Dear Members
Welcome to the Council’s new monthly member newsletter, From Our Desks To Yours. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep you up to date with upcoming member events, highlight special programs and initiatives, and consolidate our communications to you – taking the guesswork out of which of our emails you should open and read in full.
Here’s our promise to you: this newsletter will be interesting, concise, and helpful. We will keep things short and sweet, but also relevant to help you get more out of your Council membership. In turn, we hope you will read it and add an event or two onto your calendar each month. We also ask you to please forward it to colleagues and friends you think would be interested in learning more about the Council. YOU are our best ambassador.
Now, on to what we really want to share with you this month: this year the Council is celebrating it’s 90th Anniversary! For 90 years the Federal Bar Council has served as a bedrock for the legal community here in the Second Circuit.
While our form has developed and changed over time, our function remains the same: to foster and promote community and excellence among federal practitioners within the Second Circuit and to promote the rule of law.
We have published several articles about the FBC’s history in past issues of the Federal Bar Council Quarterly, but draw your attention to the letter Lisa Zornberg wrote to Damien Williams on the occasion of his confirmation to be U.S. Attorney for the SDNY. Lisa’s letter captures the early days of the Council and its founding principles. With Lisa’s and Damien’s permission we published it in our most recent issue of the Quarterly. We invite you to read it here.
Stay tuned for updates on how we will celebrate the Council’s 90th Anniversary – we have some fabulous things in store!
Anna Stowe DeNicola
Executive Director
Federal Bar Council
THE BOOKSHELF
Many of you know I am an avid reader and often ask me what I’m currently reading. Here is what is on my shelf this month:
- Atomic Habits by James Clear *This is the FBC Staff’s book pick for Q1.
- Blood In The Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson (I have been working on this book for awhile now – it is incredible and transformative.)
- To Paradise: A Novel by Hanya Yanagihara (I waited for months for this release, and it was well worth the wait. She is one of my favorite authors.)
Here is what I finished in January, and highly recommend:
- Bewilderment by Richard Powers (this book was amazing – on the cusp of sci-fi, this novel follows the beautiful story of a father who is raising his likely-autistic son on his own.)
- The Taste of Ginger: A Novel by Mansi Shah (A fascinating glimpse into the challenges of first generation immigrants and how they can feel like outsiders both in their adopted and home countries.)
- There There by Tommy Orange (the individual stories of ten Native Americans who collide at a newly-established Pow Wow in Orange County, CA.)
I love receiving book recommendations – send me yours today!
BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAMMING
The Federal Bar Council will mark Black History Month with virtual presentations of several programs centered around Black history and diversity.
- Our Diversity Committee is hosting a LIVE “Diversity Breakfast” via Zoom on Tuesday, February 22nd that will feature Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain (SDNY) and Chief Judge Margo Brodie (EDNY).
- We are presenting a live CLE webinar on the history and circumstances surrounding the recent exoneration of the three men convicted of Malcolm X’s murder. Join us on February 17th at 6:00 p.m. for a discussion between David B. Shanies, Esq. (David B. Shanies Law Office), Professor Ronald F. Sullivan, Jr. (Harvard Law School), and Cyrus Vance Jr., Esq. (Manhattan District Attorney, 2010-2021). The program will be moderated by EDNY Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr.
We have several on-demand programs available to help you mark Black History Month:
- If you missed the live webinar last month, for a limited time we’re making available the recording from our December 2021 Legends of the Bar program, which featured Michele Coleman Mayes in conversation with Judge Elizabeth Stong. The conversation was inspiring!
- In a FIRST for our Inn of Court, we are sharing with the Council’s full membership the virtual IOC presentation made by Team Cronan, which examines the seminal civil rights class-action case Pigford v. Glickman, which found that Black farmers were largely discriminated against in the awarding of farm loans and assistance. The suit led to a $1.2 billion consent decree, covering 13,000 farmers. Watch here.
- On-demand CLE programs that may be of interest to you:
- Qualified Immunity: Past, Present, and Future (includes Diversity CLE credits)
- Black Lives Matter and the Federal Courts
Upcoming Programs and Events
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February 3, 2022 |
Program Committee Meeting |
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February 7, 2022 |
Federal Criminal Practice Committee Meeting |
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February 8, 2022 |
FBC Inn of Court Meeting: Team Komitee |
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February 9, 2022 |
CLE: The Texas Model: Private Enforcement of State Laws and its Implications for Abortion and Other Consitutional Rights |
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February 9, 2022 |
Second Circuit Courts Committee Meeting |
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February 15, 2022 |
Committee on Sentencing & Alternatives to Incarceration Meeting: Special presentation about the “Communities Not Cages” NY Sentencing Reform Efforts |
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February 16, 2022 |
Virtual Brown Bag Lunch with Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane (sponsored by the First Decade and Bankruptcy Litigation Committees) |
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February 17, 2022 |
Public Service Committee Meeting |
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February 17, 2022 |
Virtual Brown Bag Lunch with Judge Michael Shea (sponsored by the Connecticut Committee) |
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February 17, 2022 |
CLE: Seeking Justice: Recent Exonerations in the 50-Year-Old Malcolm X Murder Case |
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February 22, 2022 |
Black History Month Virtual Breakfast with Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain and Chief Judge Margo Brodie (sponsored by the Diversity Committee) |
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February 23, 2022 |
CLE: Employment Law Update |
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Quick Links
We hope you will become more involved in the Council!
- Join one of our Committees – participation is included in your annual membership dues!
- Do you know someone you think would like to become a member? Please let us know by emailing our Manager of Membership, Teresa Ngo: ngo@federalbarcouncil.com
- Become involved in the Council’s civics education work with the Second Circuit’s Civics Education Committee. Email Council Executive Director Anna Stowe DeNicola for more information: denicola@federalbarcouncil.com.
- Our Foundation supports several crucial projects and initiatives in the Second Circuit, including civics education, immigration, internships at the US Attorneys Offices and Federal Defenders of New York, and more. Learn more here and donate today!
