PROGRAM

Transgender Participants in the Judicial System
Thursday,
March 5
6:30 - 8:30 PM
This program will discuss the treatment and experiences of transgender litigants and other transgender participants in the court system, including the treatment of these individuals by the courts and how the judicial system has altered its practices (or failed to adequately alter certain practices) with regard to serving this population.

Child Soldier Prevention and Protection
Wednesday,
April 8
7:00 PM -
8:30 PM
Congress passed the Child Soldiers Prevention Act in 2008, prohibiting the United States from giving several forms of military assistance to governments using child soldiers. However, the Act allows the President to waive these prohibitions in full or in part if he determines that doing so is in the national interest. The panel of noted experts will discuss the effectiveness of the waivers and rehabilitation measures for former child soldiers.

Women in IP Breakfast Series - Hot Topics in Privacy
Tuesday,
April 14
8:30 AM -
9:30 AM
Panelists will discuss recent issues in privacy and data protection and provide practical advice and insight on the challenges faced by privacy lawyers. The panelists will also share their insights on how to succeed in this growing practice area. The breakfast will be informal and interactive with audience questions welcome.

CLE

Ethics, Discipline, & Real World Obligation
Thursday,
March 26
6:00 PM -
9:00 PM
A premier faculty drawn from the judiciary, the disciplinary bar and law firms will focus on the ethical and potential disciplinary issues confronting attorneys in everyday litigation practice

Missed a Program? You Can Still Benefit! CLE Programs' CDs, DVDs and other course
materials can be found on the website.

CONNECT WITH US

2015 New York State Legislative Agenda
The New York City Bar Association has released its 2015 New York State Legislative Agenda, which focuses on issues that are relevant to the current legislative debate or of particular importance to the City Bar, as well as legislative proposals drafted by our committees. Included in the agenda is support for the Women’s Equality Act, extending Temporary Disability Insurance benefits to cover family care leave from the workplace and the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA). To read more about these issues and view the full agenda, click here.

The Women's Leadership Symposium

Close to 100 attendees came for the 2015 Women's Leadership Symposium on February 26th. The program examined strategies that have successfully advanced women and yielded significant return on investment for the firms that implemented them.


Pictured, from left: Laura Rees Acosta, Diversity and Professional Development Manager, Goodwin Proctor; Kristen Ireland, Director, Leadership & Talent Initiatives, Franchise Risk & Strategy, Citi; Melissa McClenaghan Martin, Moderator, President of M3 Strategic Alliances; Rosalie Mandel, KPMG Audit Partner and founder of Rothstein Kass' women's initiative; Jeanne Kane, Zaykowski Partners, L.P.; former Managing Director of Gender Strategy and Business Development at Lehman Brothers.

Pet and Women Safety Act
This proposed federal legislation, which would extend protection and support for the pets of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence, was supported in a report issued by the Committees on Animal Law, Children and the Law and Domestic Violence. The proposed legislation would amend the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to prohibit threats and acts of violence against a victim's pet by prohibiting conduct that places a person in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to, that person's pet. The proposed legislation also would include a prohibition on interstate violations of protective orders for pets and establish a grant program to provide assistance to victims of domestic violence with pets. The committees wrote that the legislation is necessary because there is a well-established and growing body of research demonstrating a connection between animal cruelty and violence against humans, including domestic violence and child abuse, as animals are often used as a tool to control and harm human victims of domestic violence and child abuse.

Child Soldiers
Three committees wrote to President Obama urging him to reverse his decision to continue providing military assistance to governments that recruit and use child soldiers in contravention of the purposes of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 ("CSPA"). The letter, prepared by the Committees on African Affairs, Military Affairs and Justice, and Children and the Law, noted that the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (the Optional Protocol), which the United States ratified, prohibits the compulsory recruitment and direct use in hostilities of persons under the age of 18. The committees analyzed the status of the use of child soldiers in six African nations that have received full or partial waivers from the restrictions of the CSPA and concluded that in several instances the U.S. continues to provide military aid to nations which have not made satisfactory progress toward eradicating the use of children as soldiers.

Connecting Sexual Violence with the Need for Comprehensive Sexuality Education
The Sex and Law Committee wrote to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representative Carolyn Maloney, and NYC Public Advocate Letitia James praising each for her leadership in addressing the issue of sexual violence on school campuses and seeking to enlist their help in initiating a proactive, long-term approach to reducing rates of sexual violence by lending their public support to policies that advance comprehensive sex education. The Committee points to the need to establish comprehensive sex education in the schools to prepare young people from an early age to engage in healthy relationships. The Committee cited the 2012 National Sexuality Education Standards, which incorporate lessons focusing not only on physical development, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases, but also on safety, respect and consent, sexual decision-making, self-efficacy, sexual orientation and gender identity, and awareness about cultural messages that reinforce gender norms and sexual violence.

Committee Involvement--It's Never too Late
Committees are how the City Bar’s work gets done. Working on a committee can give you great experience while opening up a number of career doors, some you may not even anticipate.

A full list of the City Bar committees along with a brief description of each and an application form can be found on the City Bar’s website. As a number of City Bar committees have more applicants than available slots, please consider applying to more than one committee.

Legislative Affairs
Have an interest in or questions about the City Bar’s legislative work? Send an email to legislation@nycbar.org, visit our website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.