President Rebecca Woodland a big hit at Brooklyn Bar installation

Chuck Otey's Pro Bono Barrister

September 15, 2014 By Charles F. Otey, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

New Brooklyn Bar Association (BBA) President Rebecca Woodland scored many “hits” at her recent installation inside the packed ceremonial courtroom at Borough Hall.

Share this:

New Brooklyn Bar Association (BBA) President Rebecca Woodland scored many “hits” at her recent installation inside the packed ceremonial courtroom at Borough Hall.

Officially sworn in by Appellate Justice Cheryl Chambers, she hit just the right tone and showed a degree of tact and humility, which might account for the excellent commentary she regularly offers as a television legal expert.

For starters she — like the guy she succeeded, Andy Fallek — was a hit in delivering a speech that sent ripples of warmth and humor through the audience.

One “hit,” of course, was her pledge to take advantage of a rapidly growing and changing Brooklyn. She promised to lead the BBA in a program of outreach, carrying on traditions that had been developed by her predecessors, among them the outgoing Fallek, Steve Cohn and Diana Szochet.

Woodland expanded upon this concept in her first “Respectfully Submitted” column in the Brooklyn Barrister.

“I’m so thrilled to be stepping into this position at such an exciting time for Brooklyn,” she wrote. “As we all know, Brooklyn is one of the most dynamic and emerging places in the world right now.”

She continued, “And the Brooklyn Bar Association is right in the middle of the transformation. Industry of every kind is growing at an incredible pace and that includes the legal profession. One of the things we plan on doing this coming year is tapping into that growth and figuring out more ways for our members to benefit from it.”

“But we don’t just have a responsibility to our members,” she wrote. “There is a great responsibility to the community. Such a diverse population deserves the knowledge and understanding that justice is available to all in this country, and this county. I believe it’s our responsibility to make sure that those who live in Brooklyn know their rights, have access to the courts and have access to affordable legal representation.”

Looking inward again, the new president wrote, “It is important to me that our Association reflect the diversity of the community it serves. I want to send a message that we understand the needs of the community, that we are part of the community and that we are here to serve the community by providing access to justice.”

President Woodland paid homage to a number of leading figures, including the late Justice Theodore Jones, outgoing President Fallek, Justice George Silver, Administrative Justice Lawrence Knipel, Justice Marsha Steinhardt, Past President Steve Cohn, her officers and BBA Executive Director Avery Okin.

When the charismatic president focused her words on speaker John Lonuzzi, she became the first president of the BBA to recognize and introduce a spouse who had also, years earlier, served as the president of the same bar association. Together, they are one of the nicest and most unassuming “power couples” we’ve met in a long time.

Husband John’s speech rocked the house and showered Ms. Woodland with affection and gentle humor. (His remarks were so on the mark and pithily put that we are inviting John to forward his delivery to this writer, so that we may reprint it here in its well-organized entirety.)

Other officers sworn in that evening included President-Elect Arthur Aidala, First Vice President Hon. Frank Seddio, Second Vice President Aimee Richter, Secretary Dave Chidekel and Treasurer Hon. Frank Carone. Executive Director Avery Okin will once again be providing continuity and invaluable oversight.