The New York State Bar Association’s House of Delegates will vote Saturday, June 17 on whether to support a November 7 statewide referendum that would authorize a state Constitutional Convention to study and recommend possible changes in how state government operates. “We expect a spirited discussion of the arguments for and against a Constitutional Convention,” … Continued

Sharon Stern Gerstman, counsel to the Buffalo law firm Magavern Magavern Grimm, assumes office today, June 1, as 120th president of the 72,000-member New York State Bar Association. Gerstman, who succeeds Claire P. Gutekunst of Yonkers, is the seventh woman and 12th Buffalo attorney to head the 141-year-old Association. Michael Miller of New York City … Continued

Presiding Justice Karen K. Peters and Professor Theodor S. Liebmann have been honored with the 2017 Howard A. Levine Award for Excellence in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare, given by the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Children and the Law. The awards, presented on May 30 at the State Bar Center in Albany, … Continued

The New York State Bar Association has created a 17-member committee to examine the impact of technology— including artificial intelligence, e-discovery, data privacy and cybersecurity—on the way attorneys practice, and legal services are delivered, now and in the future. State Bar President Claire P. Gutekunst and President-elect Sharon Stern Gerstman today jointly announced the new … Continued

Seymour W. James, Jr., attorney-in-chief of The Legal Aid Society in New York City, has been recognized with the 2017 Robert L. Haig Award, given by the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association. James heads the nation’s oldest and largest not-for-profit legal services organization, which annually handles 300,000 individual … Continued

As the use of social media by attorneys and clients continues to grow, so do the ethics issues facing lawyers. In response, the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association has updated its Social Media Ethics Guidelines to assist lawyers in understanding these social media challenges. “Whether you are a litigator, transactional … Continued

The Power of Attorney form—widely used by New Yorkers to enable someone else to handle their financial and legal affairs when they are unable to—should be revamped by the state Legislature, says the New York State Bar Association. “New York State’s current Power of Attorney form is far too complex, expensive and inconvenient, leading to … Continued