WWBA October 2020 Newsletter

WWBA 

SPECIAL ISSUE IN RECOGNITION OF BREAST CANCER AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH 

news 

OCTOBER 2020 - DEDICATED TO THE HONORABLE RUTH BADER GINSBURG 

Westchester Women’s Bar Association 

~ IN MEMORIAM ~ 

THE HONORABLE 

RUTH BADER GINSBURG 

March 15, 1933 - September 18, 2020 

The Westchester 

Women’s Bar Association 

joins with our sister chapters 

and with WBASNY in 

mourning the death of “Our 

Justice,” the Honorable Ruth 

Bader Ginsburg. Much has 

been said over the last several 

weeks about her life and 

her legacy since Justice 

Ginsburg lost her heroic battle 

with pancreatic cancer. Much 

more will be said about Justice Ginsburg’s 

extraordinary contributions to gender 

equality. Even so, there are no words to 

describe how much we have lost with her 

passing. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in 1933 

in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to an immigrant 

Russian Jewish father and a first generation 

Polish-American mother. Her father 

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 

OCTOBER 2020 

Virtual Celebration Honoring 

Judge Lisa M. Smith 

(page 6) 

The 19th Amendment: The 

Past in the Present 

(page 9) 

Law Day 2020 Held 

Virtually 

(page 10) 

Upcoming Events 

(page 18) 

was a merchant with a variety 

of stores, and her mother 

was a traditional “homemaker,” 

raising Ruth and her 

older sister. The family suffered 

tragedy more than 

once -- when Ruth was just 

14 months old her older sister 

died of meningitis, and on 

the eve of her own high 

school graduation, Ruth’s 

mother, Celia, died of cancer. 

Celia had been an excellent student, graduating 

from high school at the age of 15, but 

she was unable to go to college and instead 

was required to work to help send 

her brother to college. Celia was determined 

that Ruth, born Joan Ruth Bader, would go 

to college, and she set up a college fund 

for her very intelligent surviving daughter. 

continued on page 4 

SAVE THE DATE 


BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

MEETING 

October 7, 2020 

Zoom 

2020 BREAST 

CANCER WALK 


Manhattanville College 

Purchase, New York 

COVID-19 EMPLOYMENT 

LAW PEER GROUP 

DISCUSSION 


Zoom 

Westchester Women’s Bar Association News 

PRESIDENT’S 

MESSAGE 

October is 

Breast Cancer 

Awareness Month, 

and it is WWBA’s tradition 

to publish its 

October newsletter 

in pink in honor of 

Breast Cancer 

Awareness. It is also 

Domestic Violence 

Awareness Month, 

Hon. Lisa 

Margaret Smith 

the color of which is lavender, and at 

WWBA we also honor the crucial importance 

of efforts to combat Domestic 

Violence by including lavender in our 

newsletter colors. Please remember to 

wear pink and lavender ribbons this 

month to honor those who fight both of 

these scourges, and those who have 

been lost to them. Elsewhere in this 

edition is an article about innovations 

in Westchester County to address Domestic 

Violence. This President’s Message 

focuses on Breast Cancer. 

Many of us have been personally 

touched by breast cancer, and most of 

us have had someone in our lives 

touched by breast cancer. I would like 

to share with each of you my personal 

story with this disease, though you might 

want to skip to the end if you are squeamish. 

Mine is not a pretty story, but for 

the approximately 12 percent of you, 

as American women, who will face invasive 

breast cancer in your lifetime, this 

may help you to get through your own 

travails, and to feel less alone. 

