A woodsman was once asked, “What would you do if you had just five minutes to chop down a tree?” He answered, “I would spend the first two and a half minutes sharpening my axe.” Let us take a few minutes to sharpen our perspective.
Our May session featured friend of the Chapter Dean Silverberg of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., who presented a terrific Labor & Employment overview on New Laws Affecting the Employment Relationship. We heard about the recent promulgation by NYC prohibiting employers from inquiring about an applicants’ salary history, benefits and other compensation, the new NYS Paid Family Leave Law beginning January 1, 2018, and had a refresher on the NYC “Ban the Box” law which prohibits inquiries, with limited exceptions, regarding criminal background checks until an offer of employment has been made.
In June, we kicked off the summer learning about Avoiding Cyber Clutter – A Practical Guide to Cybersecurity. The panel covered three distinct perspectives – the law firm administrator, represented by our very own ALANYC President, Tanya Duprey, technical, represented by Mark Sangsteris a VP of Strategic Marketing at eSentire, and business management and insurance represented by Uri Gutfeund, Law Firm Insurance Guru. We discussed the regulatory landscape, the top 3 threats to be aware of and the financial impacts of breaches.
No rest in July, as we learned how to Reclaim Control and Get More Done! by managing emails, paper, workspace and time, expertly presented by Stephanie Shalofsky, founder of the Organizing Zone, and graciously hosted by ALA business partner, Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP, Accountants and Advisors. Stephanie promised to give us immediately actionable tips and strategies to provide a solid foundation for growth and she delivered on her promise!
In August, we closed the summer focusing on the Future Law Office 2020: Redefining the Practice of Law, skillfully presented by Robert Half Legal panelists – Crystal Rodriguez, Natasha Van Der Griendt, Esq, and Lawrence Klein, Esq. – each focused on different trends influencing the legal field and strategies to help us succeed in the future. Some of the areas of note included: changing client expectations and requirements, new technology and cyber-security challenges, managing eDiscovery complexities, and the need for lawyers – of all classes and generations – to be adaptive and flexible.
Fellow ALANYC member David Glicksman had this to say “Members When I saw today’s education session…I signed up immediately. I am always looking for good education sessions, and today’s session definitely exceeded my expectations. One of the things that most of our members have in common is the need for good information about the future of our industry and the many ways that each of us needs to prepare ourselves to be poised to succeed in a constantly challenging and changing environment.”
Our first luncheon of the Fall was held at the wonderful Feinstein’s 54 Below and featured Fox News’ Crystal Young, joyfully discussing the challenges of time management in a very exciting industry. The Pressure Cooker – “We needed it yesterday! Oh, and by the way… it has to be accurate.” focused on how to maintain grace under pressure, deliver accurate and quality work all while being fast and efficient. We left confident that we would ace any deadline!
On September 20, our very own Diversity & Inclusion Committee offered an interesting twist on the classic roundtable discussion. The session featured three very timely and pertinent topics – Ageism, Intersectionality and Gender Identity and Expression Protections. Our incredibly insightful and experienced speakers were Tamanna Rubya, Esq., Agency Attorney for the Law Enforcement Bureau of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, Kisha C. Nunez, Associate Director of Recruiting and Diversity at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Anthony Consiglio, Esq., Associate at Cary Kane LLP and Katherine Greenberg, Esq., Attorney in the Law Enforcement Bureau of the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
On October 6, we all enjoyed the amazing 12th annual Educational Symposium & Exposition – Igniting The Leader in You! We have so much to say about this fantastic event that we’re dedicating a whole section to it in the next Communications Update – stay tuned!
On October 25 we enjoyed a lively discussion on real-world finance issues hitting our desks during the session – Finance Mistakes You Will Never Make Again. Having the opportunity to network with colleagues and hear about their experiences, and more importantly, their solutions to things ranging from trust accounting to billing, was terrific!