I must start by acknowledging the troubling times we live in. The attacks on our independent judiciary, law firms, lawyers and affinity bar organizations – such as the New York Women’s Bar Association – by government officials makes me even prouder to be the President of the NYWBA and part of our statewide organization, the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY). We must continue to fight for our rights and the rights of those under attack. We have included in this issue the press release from the WBASNY addressing this critical issue, a statement of which we are proud. Please visit our website,
www. nywba.org, for more information, including about events if you want to get more involved.

Despite the news, I’m really excited as we are getting ready to celebrate the New York Women’s Bar Association’s 90th anniversary at our Annual Dinner on June 9, 2025. More details about the annual dinner will be coming soon, but please mark your calendar now for our special anniversary dinner that you will not want to miss.

While we are facing many challenges right now in our country, this bar association – the work, the programs, the connections – matters even more. March was Women’s History Month and the NYWBA held so many exciting events in March to celebrate and continue our mission of improving the status of women in society and in the legal profession. The month began with our first Women in Law event held on March 5, 2025, which brought high school students together with legal professionals – judges, attorneys, mediators, law clerks, court officers and stenographers – to educate the students about the legal profession. The Hon. Suzanne J. Adams opened her ceremonial courtroom for this event. It was an amazing convocation – held in conjunction with the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York and with many other chapters around the state holding similar gatherings. I want to thank the Hon. Crystal R. Villaseñor, the Hon. Judith Gische and Dawn Cardi for their tremendous work in organizing this event.

On March 10, 2025 we held our Annual Judicial Reception at which we honored New York County’s newly-elected, newly-appointed and re-elected judges. It was a fabulous event. I want to thank Virginia LoPreto, Jennifer Brown-DiBlasi, Olivia Lee and Elizabeth Bass for their hard work in making this such a successful event.

On March 11, 2025 the NYWBA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, co-chaired by Ernestine J. Mings, the Hon. Crystal R. Villaseñor, and the Hon. Kathleen C. Waterman-Marshall, hosted MentorJet, on behalf of the National Association of Women Judges, at which law students had the opportunity to speed network with members of the New York bar, including judges, lawyers, and court attorneys.

On March 20, 2025 the NYWBA Reproductive Rights Committee, co-chaired by Meaghan Carey and Alyssa Cannizaro, hosted a kick-off happy hour. On March 26, 2025 the NYBWA LGBT Committee, chaired by Claire Mooney, co-hosted with the New York State Bar Association’s LGBTQ+ Committee, a mixer in honor of Women’s History Month.

Also on March 26, 2025, the NYWBA Animal Rights Committee, co-chaired by Lydia Antoncic and Dana Capone, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee presented a conversation with Carol J. Adams, author of “The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegan Critical Theory”.

I am also very excited that after a wonderful Kick-Off event in February for our Mentoring Circles, the new mentoring circles were formed this March and have started meeting. There are now seven mentoring circles, six of which are brand new circles, currently remote, being held at various times of the day– to accommodate those for whom mornings, lunchtime or early evenings are the best time – and if you want to be part of a Mentoring Circle but haven’t joined one yet please reach out to our Mentoring Committee Co-Chairs Melissa Ephron-Mandel and Melissa Glassman at mentoringchairs@nywba.org. I personally want to thank the two Melissas for the impressive work they have done to re-establish mentoring circles. This is an award winning program and I urge you all – at whatever stage of your career – to join a circle.

In April we continue to have some impressive and timely programs scheduled. On April 24, 2025 at 1 p.m. the Solo and Small Law Firm Committee, co-chaired by Gail Bader and Sabrina Morrissey, are holding a meeting “Basics of Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT” led by Kathy D’Agostino, founder of Win at Business Coaching. Registration is open on our website: www.nywba.org. Information about other programs, events and regular meetings of the committees is also available on the website.

Also on April 9, 2025, WBASNY will be presenting the Betty Weinberg Ellerin Mentor Award to the Hon. Suzanne J. Adams at a reception. Tickets are available on the WBASNY website: www.wbasny.org.

Finally, I also want to remind everyone that the WBASNY Annual Convention will be held the weekend of May 15-18 at the Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen, New York. Hotel reservations are currently open and registration for the convention itself will commence soon. Our own Hon. Lisa Sokoloff will be the 2025 recipient of the Judith S. Kaye Access to Justice Award.

I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event.

Jocelyn Jacobson