Alan Rothstein to Retire as General Counsel after Three Decades at New York City Bar Association

Alan Rothstein, the General Counsel of the New York City Bar Association, will retire in July after nearly 30 years of service, the City Bar announced today.

During his time at the City Bar, Rothstein has served as the primary source of advice and counsel to the association’s presidents and committees as they prepared reports, policy statements, amicus briefs and letters to public officials and heads of state on matters of policy and law reform.

“The modern history of the New York City Bar Association could not be written without prominent mention of Alan Rothstein’s contributions,” said City Bar President Debra L. Raskin. “He has been a guiding force in our work, particularly in the areas of civil liberties and government reform. And as anyone who has had the pleasure of working with him knows, he is just a wonderful human being whose presence will be greatly missed here.”

“I have been incredibly lucky to work in an organization of such high integrity that is so focused on serving the legal profession and, to me more significantly, the public interest,” Rothstein said. “I will miss the terrific staff and the many, many volunteers who completely dispel the notion that lawyers do not give back to their community.”

Rothstein’s responsibilities will be handled by a combination of current staff and new hires. Maria Cilenti, currently the City Bar’s Director of Legislative Affairs, will become Senior Policy Counsel, overseeing all of the City Bar’s policy work through its committees. Ann Rappleye, currently Director of CLE, will add the role of Program Director, overseeing the hundreds of CLE and non-CLE programs produced by the City Bar’s committees each year. Martha Harris will expand her responsibility as Director of Career Development and Committee Engagement, becoming the point person for committee governance issues and overseeing the process of committee appointments. Thomas Halter, currently Chief Financial Officer, will assume an expanded role as Chief Administrative Officer, with primary responsibility for the sound financial and technical operations of the City Bar.