Following President Trump's executive order on January 27 restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, the City Bar Justice Center's Immigrant Justice Project was out at JFK airport, providing assistance to detained travelers. We spoke with Suzanne Tomatore, Co-Director of the Immigrant Justice Project, and Danny Alicea, the Justice Center's Fragomen Fellow, about how their project is responding, how lawyers of all types can get involved, and resources to stay updated on the latest developments.

Commissioner O'Neill discusses the NYPD’s efforts to address and improve public safety and quality-of-life conditions. He shares his vision of joining police and community resources to achieve these goals.

Speaker:James P. O'Neill was appointed the 43rd Police Commissioner of New York City in September 2016. Commissioner O’Neill grew up in Brooklyn and began his career in 1983 with the then-independent Transit Police Department. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant and, after the 1995 merger with the NYPD, served in many more positions and ranks, including commanding officer of the Central Park, the 25th and the 44th Precincts. He was later promoted to Inspector and then Deputy Chief, and commanded the Vice, Narcotics and Fugitive Enforcement Divisions. In March 2014, he was appointed commanding officer of Police Commissioner William Bratton’s office. There, he developed the NYPD’s Neighborhood Policing Program, which focuses on greater police and community interaction, crime-fighting and local problem-solving.

Sponsoring Association Committee:The Committee on Senior Lawyers, Doris B. Keeley, Chair, and Barry Bloom, Program Chair

Both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York expect to appoint new Magistrate Judges in the near future, and seek applications from a broad and diverse cross-section of the bar. Join us for a panel on the role of Magistrate Judges, the challenges and rewards of the position, and how to apply for the job. Magistrate Judges from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York as well as the chairs of the screening panel in each district share their experiences and knowledge at this panel.

Welcome Remarks:

Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto, United States District Court Judge, Eastern District of New York

Speakers:

Hon. Ronald Ellis, United States Magistrate Judge, Southern District of New York

Hon. Peggy Kuo, United States Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of New York

Hon. Barbara Moses, United States Magistrate Judge, Southern District of New York

Hon. Ramon E. Reyes, Jr., United States Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of New York

Robert L. Begleiter, Chair, Magistrate Judge Selection Panel, Eastern District of New York

Bettina Plevan, Chair, Magistrate Judge Selection Panel, Southern District of New York

Sponsored by:The George C. Mantzoros Charitable TrustEnhance Diversity in the Profession Committee, Hon. Rosalyn Heather Richter and N. Nate Saint-Victor, Co-ChairsLitigation Committee, Barbara L. Seniawski, ChairMinorities in the Courts Committee, Natacha Carbajal-Evangelista, ChairAsian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)Association of Black Women Attorneys (ABWA)Dominican Bar Association (DBA)Hispanic National Bar Association - Region II (NY)The LGBT Bar Association and Foundation of Greater New York (LeGaL)Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY)Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA)Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY)Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA)Queens County Women’s Bar Association (QCWBA)

A conversation with Amy Impellizzeri, author of Lawyer Interrupted: Successfully Transitioning from the Practice of Law and Back Again

More than half of the world’s people now live in ever-expanding urban environments. Historically, our built environment did not consider the ecological needs of non-human animals. The relationship of the built environment to all natural phenomena is very complex, providing multiple opportunities in the built environment for law, urban planning and design to better support ecological needs of non-human animals.

Panelists: Ralph Blessing, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Urban Planning Program, CUNY/Hunter CollegeJ. Alan Clark, Ph.D., J.D., Associate Professor, Program Coordinator - Conservation Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham UniversityTerri Matthews, Director, Town+Gown, New York City Department of Design and ConstructionStefan Knust, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Director of Sustainability, ENNEAD ARCHITECTS LLPGlenn Phillips, CUNY Urban Sustainability Program; co-author, Bird-friendly Design, 2nd EdJohn McLaughlin, Managing Director, Bureau of Environmental Planning & Analysis, Office of Ecosystem Services, Green Infrastructure and Research, New York City Department of Environmental ProtectionDr. Ellen Pehek, Ph.D., Chief Research Ecologist, Natural Resources Group, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

• Committee(s): Animal Law Committee

This program is for attorneys/summer associates who now are, or are considering, representing a capital client in habeas proceedings. This six-hour program features nationally recognized death penalty and habeas corpus experts. The program will include sessions on habeas corpus, a review of recent Supreme Court decisions, ethical issues in post-conviction claims, and a discussion of lethal injection. At the conclusion of the program, the Norman Redlich awards for Capital Representation will be presented.

