New York City Bar Association Podcasts -NYC Bar

Climate change is placing increasing strain on the infrastructure and resources of cities around the world. Rising sea levels, increases in heat waves, and more frequent and intense weather events demand broad adaptation initiatives and new attention to long-term resilience. As home to more than half of the world's population, cities are becoming the first responders to climate change and are taking a leadership role in addressing its impacts. This panel will discuss adaptation initiatives being implemented in cities around the world, and New York's role within this global movement.

The public is fiercely debating the most far-reaching U.S. immigration legislation in decades. What will be its dimensions? Where do Republicans and Democrats agree? How will it impact our nation's immigrants, undocumented and documented? What are the social, political, and economic implications of immigration reform? And what's at stake for America if we cannot fix our broken immigration system?

Speakers: Jacki Esposito, Director of Immigration Advocacy, New York Immigration Coalition; Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute; Angie Kim, KORE Member, MinKwon Center for Community Action

Moderator: Grace Meng, U.S. Researcher, Human Rights Watch

Extinction is imminent for wild elephants and rhinos due to a confluence of uncontrolled poaching, illegal wildlife trafficking, consumer demand, and the inadequate reach and enforcement of conservation laws. A panel will discuss these issues, including the CITES treaty, relevant U.S. laws, and the potential impact of the U.S. State Department's new four-part strategy to strengthen and expand enforcement.

Moderator: Martha Golar, Member, Committee on Animal Law

Speakers: Bryan Christy, Contributing Writer, National Geographic; Author, Blood Ivory; William Clark, Wildlife Crime Officer, INTERPOL; Major Scott Florence, NYS Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation; Adam Roberts, Executive Vice President, Born Free USA

Sponsored by:Committee on Animal Law, Christine Mott, Chair

For lawyers who represent clients in cross-border transactions and international investment disputes involving developing countries, the rule of law plays an indispensable role. At both the national and international levels, the rule of law is required to provide fair, stable, and predictable frameworks for corporations doing business in developing countries. The U.N. General Assembly has recognized the importance of the rule of law to international commerce and development, declaring it "essential for sustained and inclusive economic growth, sustainable development, the eradication of poverty and hunger and the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development." Our panel will present several perspectives on the rule of law and doing business in developing countries, and will include presentations on international transactions, international investment disputes, and the United Nations' Rule of Law Initiative.

Presented by: The Council on International Affairs of the New York City Bar Association, Bettina B. Plevan, Chair, and The American Bar Association Representatives and Observers to the United Nations

Panelists:  Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations, one of two Co-Facilitators appointed by the President of the U.N. General Assembly tasked with working with Member States to develop the Declaration on the Rule of Law adopted by the U.N. General Assembly; Laura Chenoweth, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Emerging Markets Business Unit, Pfizer Inc.; Lawrence B. Friedman, International Litigation and Arbitration, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Bruce Rashkow, Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, formerly with the Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, and head for ten years of the General Legal Division, U.N. Office of Legal Affairs, before retiring from the Management and Reform Section, U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

People with mental disabilities in Africa face enormous obstacles to the exercise of their human rights, including societal stigma and exclusion, lack of community services, and lack of legal protections. The coming into force of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which many African countries have ratified, has given renewed impetus to protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, including those with mental health and intellectual disabilities. The panel discussion will bring together advocates and experts from the fields of international human rights and disability law, mental health law, and international development to examine a range of strategies to enhance protections of the rights of people with mental disabilities in Africa.

Moderator: Arlene S. Kanter, Bond, Schoeneck & King Distinguished Professor of Law; Director, Disability Law and Policy Program; Co-Director, Center on Human Policy, Law and Disability Studies, Syracuse University School of Law

Speakers: Shuaib Chalken, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability; Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, Coordinator, Office for Disability and Inclusive Development, USAID; Med Ssengooba, Finberg Fellow/Researcher, Human Rights Watch; Steven Datlof, Hogan Lovells; Lycette Nelson, Litigation Director, Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC)

Sponsored by: Committee on African Affairs, Christina Holder, Chair; Committee on Mental Health, Karen Gomes Andreasian, Chair; Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice

Globalization, international trade, and the growth of multinational law firms have resulted in an increased enrollment in LL.M. programs at law schools throughout the U.S. However, international attorneys may face a number of challenges as they seek employment in the U.S. legal market in the private or public sector. This panel will provide important information and advice for this valuable and diverse segment of today's legal market.