New York County Lawyers' Association (NYCLA) , which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, was founded in response to another Manhattan bar association which had denied membership to lawyers based on such factors as ethnicity, religion, sex and race.
Since NYCLA 's "bedrock principles" for the last century have been "the inclusion of all who wish to join and the active pursuit of legal system reform," you can imagine our surprise when we received an e-mail from a fellow board member, suggesting that NYCLA had strayed from its original mission and purpose.
Here's a copy of the e-mail we received earlier today:
Dear Colleagues:
NYCLA is a great bar association. Among the reasons for its greatness is its diversity: it is an association that welcomed not only women and minority members, but small firms and solo practitioners. Diversity in leadership is necessary as well. Take the type of practice, for example. Although I spent a summer at a large firm, I have little idea of either the long-range or the day-to-day problems which confront attorneys in those firms. On the other hand, I doubt that attorneys in large firms (except, perhaps, for the managing partners) can truly understand and feel the problems and worries of a solo attorney who has no support team, or a small firm which has to worry about meeting payroll every two weeks. (Perhaps that is why I am such a fiscal conservative on the Board. If my firm runs a cash deficit, regardless of accounting principles, there is no endowment to draw on.)
The Nominating Committee is planning on naming a slate of excellent candidates. But the five officers will be four white men in large firms and one white woman in a large firm. No other woman. No minority attorneys. No public service attorneys. No small firm attorneys. No solo practitioners. Are there no qualified ones we could have asked, or persuaded, to become an officer?
Yes, I am writing this letter out of self interest. Not because I wish to be an officer; I do not. But I have an interest in a strong, progressive bar association which will look out for the interests of firms like mine. Large firms attorneys make up only 11% of our membership. We must attract women, minorities, and small and solo firms, by understanding and catering to their needs, and showing them that our leaders understand.
* * *
[Name withheld]
Forget aliens. NYCLA has been invaded by white-shoe law firms!
NYCLA 's Nominating Committee is scheduled to meet on January 22, 2008. If you wish to be heard on this issue, here are the particulars for that open meeting:
NYCLA Nominating Committee Open Meeting  Tuesday, January 22, 2008 |
| Location: NYCLA Home of Law - 14 Vesey Street Time: 3:00pm In compliance with NYCLA By Laws Article 11, Section 2, the NYCLA Committee on Nominations is hereby providing notice to the membership that it will conduct an open meeting to receive nomination recommendations for officers and directors. |
