New York State Bar Association sues to raise assigned counsel pay

New York State Bar Association Commences Lawsuit To Raise 18-B Rates

Through this legal action, the New York State Bar Association is seeking a pay rate of $158 per hour retroactive to Feb. 2, 2022 in the 57 counties outside of New York City for what is commonly referred to as 18-B lawyers. Pay has remained at $60 per hour for misdemeanors and $75 for felonies since 2004. By comparison, assigned counsel rates in the federal courts in New York in those same years have been raised 14 times to the current rate of $158 per hour.

“The New York State Bar Association has long supported sufficient pay for assigned counsel,” said Sherry Levin Wallach, president of the association. “Failing to provide adequate compensation for representation to children and indigent adults is a flagrant violation of the U.S. and New York State constitutions.”

“Rates have only been increased once in 35 years, which is a travesty. While we welcome the higher rates in New York City as a result of Justice Headley’s decision, it should be applied statewide. There is now a significant discrepancy in pay across the state for assigned counsel resulting in attorneys not being able to accept court appointed assignments. Ultimately, it is the clients — children and indigent adults — who suffer because their constitutional rights are not being protected,” she said.

The failure to raise rates in 18 years has led to fewer attorneys who are willing to take on the cases. Those who remain are overburdened and don’t have sufficient time to devote to each case.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

New York State Court System to Begin Return to In-Person Courthouse Operations

The New York State Court System will begin a return to in-person courthouse operations this Monday (May 18).

The initial phase of the plan for the 6th Judicial District, which includes Schuyler County and Tompkins County, is available below:

NYS 6th Judicial District R... by Steven Getman on Scribd

Unemployment Insurance Relief: Volunteer lawyers can help

A new website provides resources for filing an unemployment claim and can match attorneys – free of charge – with persons whose claims are unsuccessful:

On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed the CARES act, which provides additional Unemployment Insurance assistance to workers impacted by COVID-19. This new law provides:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – Extended eligibility for individuals who have traditionally been ineligible for UI benefits (e.g., self-employed workers, independent contractors);

• Pandemic Unemployment Compensation – An additional $600 per week, on top of regular benefits, to all UI recipients; and

• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation – An additional 13 weeks of UI benefits, beyond the regular 26 weeks already provided, for a total of 39 weeks of coverage.

 

New York State Bar Criminal Justice Section Annual Meeting Program Announced

The New York State Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York City.

The MCLE Program will cover “Implicit Bias and the Criminal Justice System.” Topics include:

• Understanding Implicit Bias
• Implicit Bias: A Law Enforcement Perspective
• Confronting and Addressing Implicit Bias During Litigation

For more information, or to register, click here.

New guide clarifies laws on service animals

The New York City Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association have released a guide intended to clarify the legal rights and obligations of individuals and institutions in connection with the use of service animals in the state:

The “Guide to the Use of Service Animals in New York State” recognizes that various federal, state and local laws address service animal use in differing manners.

The Guide is intended to clarify the existing laws for: individuals with disabilities who use service animals; those who train service animals; and those who must accommodate them, such as employers, landlords, merchants and places of public accommodation. It also offers guidance to lawmakers, government officials, attorneys and the courts. The Guide provides a review of rights and remedies under comparative federal, state and local human rights laws. Its extensive endnotes likely will be cited by attorneys and judges.
The City and State Bar Associations have posted the Guide on their respective websites and they encourage the downloading, copying and distribution of the Guide throughout the state. Both associations expect to hold programs on how to apply the information in the Guide to situations of particular interest.

For more information, click here.

Exploring the Ethical Implications of Social Media Use

New York State Bar Association:

Social media networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are indispensable tools used by legal professionals and those with whom they communicate. Particularly, in conjunction with the increased use of mobile technologies in the legal profession, social media platforms have transformed the ways in which lawyers communicate.

