Highlights of Presidency:

During my term as the 15th President of WBASNY, key Committees of WBASNY responded to proposed legislation and issues that could impact women profoundly. In 1997, the Matrimonial Committee made recommendations for WBASNY action on the positions taken by NYSBA Task Force on Family Law Revisions, including such issues as “No-Fault” divorce; separate v. marital property; reversal of O’Brien concerning distributions of a spouse’s professional license; among others. All of the Committee’s recommendations were approved and would later impact the proposed legislation. The Domestic Violence Committee dealt with several issues, one of which involves our Chapters working with the NYS Coalition on Domestic Violence shelters and clients. This collaboration led to the eventual creation of Integrated Domestic Violence Courts throughout the State. The Reproductive Freedom Committee was faced with the anti-choice strategy of attaching riders to proposed federal legislation limiting reproductive rights to every significant bill, no matter how unrelated, a practice that continues today. They also reacted to the burden caused by the take-over of secular HMOs by church-related HMO’s affecting most, if not all, Medicaid recipients. This forces them to have to seek separate providers for family planning services which results in the enrollee often having to pay up front or forego family planning services altogether. Lastly, WBASNY’s Diversity Committee met with the Association of Black Women Attorneys to explore joint ventures. Additionally, our State Committee is encouraging our local Chapters to reach out to students of color if they have a law school in their region. It was expected that this will lead to mentoring relationships and job recruitment opportunities.

The challenges accepted by our Committees shows the high level of engagement by our members and made me glad that I had the opportunity to play a role.