The Federal Bar Council is an organization of lawyers who practice in federal courts within the Second Circuit. It is dedicated to promoting excellence in federal practice and fellowship among federal practitioners. It is also committed to encouraging respectful, cordial relations between the bench and bar.

The Federal Bar Council is assisted in its mission by the Federal Bar Foundation which lends financial support to promote historical exhibits, lectures, educational programs and publications. By Treasury Department ruling, contributions to the Foundation are tax deductible for income tax purposes. Over twenty former Trustees of the Federal Bar Council have gone on to service in the federal judiciary. Among them is Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who served as Vice President of the Federal Bar Council from 1978-80.

As noted, the focus of the Federal Bar Council is practice in federal courts within the Second Circuit. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over six judicial districts: the Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York; the District of Connecticut; and the District of Vermont. Among the many prominent jurists who have served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit are Learned Hand, Augustus N. Hand, Jerome N. Frank, Charles E. Clark, Henry J. Friendly, John Marshall Harlan and Thurgood Marshall.

HONORING THE JUDICIARY

From its inception, the Federal Bar Council, with the assistance of the Federal Bar Foundation, has sought to forge a special bond between judges and attorneys through a wide variety of events:

THE THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON brings more than a thousand attorneys and judges together to honor those in their professions who have made outstanding contributions to public service by awarding the Emory Buckner Medal. Recipients have included Ambassadors Averell Harriman and Elliot Richardson, Governors Thomas E. Dewey and Nelson A. Rockefeller, Senators Jacob K. Javits, James L. Buckley, Abraham Ribicoff, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh and former Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance.

THE LAW DAY DINNER brings members of the bench and bar together to honor scholars and judges by awarding the Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence. Recipients have included Supreme Court Justices William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Berger, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Harry A. Blackmun, Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former Attorneys General Herbert Brownell and Edward H. Levi.

JUDGES RECEPTION introduces new members of the federal judiciary to the Council's membership.

SERVICE TO THE COURTS AND THE PROFESSION

• The Second Circuit Courts Committee provides members with a forum for discussions and reports about federal courts issues, practices, and procedures.

• The Mentor Program provides meaningful opportunities for introducing junior and senior high school students to the courts and the legal profession.

• The Council and Foundation sponsor historical exhibits of documents and court memorabilia, as well as lectures and symposia held at the Courthouses of the Circuit.

• The Supreme Court admission program provides an opportunity for members to be admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court and includes a private reception with the Circuit Justice.

• The Council administers the funding for internships with the United States Attorney's Office of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

• The Public Service Committee is dedicated to serving the social needs of the community, with particular emphasis on the homeless issue.

• The week-long annual mid-winter Bench and Bar Conference allows lawyers and judges to pursue meaningful professional issues while building friendships in a resort setting; at this meeting, the Council presents the Whitney North Seymour Award to honor outstanding public service by a private practitioner.

• The Program Committee offers access to free CLE Programs annually focusing on important aspects of litigation practice. The Council has been certified as an Accredited Provider by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board.

• The Appellate Advocacy Workshop allows attorneys in their early years of practice to observe proceedings in the Second Circuit and to discuss advocacy styles and the workings of the Court with a Circuit Judge and experienced practitioners.

• The Federal Bar Council Inn of Court enables judges and lawyers to meet monthly to discuss issues of mutual interest.

HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL BAR COUNCIL

In 2007, the Federal Bar Council will celebrate its 75th anniversary. The organization began its existence in 1928 as a chapter of a national association of attorneys employed by the federal government. Because the national organization refused to admit African Americans, including Francis P. Giles, an Assistant Unites States Attorney from the Eastern District of New York, and a number of Assistants from the Southern District of New York, the group broke with the national.

It was created as a separate organization, the Federal Bar Association of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, by act of the New York State Legislature, signed into law by then Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, effective April 1, 1932.

The organization sponsored the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Federal Courthouse at 40 Centre Street, Foley Square on July 20, 1932, as well as the dinner at the Hotel Commodore upon the opening of the "new" courthouse in 1936. It was instrumental in lobbying for creation of law clerks for federal district court judges. It participated in pressing for the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for which it was praised by Dean, later, Judge Charles E. Clark. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes was a frequent attendee at the organization's functions. In 1938, the organization adopted a resolution condemning the Rumanian government for endeavoring to oust Jewish members of the bar from their jobs.

The tradition of the Thanksgiving Luncheon dates back to at least 1943. The Law Day Dinner was instituted in 1962.

In 1968, the organization changed its name to the Federal Bar Council and made the courts of the Second Circuit its primary focus. The name "Council" was adopted because it reflected the advisory role to the courts which it had historically played, much like the Law Council of Inns of Court in England. In 1969, the Federal Bar Council conducted its first Winter Bench & Bar Conference which has been held every year since.