As use of social media by lawyers and clients continues to grow and as social media networks proliferate and become more sophisticated, so too do the ethical issues facing lawyers. Accordingly, the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association, which authored these social media ethics guidelines in 2014 to assist lawyers in understanding the ethical challenges of social media, is updating them to include new ethics opinions as well as additional guidelines where the Section believes ethical guidance is needed (the “Guidelines”).

Join leading social media legal experts for a moderated discussion on the 2017 updated Guidelines.

The event will be held Thursday, June 1, 2017 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the New York Society of Security Analysts, 1540 Broadway, Suite 1010 | New York City and available on the web.

New York “Fair Trial/Free Press” Conference

Sponsored by the New York Fair Trial/Free Press Conference, the Committee on Media Law, and the New York State Bar Association, this conference will be held Friday, March 10, 2017 from 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Featuring a distinguished panel of federal and state judges, prosecutors, print and broadcast journalists, and defense and media counsel, the program will explore the interplay of First Amendment rights to attend and report on criminal trials and the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.

Attendees can learn about the use of video recordings on smartphones, the use of social media as evidence and media and the law.

The event is free for NYSBA Members and Members of the Press.

For more information, click here.

Forensics Conference at NY Law School

On February 28, the New York State Bar Association will host “Forensics and the Law VI: Shifting Paradigms” at New York Law School Auditorium, 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013. The event runs from 10:00 am to 2:45 pm.

The topics are:

• The Flaws in Microscopic Hair Comparison Evidence
• Challenging Science in the Criminal Justice System
• Forensic Pathology Perspectives on Questioned Diagnoses
• Panel Discussion: Flawed Forensics, Shifting Paradigms

For more information, click here.

Warning: Email Phishing Scam

The New York State Bar Association is aware of an email phishing scam that is targeted at attorneys.

The current email subject line says: "The Office of The State Attorney Complaint." No such office exists in New York.

If you received the email, please delete it immediately. Do not follow any links or open any attachments. If you do, your computer or cell phone could be exposed to a virus.

The Office of the New York State Attorney General has issued a press release about the scam. Link: http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-issues-alert-phishing-scam-targeting-new-york-attorneys.

For more information about how the AG's office handles complaints against businesses, go to: http://www.ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/Filing-a-Consumer-Complaint.

N.Y. State Bar launches NY.FreeLegalAnswers.org

The New York State Bar Association will soon be participating in the ABA Free Legal Answers project.

This project will provide an online platform for New York attorneys to provide limited scope legal advice to low income New Yorkers.

All low income persons who meet the project’s eligibility standards may utilize this service in New York.

For more on this resource, click here.

Governor urged to act on indigent defense bill

In an Op Ed published by Syracuse.com, New York State Bar Association president Claire P. Gutekunst urges Gov. Cuomo to sign the indigent criminal legal defense bill, noting that full funding is "consistent with a mandate imposed more than 50 years ago."

The bill passed by both houses would provide for state funding of public-defense services in all of New York's counties, phased in over seven years.

This would...(u)ltimately ensure that eligible defendants represented through the public-defense system receive the quality legal representation to which they are constitutionally entitled, regardless of where they were prosecuted.

For more on this bill, click here.

2016 Public Utility Law Institute | April 7, 2016

The New York State Bar Association will be sponsoring this full-day institute to stay up to date on current topics in public utility law.

Diane X. Burman, Department of Public Service Commissioner, is scheduled as keynote luncheon speaker.

The program will take place at the State Bar Center, One Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207. It is scheduled to run from 9:15am-4:05pm.

For more information, click here.

New York Partnership to Improve Access to Legal Services for Seniors, the Disabled

 New York State officials have announced a partnership between the State Office for the Aging, the State Office of Court Administration and the New York State Bar Association to find new ways to better provide affordable legal services to senior citizens and New Yorkers with disabilities.

The partnership is expected to yield a variety of educational programs and tools, including an interactive website, a series of community forums to raise awareness about the legal issues often faced by the targeted populations, an elder preparedness self-assessment tool, an elder law treatise for attorneys and other professionals, and strategies for increasing the availability of free and low-cost legal services.

For more on the initiative click here.