The FCBA’s annual meeting, on December 3, was held via Zoom.
FCBA President Kim Zimmer praised the FCBA’s adjustment to pandemic conditions in 2020, particularly the popularity of its online CLEs, which have grown in both offerings and number of attendees. Zimmer noted that a Supreme Court CLE, co-hosted with Syracuse University School of Law, attracted 384 attendees in October. Zimmer also praised FCBA members’ participation in a virtual food drive, in which FCBA members raised enough money to provide 14,000 meals to needy families.
Zimmer moved, with no opposition, for the 2020 FCBA Officers to repeat their terms in 2021, in view of pandemic conditions that curtained FCBA activities in 2020.
Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby gave the keynote address, noting that “everything changed on March 16, 2020,” which is when Court staff began to telework in response to documented increases in COVID-19 infections across New York. Chief Judge Suddaby explained that the Court’s goal is to “keep everybody safe and secure,” while continuing to keep its doors open.
Chief Judge Suddaby noted that case filings never stopped, with civil filings remaining stable and criminal filings decreasing only slightly. He also noted that two civil trials occurred over the summer before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino, who tried the cases in a “safe, secure and thoughtful manner.”
The short meeting concluded with hopes that in-person meetings and activities could resume, safely, in 2021.