Speakers:Art Cody, NYC Bar Capital Punishment CommitteeGeorge Kendall, Squire Patton Boggs LLPRonald Tabak, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and FlomRichard Levitt, Levitt & KaizerMegan McCracken, UC Berkeley School of Law Death Penalty ClinicJohn Blume, Cornell Law School

Sponsoring Association Committee: Capital Punishment Committee, Art Cody, Chair

This conference aims to create a productive dialog among New York City metropolitan organizations regarding opportunities to scale up New Yorkers’ responses to climate change and to align communications on the need for urgent action. The sponsors’ intention in organizing this conference is to bring together these local organizations that are concerned about climate change in a half-day session to: (i) discuss the positive efforts underway to mitigate climate change; (ii) discuss the legal, moral and practical imperatives that have driven those efforts; and (iii) consider how to align the different efforts now underway behind unified and effective messaging about the urgent need for action. The conference will identify existing and potential new opportunities for attorneys and the New York City Bar Association to support this public awareness effort.

Speakers:Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University

Michael Burger, Executive Director of Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University, Moderator-Panel 1: Getting the Message Across

Bessie Schwarz, Communication Strategist, Yale Project for Climate Change CommunicationsMiranda Massie, Executive Director and Founder, Climate Museum Launch Project Father Samuel Fuller, OFM, Cap., St. Pius X, Middletown, Ct., Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Climate Change Lisa Benenson, NRDC’s Chief Communications Officer, NRDC Climate Communications

Jeff Gracer, Partner, Sive Paget, Moderator-Panel 2: Thoughts on Aligning Actions to Amplify Message

Peter Boyd, Sr. Advisor & Climate Lead, The B Team; Founder & CEO, Time4Good GroupNilda Mesa, Director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, NYC One PlanSally Fisk, NYCBA-ELC Member, Sr. Environmental Attorney, Pfizer Inc., Corporate Perspective David Fenton, Founder and CEO, Fenton Communications

Kevin Healy, Bryan Cave, LLP)-Overview of Break-out Session ObjectivesAllen Zerkin, The Wagner School, New York University

Kevin Healy, Partner, Bryan Cave, Summary of Working 

Sponsors: Environmental Law Committee, Michael G. Mahoney, ChairInternational Environmental Law Committee, Gail Suchman, ChairInternational Committee on Human Rights, Anil Kalhan, ChairEnergy Committee, Daniel Rosenblum, ChairSpecial Task Force for Climate Change Adaptation Law, Stephen Kass, ChairCorporate Law Committee, David Silk, ChairSabin Center on Climate Change Law, Columbia University, Michael Gerrard, DirectorLeitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham University School of Law Environmental Law Institute

Opportunities to Raise Public Awareness about Climate Change and the Need for Action Part 3

Opportunities to Raise Public Awareness about Climate Change and the Need for Action Part 1

Sponsors: Capital Punishment Committee, Art C. Cody, Chair, and COMAJ

Description: Although it is difficult to determine a precise number, it is estimated that approximately ten percent of the America’s 3,000 Death Row inmates are veterans. This program will explore the pathology of the approximately 300-veteran condemned inmate population. In particular the mental health implications of military service and combat will be examined in light of Supreme Court precedents such as Porter v. McCollum and Atkins v. Virginia. Among the issues to be discussed will be the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and military culture. The panel will also reflect upon what factors should be considered in determining the appropriate sentence for veterans convicted of capital crimes.

Speakers:Dr. Jerid M. Fisher is a forensic neuropsychologistIrina Komarovskaya, Ph.D. is the Clinic Director at the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at the NYU Langone Medical CenterCAPT Art Cody USN (Ret) is the Legal Director of the New York State Defenders Association, Veterans Defense Program