President’s Message

Published: October 20, 2020

By Kim Zimmer

Kim Zimmer Dear Members! Normally, in the Fall newsletter, we would be providing you with information about our upcoming Annual Meeting and Dinner in December. As you all know, however, nothing about this year is normal.

For the first (and hopefully the only) time in the history of the FCBA, we will not have an Annual Dinner in December because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will still go forward with an Annual Meeting – virtually – on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. and next month you will be receiving a Notice of the Annual Meeting and other meeting materials. The packet we send you will include the Nominating Committee’s proposal of a by-law amendment to address the unusual situation presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the Nominating Committee will be recommending that the current Officers and Trustees remain in place for the upcoming year given the unusual nature and restriction of FCBA events in 2020. At the virtual Annual Meeting on December 3, 2020, Chief Judge Suddaby and I will each provide you with an oral report of this year’s happenings within the Court and the FCBA.

Although we are still not able to come together and socialize as we would like, the Organization continues to move forward presenting outstanding and highly attended virtual Continuing Legal Education programs and collaborating with our local law schools.

On October 23, 2020, the FCBA co-sponsored a Supreme Court Update CLE with Syracuse University Law School, which was attended by 364 individuals, including 63 FCBA members. This event followed a successful collaborative effort with Cornell Law School on October 1, 2020, where the Court and the Organization presented a program on judicial clerkships and practice in the Northern District of New York.

Finally, I am very happy to report that the FCBA’s matching gift program with Feeding New York State was a huge success, resulting in donations in excess of $4,800 and providing more than 14,000 meals to individuals within the community we serve.

That’s all for now. Please stay tuned for upcoming events and programs and stay well my friends!