New York State Bar Association To Develop Plans To Combat Age Discrimination in the Legal Profession
10.27.2025
A New York State Bar Association task force is recommending removing age-related bias from job applications, training older workers in new technologies, and increasing penalties for employers who discriminate.
The association’s governing body, the House of Delegates, adopted a report from its Task Force on Ageism in the Legal Profession on Saturday. The 50+ and Young Lawyers sections will meet to study the feasibility of the recommendations and to prioritize them.
Immediate Past President Domenick Napoletano convened the task force. Frances Rabias-Napoletano, of counsel at Napoletano Law in New York City, and Sharon Stiller, of counsel at Abrams Fensterman in Rochester, chaired the task force.
Other recommendations include:
- Eliminating age bias from artificial intelligence software used to make employment decisions.
- Expanding the definition of age discrimination in the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
- Requiring more age discrimination training in Continuing Legal Education requirements.
- Requiring employers to undergo age discrimination training.
- Including age-related data in surveys of the legal profession to determine the extent of age discrimination.
- Studying the economic benefits of increased labor participation for the financial health of Social Security.
