What keeps you up at night?

Everyone who responded to our survey was concerned about unemployed lawyers. Whether you are unemployed or not, the vast pool of unemployed lawyers is a concern to us all.  The next nightmare that kept people awake was offshore outsourcing--indeed, related to unemployed lawyers--below is a link to an ABA article by Debra Cassens Weiss about one law firm management member who is not kept awake at night by outsourcing. I wonder why not.....  http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/kl_gates_chairman_sees_outsourcing_as_gnat_in_an_elephants_ear/
Finally, readers are kept awake at night by civility (or lack thereof, one would assume).  Surprisingly, no one was losing any sleep over mandatory retirement and judicial independence. I wonder why.....

I have been remiss in my blogging duties this end of the year. Apologies for that, my New Years resolution is to step up my blogging and to enlist guest bloggers to share this platform, anyone interested? send an email to nyclablogger@gmail.com if you are.  For everyone else, check out the latest survey and let us know YOUR New Years' resolutions.

Calling Mentors and Mentees

NYCLA is gearing up for the second year of its successful mentoring program.  The goal of the program is to "enhance the experience of junior attorneys in the legal profession by providing the tools and resources necessary for their professional and personal development through mentoring services, customized CLE programs and active bar association membership."

If you are interested in participating as either a mentor or a mentee, click the link here for more information, http://www.nycla.org/index.cfm?section=Ethics&page=NYCLA_Mentoring_Program

The Task Force on Professionalism Revs Up for a New Year

The Task Force under the helm of Ron Minkoff started off the new year with its first meeting last week. The big ticket item is the second year of the Mentoring Program which will build on the success of the first year pilot program. Also in the pipeline are new initiatives and the future of our humble blog. Stay tuned …

When Pro Bono Does Not Work the Way it Should

While the benefits from pro bono work are widely recognized, the “negative effects” are rarely discussed. Perhaps because they are considered so insignificant in comparison to the interests they promote. But, what if these “negative effects” could harm the legal profession?

During the last few months, I have been involved in many different pro bono programs. I have examined the whole process and witnessed how our contribution has generated good: Volunteer lawyers attend a mandatory training that covers basics on the area of practice relevant to the pro bono activity and ethics, and afterward attend legal clinics. Most of the clients I have helped were not “sophisticated persons” and felt oppressed by the legal process. In the end, they were so grateful for the assistance they were granted.

In the absence of the incident described further, I would have never become aware of the potential harm of pro bono services:

On a Thursday morning, when I was volunteering at the Uncontested Divorce Clinic, a group of people entered to the clinic and asked “where are the lawyers, we are looking for lawyers.” At first, nothing was out of the ordinary; a group of people looking for lawyers in the Kings County Supreme Court is likely to happen. But, that was not exactly the case, there was something more profound.

After a short inquiry, we realized that these individuals were looking for the lawyers of another pro bono program. At that very moment, we also became aware of the tone of their voices and the expression on their faces: they screamed disdain for the legal profession. I got the impression they were demanding: “where is my free lawyer.”

Legal services perceived as a free commodity by the public can have long term devastating effects on the legal profession, such as having clients taking our work and/or availability for granted.

Making a difference for indigents seeking legal services should not be at the expense of the volunteer attorneys who donate their time, energy and expertise to promote the interest of justice.

What can be done to frustrate the potential evils of pro bono legal services?

My proposal is to reconsider the way we deliver our free legal services. Pro bono programs should have a wisely crafted internal policy conveying unequivocally the value of the services provided and the idea that nothing should be taken for granted.

Pro bono clients must understand that being found eligible for pro bono legal assistance is an exceptional privilege and the waiver of attorney’s fees is not right.

** This is the first post from Pascal Partouche.  Thanks, Pascal, we look forward to hearing from you more.

Death of billables?

We have discussed the death of billables on this blog in the past, but in the last six months or so the topic hasn't received much press. At least until this morning... here is an interesting analysis from the WSJ blog on why the idea isn't taking off as fast as was predicted a few months ago.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/08/30/is-the-billable-hour-going-away-not-according-to-the-supreme-court/?blog_id=14&post_id=33088

A committee that blogs together ...

All of the respondents in our last survey wished their committees had blogs of their own. It is a great communication tool that the Task Force on Professionalism is lucky to have, but what makes it most interesting is involvement from our readers so before you leave, make sure to cast your votes on the survey to the left, then I will know I am not alone.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

We will soon have some welcome additions to the blog, specifically a new blogger-collaborator Pascal.  Keep checking in with us for more info on Pascal and his first post.

