Highlights of Presidency:
At the invitation of Assembly Member Helene Weinstein, President Avery testified before the New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee regarding the judicial selection of Supreme Court Justices in light of the Lopez Torres v. Board of Elections decision. Subsequently, a proposed bill was drafted that contained many of WBASNY’s recommendations, which included WBASNY as one of the organizations entitled to appoint members to the NYS Judicial Qualification Commissions in each Judicial District.
Chief Judge Lippman attended the January Board of Directors meeting and provided an update on proposals to address the method for selecting Supreme Court Justices and reported that many WBASNY members were chosen to serve on the new Judicial Qualifications Commissions. OCA’s most pressing initiative was judicial salaries, which had not been increased since 1999.
President Avery attended the State of the Judiciary address by Chief Judge Lippman in Albany, which touched on numerous issues of importance to WBASNY, including the addition of 39 Family Court positions across the State, judicial salaries, expansion of the problem-solving courts, the new collaborative law center for matrimonial actions, the proposal to substantially restructure the New York State court system and other issues.
WBASNY continued to be at the forefront of the push to add no fault as grounds for divorce in New York. President Avery discussed the issue in an interview that appeared on Channel 11 news in New York City, along with interviews of the Hon. Sondra Miller, who chaired the NYS Matrimonial Commission, the President of NOW New York, and a representative of the Catholic Church. WBASNY was first on the program, which had excellent press coverage.
WBASNY submitted a letter in support of the City Bar’s proposal seeking an Executive Order that would ensure that same-sex marriages duly solemnized outside of New York State be recognized within New York State. WBASNY also submitted a letter and memo supporting Governor’s Program Bill #22, which sought to amend the DRL to recognize same-sex marriage in the State of New York, which was introduced in the Assembly.
WBASNY met with Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice in response to her decision to discontinue all part time positions in her office, but she refused to reconsider. WBASNY issued a press release indicating our fierce opposition to the decision. As a result, President Avery was interviewed for articles that were published in the New York Law Journal, The New York Times, and Newsday. President Avery also gave an interview to Fox Five Channel News.
WBASNY established a new Intellectual Property (“IP”) Committee to address issues that arise for women who practice law in copyright, trademark, patent, and technology areas, and it will support WBASNY on “IP” issues, such as enhancing legal disclaimers on the website.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued regulations that incorporated many of the suggestions included in WBASNY’s response to the FDA’s request for comments on the issue of making emergency contraception available to women without a prescription. WBASNY issued a press release announcing the new rules, which was published in an article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
WBASNY’s admission to the Supreme Court of the United States took place on November 13, 2006. WBASNY sponsored the admission of 36 members, and President Avery moved their admissions in a ceremony attended by many members’ families. A reception with Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg highlighted the day.
WBASNY agreed to purchase liability insurance to cover the chapters, WBASNY, the Foundations, and our members when they are acting in their Women’s Bar capacities.
During my Presidency, we also worked to grow WBASNY by adding Chapters. We met with 26 women attorneys in the Ithaca area and spearheaded an effort to establish a Binghamton Chapter.