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

New York, May 4, 2017 – The New York City Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association today jointly released a guide intended to clarify the legal rights and obligations of individuals and institutions in connection with the use of service animals in the state. People with disabilities may rely on dogs and … Continued

Seventeen recipients, including attorneys, law firms and students, were recognized with 2017 President’s Pro Bono Service Awards by New York State Bar Association President Claire P. Gutekunst on May 1 at the Bar Center in Albany. President-elect Sharon Stern Gerstman joined her at the ceremony. “The legal profession’s proud tradition of pro bono work is … Continued

Jeh Johnson, a partner with the law firm Paul, Weiss in New York City, has been recognized with the 2017 Honorable George Bundy Smith Pioneer Award, given by the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is the immediate past secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the … Continued

“We are saddened to learn of the death of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals,” said New York State Bar Association President Claire P. Gutekunst. “Having grown up poor in a family of seven children in Washington, D.C., she rose to become one of the seven judges on New … Continued