Chuck Otey’s Pro Bono Barrister for April 4

April 6, 2016 By Charles F. Otey, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Sara Gozo. Eagle file photo

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Brooklyn Women’s Bar Prepared to Elect Sara Gozo New President Election of Helene Blank’s Successor Set for May 4

In her years of service on the bench, Justice Marsha Steinhardt has been one of the most visible leaders in the Kings County legal community and beyond.

An experienced trial lawyer before she was named to the Civil Court bench, Justice Steinhardt, with a strong support team of barristers and jurists, has clearly succeeded in helping the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association (BWBA) gain new respect and recognition. So, too, has current President Helene Blank.

Her officers — notably President-elect Sara Gozo, who will be elected May 4 at Brooklyn Bar Association headquarters, 123 Remsen St. — have helped her develop new and more meaningful programs.

These initiatives have been explained in effective detail to the public and the membership through BWBA Communications Director Jennifer Fiorentino.

The official election will get underway at 1 p.m. on May 4 and will continue until 6 p.m.

Here is the new slate of officers: President Sara J. Gozo; President-elect Michele Mirman; Vice Presidents Derefim Neckles, Joy Thompson and Marea Wachsman; Treasurer Meryl Schwartz; Recording Secretary Carrie Anne Cavallo; and Corresponding Secretary Deborah Johnson.

Womens Bar Association State of New York Delegate nominees are Elaine Avery, Hon. Nancy Bannon, Helene Blank, Hon. Theresa Ciccotto, Angelique Moreno, Holly Peck and Hon. Joanne Quinones.

Board members will include Justice Sylvia G. Ash, John Coffey, Joanne Minsky Cohen, Barbara Grcevic, Hon. Genine Edwards, Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix, Connie Malafre, Nayoya McGhie, Lisa Michaels, Hon. ShawnDya Simpson, Hon. Marsha Steinhardt, Hon. Ellen Spodek, Hon. Lillian Wan and Sue Wasko.

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Tom Hanks-Portrayed Insurance Lawyer Uses Legal Skills to Show How History Is Made

(Columnist’s Note: Brooklyn Law School (BLS) Dean Nick Allard is known as an innovator and a scholar with the skill and insight to help his students relate to the many ways in which the law impacts our everyday life — even in the movies we watch. I am pleased he chose to share with my readers the following essay, which appeared originally in the BLS Pre-Law Journal, using “Bridge of Spies” to demonstrate the vitality and relevance of the legal profession.)

The Enduring Power of Law

By Nicholas W. Allard

“What makes us both Americans? Just one thing. One, only one. The rule book. We call it the Constitution. We agree to the rules, and that’s what makes us Americans.”

These stirring words are spoken by Brooklyn lawyer Jim Donovan, played by Tom Hanks in the recent Steven Spielberg Cold War drama “Bridge of Spies.”

The film, which I highly recommend to prospective law students, portrays the real-life story of Donovan, who negotiated the exchange of a Soviet spy for captured U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers and Frederic Pryor, an American student.

In this pivotal scene, Donovan argues with a CIA agent who does not believe the Soviet spy should have any rights under the U.S. Constitution. Donovan thought otherwise, and the film magnificently captures how one courageous, resourceful and highly skilled lawyer defending the rule of law strengthens our nation and advances the rights and liberties of individuals around the world.

Spielberg’s film makes a powerful statement about how the law can be an extraordinarily effective tool for equal justice, individual rights, and peace and prosperity. In the U.S., our system of laws is the envy of the world and the model for any nation that aspires to create democratic rights and institutions and a strong economy.

Even in the toughest times in our nation’s history, the law and those who have vigorously defended it have been a bulwark of stability, preventing disorder and providing light for the path ahead. This has been a universal truth understood throughout history. When Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” says: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” audiences of the time knew his goal was to upend the social order, because getting rid of lawyers was a critical first step for imposing mob rule and tyranny.

While we may snicker today at the Bard’s famous quote as just another lawyer joke, let us entertain seriously for a moment this idea of a world without lawyers and the rule of law. The picture would be pretty bleak. Imagine if Thurgood Marshall had never been able to argue — and win — a series of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that helped to end legal segregation in the nation. Or if the tireless lawyers and activists in the early 20th century suffragette movement, like Brooklyn Law School graduate Rosalie Gardiner Jones, had not unceasingly pursued the enactment of the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote. Think of the kind of nation we would have without the essential right to counsel if you are charged with a crime. Or if there were no laws and lawyers to ensure the smooth running of business and our economy. Chaos would reign.

Fortunately, we do not live in such a world. The law serves as the very foundation of our society. But like any foundation, this must be renewed, reinvigorated and reinforced for the future. To meet that challenge, we need an energized cadre of law school graduates armed with 21st-century knowledge and skills to confront the fresh complexities and new demands of our global marketplace, emerging industries, disruptive technologies, climate change, protection and use of resources, expansion and protection of individual rights and geopolitical conflicts.

Every day, law students in Brooklyn and across the country prepare for this new world, as they help to launch startups, meet the legal needs of veterans, assist immigrants seeking asylum, help prosecute and defend criminal cases and protect and secure individual privacy. They learn firsthand the power of law as a common language to advance justice, bridge political divides and make a positive difference. They do not look in the rearview mirror at what lawyers used to do but are focused, sharp-eyed, on the horizon to the exciting possibilities ahead.

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Nicholas W. Allard is president, Joseph Crea dean and professor of law at Brooklyn Law School.