New York City Bar Association Podcasts -NYC Bar

Danny Alicea, the incoming Chair of the City Bar’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, spoke with Trudy S. Rebert and Carlos Vargas about DACA – the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – and the recent Supreme Court decision in Wolf v. Batalla Vidal that upheld a challenge to its termination. Ms. Rebert is an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center and a member of the Wolf v. Batalla Vidal litigation team. Carlos Vargas is a plaintiff in the case. He arrived in the United States at age four, is currently in law school, and is one of the 700,000 people who have received protection under DACA.

As a national conversation over police abuse of Black and Brown people has emerged, many lawmakers and others are unveiling police reform measures. Join us for a discussion of the various proposed pathways and approaches to police reform. Our esteemed panel tackles some of the principal tensions confronting our society today and address the challenges of advancing change in how policing and law enforcement is carried out in this country. Also discussed: how the legal profession can best participate in this conversation and play a productive role in bringing about effective and timely change.

Moderator:

Sheila S. Boston, President, New York City Bar Association

Speakers:

Loretta Lynch, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and former U.S. Attorney General

Paul Fishman, Arnold & Porter LLP and former United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey

Nicole M. Austin-Hillery, Executive Director, US Program, Human Rights Watch

J. Scott Thomson, former Chief of the Camden County Police Department, and former President of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)

Lorenzo M. Boyd, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer, University of New Haven

Sponsoring Committee:

Council on the Profession, Matthew Diller and Melissa Colon-Bosolet, Co-Chairs

Cosponsoring Committee:

Corrections and Community Reentry, Gregory Morril, Chair

Civil Rights, Zoey Chenitz, Chair

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Matthew Morningstar and Robert Marchman, Co-Chairs

Juvenile Justice, Fredda Monn, Chair

Mass Incarceration, Sean Hecker, Chair

New York City Affairs, John Owens, Chair

Dr. Kenneth Prager, Director of Clinical Ethics at Columbia University Medical Center, speaks with Alan Brudner, Chair of the Bioethical Issues Committee of the New York City Bar Association, about ethical issues in health care arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lindsay Kassof, in-house counsel for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, and member of the City Bar's Health Law Committee, moderates a discussion with insurance industry legal experts, including several on the City Bar’s Insurance Law Committee.

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily of the City Bar.

Gary Kalbaugh, Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Futures & Derivatives Regulation Committee, speaks with Dr. Heath P. Tarbert, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The Association presents its annual Thomas E. Dewey Medal, awarded to outstanding assistant district attorneys in each of the District Attorney's offices within New York City and the Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York.

This year’s medal winners are:

Astrid Borgstedt, Bronx County

Leonard Joblove, Kings County

Christopher Conroy, New York County

Robert J. Masters, Queens County

Lisa Davis, Richmond County

Andrés Torres, Special Narcotics

Keynote Speaker:

John M. Ryan, Acting District Attorney, Queens County

Among prosecutors in New York County, Thomas E. Dewey is remembered as having ushered in the era in which the District Attorney's office has been staffed by professional prosecutors chosen on merit rather than through political patronage. Dewey first came to the public's attention as a prosecutor in the 1930s, instituting successful criminal proceedings against gangsters, bootleggers and organized crime figures of the day. By 1937, Dewey was elected District Attorney of New York County, where he served one term before resigning to run for governor. The awards are made possible by the generosity of the firm of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky LLP.

A panel discusses the legal issues associated with international public and private art exhibitions. The panel addresses art loan and exhibition agreements, commercial and government indemnity insurance, import, export, temporary admission and VAT considerations, and governing law and forum selection clauses.

Moderator:

Diana Wierbicki, Chair of the Art Law Committee

Speakers:

Rudy Capildeo, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Derek Gillman, Distinguished Teaching Professor; Senior Adviser to the President for University Collections at Drexel University Wetphal

Jonathan Halpern, Chair of the European Affairs Committee

Megan Noh, Pryor Cashman LLP

Nicholas O'Donnell, Sullivan & Worcester

Eleni Polycarpou, Withersworldwide

Anne Rappa, Senior Vice President at Huntington T. Block

Sponsoring Association Committee:

Art Law Committee | Diana Wierbicki, Chair

Co-Sponsoring Organization:

Institute of Art & Law

The program examines legal and ethical issues surrounding prison based companion animal programs including dog training programs. Panelists discuss their own participation in such a program as well as the growth and scope of such programs more generally in the US. The panel explores benefits of such programs on the individual level as well as on the criminal justice system including implications for rehabilitation, vocational skill training and recidivism.

Speakers:

Liz Keller, Founder, Rescue Dogs Rescue Soldiers Project

Kimberly Spanjol, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Iona College

Gloria Gilbert Stoga, President and Founder, Puppies Behind Bars

Sponsoring Association Committee:

Animal Law Committee, Chris Wlach, Chair

Co-Sponsoring Association Committee:

Corrections and Community Reentry Committee, Greg Morril, Chair

Join us for a panel discussing how the profits from corruption fuel bad governance, conflict and terrorism. Governments falter due to corrupt officials who steal funds earmarked for public projects and enrich themselves with bribes. Grievances such as lack of services and unemployment have a common source: the plundering of a country’s wealth by predatory and corrupt political elites.

Proceeds garnered from the illicit trade in natural resources provide funds for militias to buy weapons and foment strife. Today’s deadliest conflicts are sustained by illegal enrichment from pillaging property such as ivory, minerals and timber, stealing from impoverished populations.

Panelists discuss possible solutions to address the ongoing scourge of corruption.

Moderator:

Elizabeth Barad, International Law and Gender Consultant, former Chair of the NYC Bar’s African Affairs Committee

Speakers:

April Dennis, Director of Anti-Money Laundering Modeling, Société Générale Americas

Kenneth Hurwitz, Senior Managing Legal Officer on Anti-Corruption, Open Society Justice Initiative

J.R. Mailey, Special Investigations Director, the Sentry

Zoe Reiter, Acting Representative to the US and Senior Project Leader, Transparency International

Alain Seckler, UN Political Affairs Officer, Africa II Division

Ulysess Smith, President & CEO, Telos Governance Advisers LLC

Sponsoring Association Committees:

International Human Rights Committee, Lauren Melkus, Chair

Co-sponsoring Committee Programs:

Asian Affairs Committee, Jian Wu, Chair

Inter-American Affairs Committee, David H. Flechner, Chair

Council on International Affairs, Michael D. Cooper, Chair

Middle Eastern & North African Affairs Committee, Timothy James McCarthy, Chair

This program provides information on topics of interest to consumers, and the lawyers who advise them, regarding their purchases of, and problems with, life, health, auto, and homeowners insurance. Topics include resolving claims and disputes, coverage gaps, common and mandatory coverages, government resources, who needs to be licensed, and more. A representative from the NY Department of Financial Services also explains how the Department assists consumers.

Speakers:

Emily Clark, Community Service Society

James Dees, Consumers Assistance Unit, NYS Dept of Financial Services

Drexel Harris, Associate General Counsel, Reliance Insurance Company (In Liquidation)

Ann Kramer, ReedSmith LLP

Richard Liskov, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP

Sponsoring Association Committee:

Insurance Law Committee, Drexel B. Harris, Jr. , Chair