Event Overview
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – LGBTQ+ Vanguard Award Ceremony and Reception
Holland & Knight LLP | 787 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10019
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Virtual Annual Meeting Program – Hidden Threats to LGBTQ+ Inclusion: AI and DEI Rollbacks
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Virtual CLE Program
This two-part program addresses emerging challenges for LGBTQ+ attorneys in a rapidly changing legal landscape. Panel one explores the ethical use of AI in law practice and the risks of algorithmic bias impacting LGBTQ+ individuals. Panel two examines the evolving future of DEI across firms, companies, and public entities, including legal and political pressures and their effects on LGBTQ+ inclusion. Together, these panels offer insight and strategies for resilience, advocacy, and ethical practice.
Highlights and Objectives:
- Attendees will learn how emerging technologies and shifting DEI policies create new risks for LGBTQ+ attorneys and communities
LGBTQ+ Law Section Chair:
Samuel W. Buchbauer, Esq., Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C.
Program Chair:
Nicholas Edward Loza, Esq., Cammisa Markel PLLC
2026 LGBTQ+ Vanguard Award Winner
Lettie Dickerson, Esq.
Supervising Senior Attorney
Empire Justice Center
M. Lettie Dickerson (he / him) leads the LGBTQ Rights Project at Empire Justice Center in Albany, New York. He has worked on various LGBTQ advocacy projects for the past 25+ years in the Capital District and throughout New York State.
Lettie provides legal representation to clients in discrimination, name changes, and related matters. His recent appellate work includes advocacy in the Matter of Tyler F., 239 AD3d 1496 (2025), and amicus support in the Matter of Cody VV., 226 AD 3d 24 (2024); both cases successfully advocated on behalf of parents seeking name changes for their transgender children. Lettie also provides training and technical assistance to courts, state agencies, legal services organizations, and bar associations.
Lettie’s legislative work includes advocacy to pass the Gender Recognition Act, which streamlined the name change process and provided statutory clarification for gender marker changes in New York. Lettie also worked on passing the NY Shield Law and repealing “Walking While Trans.” Lettie contributed to updating the New York State Education Department’s Guidance for transgender students in 2023. In 2025, Lettie co-chaired a task force in which he co-authored the “Report and Recommendations of the New York State Bar Association task force on the Treatment of Transgender Youth in Sports.” His work on the Task Force and this report contributed to the NYSBA taking a stance to oppose banning transgender youth in school sports. He is an appointed member of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission of the New York Courts.
General Registration Fee
Required for all Annual Meeting attendees.
| NYSBA Members | $250 |
| Non-members | $395 |
+plus…
2026 LGBTQ+ Law Section Annual Meeting
New York State Bar Association 2026 Annual Meeting
LGBTQ+ Law Section
LGBTQ+ Law Section Virtual Annual Meeting Program
Hidden Threats to LGBTQ+ Inclusion: AI and DEI Rollbacks
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Virtual CLE Program | 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Virtual Section Business Meeting | 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
2.0 MCLE Credits
1.0 MCLE Credit in Ethics & Professionalism, 1.0 MCLE Credit in Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias
https://nysba.org/am2026-lgbtq-law-section/
This program is transitional and is suitable for all attorneys
including those newly admitted.
1:00 p.m. – 1:10 p.m.
Welcome and Introduction
Speaker
Samuel W. Buchbauer, Esq. | Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C.
1:10 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
AI and the Practice of Law: Ethical Challenges and Bias Risks for LGBTQ+ Attorneys
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the practice of law - from research and drafting tools to the algorithms shaping employment, housing, healthcare, and credit decisions. For LGBTQ+ attorneys, these developments raise both professional and community-focused concerns: how to responsibly use AI in their own practice while also recognizing and challenging the ways biased systems can harm clients. This program will explore the ethical obligations of attorneys under the New York Rules of Professional Conduct when using AI, practical litigation and discovery strategies when algorithms are at issue, and how advocates can address the disproportionate impact of AI-driven bias on LGBTQ+ individuals and other marginalized groups.
Speaker
TBD |
1.0 Credit in Ethics & Professionalism2:10 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Break
2:20 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.
The Future of DEI in Law Firms: Risks, Retreats, and Resilience for LGBTQ+ Attorneys
Law firms across the country are scaling back their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments, including dissolving DEI teams, restructuring employee resource groups, and removing public-facing diversity statements. These changes, spurred by shifting legal, political, and economic pressures, directly affect LGBTQ+ attorneys and their career trajectories. This program will examine the legal landscape shaping DEI (including recent Supreme Court decisions and reverse-discrimination litigation), analyze how firms are adapting (or retreating), and explore strategies LGBTQ+ attorneys can use to navigate, advocate, and thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
Speaker
TBD |
1.0 Credit in Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias3:20 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concluding Remarks
Speaker
Samuel W. Buchbauer, Esq. | Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld, LLP
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
LGBTQ Law Section Business Meeting
Thank You to our Sponsors!
Vanguard Award Reception Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