The Staten Island Outing

The mentors and mentees from our Pilot Mentoring Program spent a fun-filled evening networking while watching a Staten Island Yankees Game -- with all you can eat burgers and dogs. Last evening's B-league baseball game was one of the structured events organized by NYCLA to get mentors and mentees together. The aim of this event was for the mentors (all leaders in the NYCLA community) and the mentees (all future leaders in the NYCLA community) to talk about things other than law and the legal profession ... we all need a break sometimes....

Many thanks to Bari Chase and her staff for organizing a great event!

(I am sorry I had to leave before the fireworks. I heard they were fabulous! And I still can't believe that that ferry ride was a freebie!)

Mentoring Program Surveys

Thank you, Mentees, for filling out your surveys. We received a lot of valuable feedback and will analyze the results further to incorporate your suggestions as we go forward with NYCLA's Mentoring Program.

Mentors, you should have received your surveys last week. It is time for you to fill them out and return them to us as soon as possible. We need your insights too!

Mentees Send In Those Surveys

Mentees, this is a post dedicated to all of you; a reminder to please fill out the surveys as fully as you are able by June 30. (You have two days.) We can really use your feedback and are grateful for your time. Thanks!

NYCLA Joins in Filing Civil Action to Challenge Mayor's Plan to Change Indigent Defense Plan

On June 18, NYCLA joined with the Bronx, Kings, Richmond and Queens County Bar Associations in filing a civil action in New York State Supreme Court alleging that recent attempts by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the City of New York and the Criminal Justice Coordinator to overturn the City's indigent defense system are unconstitutional under the New York and United States Constitutions.

This most recent action follows the filing of an Article 78 proceeding on June 2 to challenge the City's unilateral overturning of the indigent defense system operated for more than 40 years through a joint plan among the City and County Bars.

The June 18 complaint alleges that the City's actions threaten to undermine indigent defendants' already limited access to meaningful and effective representation, and that the actions violate the guarantees of access to counsel, due process, equal protection and separation of powers. The complaint seeks to halt the City's contract procurement process and preserve the status quo unless and until the City reaches an agreement with the County Bars that preserves indigent defendants' access to adequate legal counsel.

To read the June 18 release about the filing of the civil action, click here: https://www.nycla.org/siteFiles/News/News131_0.pdf

technical difficulties

it appears that with our recent blog renovations, we lost the prior results from our pro bono survey--please vote again. also, comments on the "new look" are welcome...

New Chair for the Professionalism Task Force

Jim Kobak has appointed Ron Minkoff to succeed him as Chair of the Professionalism Task Force.

Ron is one of New York State’s leading practitioners in the field of attorney ethics and professional responsibility, representing attorneys in a wide variety of matters including partnership disputes, disciplinary cases, and malpractice and intentional tort actions. He is Adjunct Professor of Professional Responsibility at New York University School of Law. He is a member of the NYSBA Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct and the NYSBA Special Committee to Review the Code of Judicial Conduct of the American Bar Association. He is a member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Professionalism, and a past President of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. Ron is one of the principal authors of the Ethics Institute’s soon to be released treatise: “The New York Rules of Professional Conduct: Practice and Procedure,” Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2010.

Welcome Ron!

NYCLA Advocates for Indigent Members of Society

On behalf of NYCLA and other county bar associations, Haynes and Boone, LLP commenced an action in New York State Supreme Court seeking to block the City of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Coordinator John Feinblatt from unilaterally implementing an overhaul of the City’s indigent legal defense system for criminal matters -- a system that was devised and has been operated under a joint plan among the City and the County Bars for more than 40 years. The County Bars brought the lawsuit on behalf of New York’s indigent defendants, who are otherwise without effective means or recourse to challenge systematic inadequacies in the provision of criminal defense services.

The action -- referred to as an “Article 78 Proceeding” -- seeks an order from the court preventing the City and the CJC from further disturbing the status quo unless and until the City reaches an agreement with the bar associations that preserves indigent defendants' access to adequate legal counsel.

Fo more information, follow the link to the full news release: https://www.nycla.org/siteFiles/News/News130_0.pdf

Elena Kagan Chosen for Supreme Court

This morning President Obama said he will nominate Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court. Kagan is the first woman solicitor general of the United States. Once she is confirmed, there will be three women sitting on the Supreme Court, another first; we are approaching gender parity ...

