Ray of Mayor Eric Adams’s Campaign Proposals

2021 New York State Legislative Session Recap: City Bar Policy Successes

International Issues and Business Issues

The committees in the Business and Finance cluster address the myriad issues that affect corporations, businesses, and financial institutions, much of which happens on the federal level. This includes areas of law and policy affecting securities, bankruptcy, investment management, and consumer affairs, among others. In addition, our Council on Judicial Administration focuses much of its work on supporting the fair, effective, and efficient administration of justice in the Commercial Division of the New York State court system where many business disputes are heard. On the federal level, policy work often means acting quickly – and collaboratively – in order to respond in a timely manner to an agency’s call for public comments. Our Business and Finance committees have been up to the task, responding to several recent requests for public comment by the Securities and Exchange Commission over the past few months. To see the work of these committees, click here.

New York City Bar