State Bar Association Presidential Summit To Address Legal Education, Future of the Profession

ALBANY, NY (01/27/2014)(readMedia)-- Educating tomorrow's lawyers and helping practicing lawyers adapt to changes in the rapidly evolving legal profession are the focus of the New York State Bar Association's 2014 Presidential Summit.

The summit, the centerpiece of the association's weeklong Annual Meeting, will be held Wednesday, January 29, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom West of the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan.

"Legal education, like the profession itself, is adapting to the changing needs of the profession and the people we serve," said State Bar President David M. Schraver of Rochester (Nixon Peabody). "Our Presidential Summit this year directs our focus on these two complementary issues with an outstanding collection of panelists."

The first panel discussion, "Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers," will be held from 2-3:30 p.m. Panelists include representatives of the judiciary, the practicing bar and the legal education community. They will discuss the dramatic changes within legal education. The panel will address cost, curriculum, the need for greater diversity, the relevance of the bar exam and the job market facing graduates.

American Bar Association President James R. Silkenat of New York (Sullivan & Worcester) will moderate the panel. The keynote address will be delivered by William M. Sullivan, founding director of Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers and primary author of the groundbreaking 2007 Carnegie Report on the future of legal education.

Panelists include:

• Phoebe A. Haddon, dean, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

• Hon. Jenny Rivera, associate judge, New York State Court of Appeals

• Kent R. Syverud, chancellor, Syracuse University

The second panel, entitled "Supporting Today's Lawyers," will be held from 3:30-5 p.m. and will address the challenges facing today's lawyers, including developments in law-related services, new technology, globalization, a changing economic climate and new client demands.

The panel will be moderated by former State Bar President Stephen P. Younger of New York City (Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler). The keynote address will be delivered by Bruce MacEwen, president of Adam Smith Inc. consulting group and author of "Growth is Dead: Now What? Law firms on the brink."

Panelists include:

• Frank R. Jimenez, general counsel, secretary and managing director of government affairs at Bunge Limited

• Anne Reynolds Copps, principal attorney, Copps DiPaola

• Benjamin F. Wilson, managing principal, Beveridge & Diamond

The State Bar Association's 137th Annual Meeting will take place from January 27-February 1 at the New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of Americas, New York City. The Summit will be webcast live at www.nysba.org/AMSummit.

The New York State Bar Association, with 75,000 members, is the largest voluntary state bar association in the country. It was founded in 1876.

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