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Bay Ridge Lawyers Association mixing youth and experience into CLEs

April 20, 2017 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Hon. Matthew J. D'Emic (center) poses with current President (pictured from left) Stephen Spinelli, immediate past President Grace Borrino, Joseph R. Vasile and past President Lisa Becker at a CLE meeting from March 2015. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese
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Fresh off of a monthly meeting where one of its younger attorneys presented a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lecture, the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association is set to have one of its more experienced members presenting this month.

Sarah Moore, who is a member of the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association’s (BRLA) Board of Directors and a member of its Developments in the Law Committee is considered to be an up-and-coming member of the association. Her lecture on March 29 was titled, “Common Alternative Proceedings in Surrogate’s Court,” and it was the first that she has ever given at a BRLA meeting.

“She did a great job, she talked about a lot of interesting Surrogate’s Court topics,” said Dominic Famulari, a member of the BRLA’s program committee. “She’s a really good speaker and she’s establishing herself as an excellent Surrogate’s Court practice attorney. She won two motions recently within the last few months and that’s hard to do.

“She talked about various proceedings in Surrogate’s Court that are not the ones that we see every day and are complex and sometimes difficult for most lawyers to handle,” Famulari continued. “She gave a lot of good instruction and advice on how to tackle these difficult issues.”

The association pivots to one of its longest-tenured members, Justice Matthew D’Emic, the administrative judge of the Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term, who Famulari referred to as a neighborhood icon.

“Judge D’Emic is a Bay Ridge icon,” Famulari said with a laugh. “He’s an original who still lives here and who has been an ardent supporter of our organization and a member for decades. We always get a great turnout when he speaks.”

The judge, who has now given a CLE lecture to the BRLA in three of the past four years, decided to change up his topic this year and will speak about his experiences on the bench in a talk titled “Dear Judge: Reflections of 20 Years on the Bench.”

D’Emic said that he plans to talk strategies and the law, but also wants to share some of the lessons that he’s learned through letters he has received from people who have been in his court.

The BRLA is winding down a very successful year under President Stephen Spinelli. The group moved their monthly meetings to the Pearl Room on Third Avenue, a nicer and bigger location, they’ve gotten good speakers and attendance has been up as a result.

“Stephen Spinelli has really been doing a fantastic job this year as our president,” Famulari said. “It has probably been a record year in terms of attendance. We’ve had good speakers and lots of energy. We’re proud of him.”

The BLRA will have one more CLE on May 31. It will host its annual dinner on Friday, June 16 at the Vanderbilt at South Beach in Staten Island, where it will honor Spinelli as the outgoing president of the organization.

 

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