Co-Chair, Task Force on the Independence of Lawyers & Judges
Venable LLP

In 2016, I joined the New York City Bar Association’s Council on International Affairs as a student member. Like a lot of young lawyers, I was hesitant about the commitment and time requirements of committee service. Ultimately, I joined thanks to the encouragement of a professor who was, at the time, the Council’s chair. As a student member I became part of a subcommittee which created the City Bar’s Task Force on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges, known to its members as the TFILJ. I am now a 4th year associate at a large law firm and co-chair the TFILJ. Our work is meaningful, impactful, and vastly different from anything I do during my day job.

The TFILJ’s mission is simple. Lawyers should be able to represent clients, and judges should be able to independently decide cases, without fearing for either their own or their loved ones’ safety or careers. The TFILJ makes the City Bar part of a global community advocating for the safety and independence of lawyers and judges. In so doing, the City Bar helps promote stability and public confidence in the integrity of the legal system.

The lawyers on the Task Force come from different backgrounds and experience levels. Their day jobs are varied and include lawyers from small, middle, and large firms as well as NGOs and in-house counsel. In the course of our work, we have connected, worked with, and met lawyers around the world who, with similar day jobs, strongly believe in protecting the integrity of the legal system. As a committee we have conferenced with members of foreign governments, met with leaders of foreign bar associations, and been involved in high-level discussions about the efficacy of current protections for lawyers and judges. Given our proximity to the United Nations, we have also developed a strong relationship with the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

City Bar Committees, like the TFILJ, are one of the most important voices in determining how the Association continues to view its role within the greater legal community. Committees push for the City Bar to take a position on areas of concern such as how a particular rule or ethics guideline will affect the practice of law, or whether we are documenting systemic attacks on lawyers’ safety, or when we call on Congress to investigate the Attorney General. Committees must continue to correctly identify these areas of concern so the proper authorities will investigate and act, and so the public can be made aware of precisely what these issues and concerns are.