AABANY Labor & Employment Law Hosts Kick-Off Meeting at Littler Mendelson, P.C.


The Labor & Employment Law (“L&E”) Committee of AABANY held its kick-off meeting on the evening of June 8, 2023 in person at Littler Mendelson, P.C.’s New York City office.  20 people attended the kick-off meeting: practicing attorneys (including the L&E Committee chairs), law students, and recent law school graduates.  At this kick-off meeting, the L&E Committee chairs and all attendees introduced themselves to the rest of the group; firm attorneys, in-house counsel, a mediator/arbitrator, and other legal professionals shared their respective experiences in the profession to provide some advice to the law students, recent graduates, and junior attorneys in the room.  Following this initial portion of the kick-off event, all attendees networked and conversed over light refreshments for the rest of the evening.

The L&E Committee will be creating more networking opportunities by hosting more meetings, informational panels or sessions, and social events throughout the rest of the year.  The next event is currently being planned.  Once the details for the next L&E Committee event are finalized, we will update the AABANY calendar and send email updates.  If you are interested in attending our future L&E Committee events (which are sometimes also co-hosted by other AABANY committees), please check AABANY’s calendar and update your email preference in your account to receive the L&E Committee’s emails. 

For more information on the L&E Committee, click here.  Additionally, if you have any ideas or suggestions for an event through the L&E Committee, please fill out AABANY’s “Contact Us” form.

Second Circuit Accepting Application for Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is accepting applications for the Court’s Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel. The Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel is authorized by Local Rule 33.1, and is governed by the Second Circuit’s Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel Plan. Members of the Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel serve as volunteer mediators for counseled, civil appeals.

All applicants must be attorneys admitted to, and in good standing with, the Bar of the Second Circuit or the bar of a state within the Second Circuit. Applicants must have 10 years of legal experience and substantial mediation experience.

As explained in the Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Plan, the Panel’s size is limited; therefore, the Court cannot appoint every qualified applicant. Membership will be on a three-year rotational basis, subject to a limit of two consecutive terms.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and this application to the Director of the Office of Legal Affairs and the Chief Circuit Mediator via email to [email protected]. Applications must be received by May 1, 2019. Please use the subject line: Appellate Mediator Panel.

AABANY Co-sponsors: Achieving Diversity in ADR

The AABANY Litigation Committee encourages anyone interested in pursuing a career as a neutral (arbitrator, mediator, etc.), and, in particular, learning about the specific advantages and challenges as a person of color, to attend the New York State Bar Association’s program entitled, “Achieving Diversity in the ADR Field: Overcoming Old Challenges and Seeking New Opportunities.” The program will be held on Tuesday, March 25th from 5:30-9:00 p.m. and, because AABANY is a participating and sponsoring bar association, the program will offer 2.5 FREE NY CLE credits in Skills to all AABANY members. A panel of renowned ADR providers, scholars, and administrators will discuss their practices for recruiting and selecting neutrals, the efforts they have undertaken to diversify their rosters of neutrals, and their efforts to further expose the users of their ADR services to racially and ethnically diverse panels of arbitrators and mediators. Another panel, moderated by AABANY member Theo Cheng, and comprising distinguished ADR neutrals, will provide perspectives on how to navigate a successful career as a neutral; recommending specific networking, marketing, and promotional activities; discussing how best to leverage diversity issues; and providing practical tips for increasing the opportunities for being selected as a neutral. Finally, there will be a discussion about strategies for addressing cross cultural issues in dispute resolution, followed by a networking reception. For more information go to http://bit.ly/nysbareg.

P.S. For those of you who are experiencing difficulties registering via the NYSBA’s website, you can alternatively send an email to Beth Gould at [email protected] with your full contact information (name, address, email, phone number), indicating that you are a member of AABANY. She will handle registering you for the event.