New York City Bar Association Podcasts -NYC Bar

The term "Sustainable Development" first appeared in the 1987 report "Our Common Future," prepared by the Brundtland Commission. Sustainable Development was endorsed as the basis of a new model of development at the first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, known as the Earth Summit, which took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Twenty years later, the Rio + 20 Conference produced an Outcome Document called the "Future We Want," which articulates essential commitments necessary for Sustainable Development.

The need for a sustainable future has remained a constant for the past quarter century and has propelled a deeper understanding of the principles and practices that will enable such a future. Indeed, understanding and implementing sustainable practices is even more crucial today in the face of global climate change.

This diverse panel will discuss the changes that are emerging, guided by the Rio + 20 Outcome Document, "The Future We Want." The panelists will describe recent institutional changes at the UN, including the establishment of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the designation of the UN Environment Assembly as the governing body of UNEP, the General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, and the Expert Committee on Sustainable Development financing. The panelists will also discuss the role of stakeholders, problems with the Means of Implementation and financing strategies for sustainable development, and climate adaptation. The panelists will explore the challenges of building a positive, enabling environment for rule-based business and investment, as well as for the expression of the civil society perspective.

Panelists: Americo Beviglia Zampetti, Head, Economic, Trade and Sustainable Development Section, European Union Delegation to the UN; Felix Dodds, Independent Consultant on stakeholder engagement in the sustainable development process and Writer; former Executive Director of Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future; Louise Kantrow, Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the International Chamber of Commerce and Coordinator, Global Business Alliance for Post 2015; David O'Connor, Head, Policy and Analysis Branch, United Nations Division for Sustainable Development

Moderator: Nicholas A. Robinson, University Professor for the Environment and and Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, Pace Law School

Sponsored by: Committee on International Environmental Law, Mary L. Lyndon, Chair; Asian Affairs Committee, Mark R. Shulman, Chair

Co-Sponsored by: Environmental Law Committee, Jeffrey Gracer, Chair; European Affairs Committee, Catherine Tinker, Chair; Task Force on Climate Adaptation, Stephen L. Kass, Chair; United Nations Committee, Ulysses Smith, Chair

Was there a secret about the Lincoln assassination whose disclosure "would risk the survival of the Republic?" David Stewart's book shows what a quest for this secret reveals about America in the 1860s and at the dawn of Teddy Roosevelt's presidency in 1900. Mr. Stewart takes us into the cauldron of the assassination, the Booth Conspiracy, and America's corrosive dealings on race.

Moderator: Albert Feuer, Law Offices of Albert FeuerSpeaker: David O. Stewart, Ropes & Gray, LLP, Washington, DC; Author, "The Lincoln Deception" Sponsored by: Committee on Legal History, John Q. Barrett, Chair; Committee on Books at the Bar, Thomas Ross, Chair

On Monday, February 3, 2014 Justice Elena Kagan, Supreme Court of the United States, delivered the Annual Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Distinguished Lecture on Women and the Law. The lecture was followed by a question and answer session.

Welcome by: Carey R. Dunne, President, New York City Bar

Introduction by: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States

Lecture by: Justice Elena Kagan, Supreme Court of the United States

The Guantanamo Bay military commissions have become one of the biggest legal controversies of the past decade. Attorneys representing military commission defendants have faced reading of their legal mail, monitoring devices in attorney-client meeting rooms, and interruption of arguments by an outside intelligence agency. Jess Bravin, author of The Terror Courts, will discuss the recent history of the military commissions; two of the defense attorneys, Commander Walter Ruiz and James Connell, will describe the ongoing challenge of trying to practice law at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This is a follow-up to a program at the Association with Brigadier General Mark Martins, the Chief Prosecutor of the Military Commissions.

Moderator: Jess Bravin, Supreme Court correspondent, Wall Street Journal; Author, The Terror Courts: Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay. Speakers:James Connell, Learned Counsel for Ammar al Baluchi; Commander Walter B. Ruiz, Jr., Learned Counsel for Mustafa Al Hawsawi

This program will explore the newly enacted and proposed SEC rules under the JOBS Act which allow for raising financing through crowdfunding on the internet and social media. The panelists will discuss the realities and examples of crowdfunding through the popular portals to date, and how the new laws will work and how they differ from the current rules, all with a particular emphasis on entertainment.

Speakers: NOREEN WEISS ADLER, Media, Corporate, Securities and Finance Partner at Barton, LLP; KIRAN LINGAM, General Counsel at SeedInvest, a leading equity funding platform; JOHN SLOSS,Partner and Founder of SlossEckhouseLawCo LLP, Founder of Cinetic Media, Film Buff, and Producers Distribution Agency

Moderator: MARILYN G. HAFT, Law Offices of Marilyn G. Haft, P.C.—Entertainment film and television law and finance.

Sponsored by: Committee on Corporation Law, Maurice Lefkort, Chair; Committee on Entertainment Law, Judith Bass, Chair

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.

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.