Alan Rothstein

Former City Bar General Counsel

When I think back on my 30 years as counsel at the City Bar, I most marvel at the scope of what I got to work on. During my tenure, we always had at least 150 committees hard at work, covering the full range of the law. If an aspect wasn’t being covered, no problem: we created a committee for that. I felt my legal knowledge was a mile wide and an inch deep, having a passing knowledge of fields I had no idea existed. I felt that if there was a contest for who knew the most anagrams of agencies, I’d be a good contestant.

As each legal field is really its own world, so is each committee, with its own tradition, loyal alumni, and particular take on the world. The most fun was getting committees to collaborate. When we have committees from different points of view, with their amazing collective expertise, agreeing on a single position, I think we speak most strongly. So it was with our letter opposing, on legal grounds, the U.S. starting a war in Iraq. We received many questions as to our process in coming up with that position, and I was happy to say that at least nine committees with different perspectives weighed in.

Of course, with this many viewpoints there were inevitable conflicts among committees. I can’t say dealing with all of those was great fun, but they sure were stimulating. Some were resolved by negotiating compromise, some by the President and some by the Executive Committee. My takeaway from all was the level of discourse and civility with which everything was handled, even when a committee was not able to prevail on a deeply-held position.

On my way out the door, I thought about how many committee chairs I dealt with over the years. It had to be at least 1,500. It’s striking that so many lawyers were willing to put in the time necessary to chair a committee, and the thousands of others who wrote reports, planed programs, and conducted all sorts of pro bono activities through our committees. I tried never to forget I was dealing with volunteers, even when I was pushing them to meet unreasonable deadlines. What an honor to be in the middle of all that activity for so long!

Another impression I want to share is about the Association building itself: the “House of the Association.” It is a beautiful and awe-inspiring structure. My first visit was as a summer associate in 1977, on a sweltering day, when the Library air conditioning wasn’t working. As I was feeling sorry for myself I looked around at all the older men (yes, then overwhelmingly men) working as if nothing was wrong. So I sucked it up. But still, the building suggests majesty and, yes, some might say an elite slice of the Bar and of society.

So when I came to work there, it was with a slight misgiving. Did I belong? Did I fit with the tradition? But the Association was changing. The Executive Directors I worked under, Fern Schair, Barbara Opotowsky, and Bret Parker, deserve the lion’s share of the credit for opening the Association in many ways. But particularly, the Association went from a place where white men gathered, to become a hub of the larger community. The Association had never provided direct legal services to the wider community, but early in my tenure the opportunity arose to help undocumented Central Americans gain amnesty under a new federal law. All of a sudden, hundreds of people who might well have feared entering our building – which after all looks quite official – were lining up to have their applications completed. That was the beginning of what’s now the City Bar Justice Center, which helps thousands of people every year through a multitude of programs.

We also opened the Association to disadvantaged high school students. Starting in 1994 our Thurgood Marshall program provided internships for these students at law firms and other legal employers. Part of the program is advising students on how to act in a work environment, and on considering law as a career. Children who had barely left their neighborhoods were now coming into our building, and even more, feeling at home there. You could see their confidence grow over the course of the summer. And that’s how many legal careers were launched. A favorite program of mine that we ran for a number of years invited hundreds of local high school students to the Association on a Saturday to participate in seminars on constitutional issues. I helped lead those seminars, with the main idea to have the students share their views. I prepared by reviewing the various issues on both sides of a topic, and wouldn’t you know, the students came up with all of those issues without my prompting – every time. Our diversity programs continue to bring students to the Association to open a world of possibilities, just as we did for those amnesty seekers and so many others.

I could go on, but I’ll save the rest for the Association’s 175th and 200th anniversaries.