So the guessing game is over; surprisingly none of our voters chose Kagan on our last poll, but President Obama did, and he is really the only one that counts ...

The Legacy of John Adams

One hundred percent of our voters believe that pro bono representation of the popular and unpopular is a nobel tradition in the law and should not be a bar to working for the government.

John Adams would agree. He didn't just work for the government, he worked toward creating our government, even after he represented the wildly unpopular British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre. (Although I don't know if he took on the representation pro bono).

NYCLA is a Cooperating Entity for the ABA International Section 2010 Spring Meeting

NYCLA is a cooperating entity for the ABA International Sections 2010 Spring Meeting, which is happening right now! If you need CLE credit and are interested in international issues, the 2010 Spring meeting offers four days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) of cutting-edge programs that you should check out. Also scheduled are lunches with distinguished speakers and lots of networking and social events too. Rates for programs are the same for NYCLA members as for ABA members. You can check out the programs by following this link:

http://www.abanet.org/intlaw/spring2010/agenda.html

When justice is served

Speaking against the recent attack ads questioning the loyalty of attorneys that represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Justice Ginsburg said “The truth is that justice is served when there is quality representation by lawyers for everyone.”

See the whole article from the BLT at http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2010/03/ginsburg-ge-counsel-speak-up-for-justice-department-lawyers.html

NYCLA members using networking sites

The majority of respondents to our poll use social networking sites to market their legal skills--Eighty percent of those who responded!

NYCLA Board Adopts Task Force on Professionalism Report

On January 11, NYCLA's Task Force on Professionalism's "Report on Professionalism" was adopted by the NYCLA Board of Directors. James B. Kobak Jr., NYCLA's president elect and chair of the Task Force said, "The work of the Task Force follows NYCLA's tradition of taking on questions of serious concern to the legal community and citizenry of New York in a frank and congenial manner from a diversity of perspectives."

To download a copy of the report, visit www.nycla.org and go to the "News" section on NYCLA's homepage.

A SDNY Judge's insight on the Future of Litigation

I have provided a link to a prophetic article written by US District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin regarding the future of litigation, published in the NY Law Journal on February 5.

Judge Scheindlin addresses five changes to the practice of litigation and how they "affect the bench and bar: (1) jurisdiction; (2) pleading standards and case tracking; (3) vanishing trials and changing jury culture; (4) alternative dispute resolution; and (5) the impact of electronic communications on civil and criminal litigation."

Full text of the article can be accessed from the link below:

http://alm-editorial-us.msgfocus.com/c/13VlOzeoAUkg7SbEZM

Our collective crystal ball is not working

Our last poll asked "How long will the drop in attorney demand and association salaries/ billing rates last?"

Your answers were an even split among three of the four choices: 33.33% of voters think that within a year or two we will return to 2006 levels; 33.33% of voters don't expect to see a full recovery for at least five years; and 33.33% of voters think the drop in salaries and billing rates is the new norm and will not change EVER

only time will tell who is right in their prediction.

There is one telling piece of information from this latest survey, however--no one voted that their rates have increased and are earning more than ever.

Make sure to cast your vote on the new poll, on the right of the screen.

The Pilot Mentoring Program has begun

The Task Force on Professionalism's Pilot Mentoring Program is being unveiled.

After months of organizing and negotiating how the program will work and best practices; contacting mentors and a difficult selection process of many fine applicants for mentees; and preparing training materials, making final adjustments and last minute trouble shooting, NYCLA and the Task Force on Professionalism are thrilled to be hosting the kick-off party to start the first year of the Pilot Mentoring Program.

Through its surveys and analysis, the Task Force recognized a real need for mentoring amongst New York legal professionals. The mentoring program hopes to fill that need for NYCLA members.

I plan on following the progress of the Mentoring Program through this blog in order to support the Program in two ways: (1) to generate comments on the effectiveness of the Mentoring Program during this first, very crucial year. We would like to get the benefit of suggestions from NYCLA members who are participating in the Program (and those who are not participating, but still have suggestions) in order to work out any kinks and strengthen the Program; and (2) to generate interest in the Program in order to make this a sustainable, perennial Program.

The need for mentoring in the New York legal community is undeniable. Through the NYCLA's Mentoring Program we hope to advance confident lawyers to be more satisfied in their profession.