Fall Preview 2023

By Susan J. Kohlmann, President, and Bret Parker, Executive Director

Every fall we have the pleasure of welcoming you back to the New York City Bar Association with open arms. Like many of you, we have continued our work in the summer months while taking much needed opportunities to rest. But the excited hum of Labor Day weekend is also the kickoff of our new committee year and we are eagerly looking forward to filling the City Bar’s spaces (virtual and in-person alike) with colleagues new and old. We are pleased to offer you a preview of just some of the exciting events in store this fall. 

We hope that every one of our members will take note of the September 13 program Securing Democracy for Tomorrow and consider joining the City Bar’s Civics Corps. NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks will speak, and we’ll host a volunteer fair with representatives from multiple civics organizations offering opportunities ranging from small commitments to deep involvement, for lawyers as well as non-lawyers. With lawyers uniquely suited to communicate the content and deep significance of civics in our society, we aim to activate as many as possible to form a volunteer corps that dramatically boosts civic education in New York City and serves as a model for other cities and states across the nation.

One of the most important functions of bar associations is to help the legal profession understand and manage sweeping change. In that spirit, you’ll want to check out the Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Summit 2023 CLE on September 29. And we also encourage you to listen to three recent podcasts on these topics from our Digital Technologies Task Force that was launched earlier this year. On their web page, you’ll also find a wealth of resources from Task Force experts on emerging issues in fields like artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technology, cybersecurity and the metaverse. Committee service remains the most robust way to contribute to the City Bar’s important advocacy work and to network with peers in various areas of legal practice.

Other upcoming City Bar programs responding to urgent issues of the day include “The Roles of Lawyers and Bar Associations in Combating Climate Change” on September 18, and the next edition of the “New Frontiers in Federalism” series on September 19. An October conference hosted by the Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging will be a forum for new DEIB strategies in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action. 

We also look forward to honoring four outstanding Assistant U.S. Attorneys with our Stimson Medal, which has been awarded to up-and-comers who have gone on to the highest-level positions in government or worked on some of the biggest cases and government investigations in recent history. You’ll recognize many names on the list of previous awardees. The presentation ceremony for this prestigious award is on September 12 and open to the public.

With solo and small law firm practitioners making up 25% of the City Bar’s membership, we are very much looking forward to the 20th Annual Small Law Firm Symposium on November 9. And for future lawyers there’s BootCamp: Basic Training for Lawyers on September 19, and the Law Student Welcome Reception on September 14, where, perennially, we try to quiet down a room full of exuberant law students enjoying one another’s company long enough to tell them how glad we are to see them! 

With other events large and small to look forward to, as well as all the other work being done by our 23,000 members, we are eager to continue developing new ways to satisfy the ever-changing needs of legal practitioners everywhere. Our historic library remains open with access to online and physical research resources, and our building contains a number of office spaces available for our members’ use. 

The City Bar remains a second home for the legal profession, and we treasure the connections that are made here among our members. We invite you to make it a second home for your professional life and to share your experiences with your colleagues and friends.

Sincerely,

Susan J. Kohlmann
President 

Bret Parker
Executive Director