The Trump administration, a lack of access to attorneys and artificial intelligence: These are the three most pressing threats to the country’s legal system, according to the new president of the New York County Lawyers Association.
Ronald Minkoff used his inaugural speech on Thursday to tell New York’s lawyers how he will use his new position as the association’s president to tackle these issues. First on the list, Minkoff announced the formation of a task force to create a plan for non-lawyers — such as paralegals, social workers and other members of the public — to be trained by lawyers to provide pro-bono legal services to people who otherwise would not be able to afford an attorney.
In Minkoff’s view, the plan is essential to combating the significant threat to the rule of law posed by a lack of easy access to counsel.
“Lawyers have a monopoly on legal services, and for a lot of reasons that’s justified because of our training, but frankly, we’re not meeting the need,” he told amNewYork after his address. “We don’t have enough people to meet the need, so we have to find a way to kind of multiply our skills. One way to do it is to train people so that they’re certificated … to serve people in housing court or in family court.”
NYCLA President Ronald Minkoff delivers the first speech of his tenure.
“If people can’t afford a lawyer, if they can’t access our courts, if they can’t afford to get a contract written, then the idea of rule of law is a fantasy,” Minkoff added. He said members of the bar association would be working to create a proposal they’d eventually submit to the state’s court system, which would ultimately carry out the training for non-lawyers.
Though he said New York has been “resistant” to these types of programs in the past, he is hoping he and his bar association can push the state to adopt this solution to the counsel crisis.
New NYCLA President Ronald Minkoff after being inaugurated.Isabella Gallo
It’s all the more critical that people are able to access legal services in the current political client, Minkoff said, as he believes the current Trump administration is a dangerous threat to the legal system and rule of law. Minkoff said he would work to push back against that threat through consistent public speeches, writing and protests.
“The executive orders targeting law firms, the lawless rendition of illegal and even legal migrants out of the country, continual attacks on our judiciary, the list goes on and on,” Minkoff said of what he saw as Trump’s harm to the legal system. “I remain committed as president to continue to speak out in favor of the rule of law and judicial independence.”
A few dozen attorneys and judges packed NYCLA’s office to hear their new leadership speak.Isabella Gallo
Illustrating the bar association’s commitment to upholding the rule of law in the light of the Trump administration’s attacks on it, outgoing Bar Association President Richard Swanson presented members of its Rule of Law Committee with an award recognizing their efforts over the past year.
The Boris Kostelanetz President’s Medal is presented to attorney Arthur Field for outstanding service to the bar association over the years.Isabella Gallo
On artificial intelligence, what Minkoff identified as the third major threat to the legal system, Minkoff said he would do everything he could to make Manhattan’s bar association a leader on the matter.
“Will it replace us? Will all lawyers become chatbots, or will all chatbots become lawyers? I don’t know,” Minkoff said of AI in law. “It’s a technology that is so imperfect that it gets lawyers in trouble every day – we have 1,000 cases nationwide on AI hallucinations alone – but at the same time, it offers such incredible promise on access to justice.”
Attorneys and judges partake in a reception following the annual meeting.Provided by New York County Bar Association
He said he’ll be deploying the bar association’s technology committee to monitor how AI can improve access to justice and train lawyers on how to use AI properly, so that it can help them without getting them in trouble.
Minkoff wasn’t the only new leader elected to Manhattan’s bar last night. Below is a list of new elected officers and attorneys honored with awards at the association’s annual meeting:
Elected Officers:
President-Elect: Henry M. Greenberg,
Vice President: Hon. Rolando T. Acosta (Ret.)
Treasurer: Asha Smith
Secretary: Jai K. Chandrasekhar
Attorneys and judges celebrate at their annual meeting.Isabella Gallo
Awardees:
Klaus Eppler Prize: NYCLA Professional Ethics Committee
Kobak Award: NYCLA Law and Technology Committee
Special Commendation: NYCLA Rule of Law Task Force
The Boris Kostelanetz President’s Medal: Arthur Field