I was diligent about getting a mammogram 

every year since I was 35, except 

when I was pregnant or breastcontinued 

on page 3 ➥ 

Page 1 

The Westchester Women’s Bar Association is a Chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

WWBA Member Newsletter 

OCTOBER 2020 

Published Monthly by the 

Westchester Women’s 

Bar Association, a Chapter of 

the Women’s Bar Association 

of the State of New York 

~ 2020/2021 Officers and Directors ~ 

President HON. LISA MARGARET SMITH 

President-Elect AMANDA C. FRIED 

Vice Presidents 

NATANYA L. BRIENDEL JENNIFER GRAY JACQUELINE HATTAR 

Treasurer 

ELIZABETH Z. MARCUS Recording Secretary ELIZABETH Z. MARCUS 

Corresponding Secretary JENNIFER ROBINSON 

Immediate Past ast President 

ANGELA MORCONE GIANNINI 

Elected Directors Westchester Board 

KIM BERG LISA M. DENIG CARLA GLASSMAN 

ANNETTE HASAPIDIS JILL OZIEMBLEWSKI 

State Directors Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York 

LUCIA CHIOCCHIO DEBORAH FARBER-KAISER ANN M. McNULTY 

SHARI GORDON ANGELA MORCONE GIANNINI 

ADRIENNE ORBACH SUSAN MILLS RICHMOND JANEEN THOMAS 

Executive Director ELISABETH CAMPOS 

© Copyright 2020 Westchester Women’s Bar Association. All rights reserved. 

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) only and do not reflect the official position of the Association. 

Editor-in-Chief: Jennifer Robinson • Designed and Printed by IPM Media Group, Inc. (516) 809-0501 

2020-2021 WWBA Committee Chairs 

S T A N D I N G C O M M I T T E E S 

By-Laws ................................................................................... Kim Berg 

Corporate & Commercial .......................... Lisa M. Bluestein, Virginia Trunkes 

Criminal Law ................... Elizabeth Gazay, Hon. Sandra A. Forster, Amy Puerto 

Families, Children & the Courts .................... Joy S. Joseph, Lauren Morrissey 

Amanda Rieben 

Grievance/Ethics .......................................................... Deborah A. Scalise 

Judicial Screening ..................... Hon. Sandra A. Forster, Kimberly C. Sheehan 

Judiciary .............................................................. Hon. Linda S. Jamieson 

Lawyering & Parenting ................................... Joelle M. Burton, Jennifer Gray 

Legislation ............................. Natanya L. Briendel, Angela Morcone Giannini 

Matrimonial .......................................... Robin D. Carton, Dolores Gebhardt 

Lonya A. Gilbert, Andrea Friedman 

Annual Dinner ............... Robin D. Carton, Amanda Fried, Andrea B. Friedman, 

Jennifer L. Gray, Jennifer Netrosio, Lisa Margaret Smith 

Annual Dinner Souvenir Journal ................ Andrea B. Friedmanm Allison Sloto 

Appellate Practice .......... Lisa M. Denig, Hon. Sondra M. Miller, Heather Gushue 

Archive & Historian .............................................................. Susan L. Pollet 

Awards ....................................... Elizabeth Barnhard, Deborah Farber-Kaiser 

Bankruptcy ............................. Wendy Marie Weathers, Susan Mills Richmond 

Breast Cancer Awareness ............... Adrienne J. Orbach, Hon. Sandra Forster 

Collaborative Law ........................... Kathleen Donelli, Hon. Sondra M. Miller, 

Lynn J. Maier 

Community Outreach .............. Hon. Lisa Margaret Smith, Deborah A. Scalise 

Construction Law .............................................................................. TBD 

Continuing Legal Education ................................................ Ann M. McNulty 

Cyber Law ....................................................................................... TBD 

Diversity and Inclusion ........................ Jacqueline Hattar, Stephanie Melowsky, 

Janeen Thomas 

Domestic Violence ....................... Marian Genio, Beth Levy, Stacey Neumann 

Education .................. Allison Morris, Julie P. Passman, , Susan Mills Richmond 

Elder & Health Law & Reproductive Rights ..................... Elizabeth A. Cumming, 

Moira Laidlaw 

Employment Law ........................................................ Kim Berg, Sara Kula 

Environmental & Land Use ........................ Lucia Chiocchio, Jennifer L. Gray, 

Katherine Zalantis 

Gender Dynamics .............................................. Hon. Terry Jane Ruderman 

Holiday Party and Boutique ................. Dolores Gebhardt, Jennifer N. Netrosio 

Immigration .............................. Karin Anderson Ponzer, Elizabeth Mastropolo 

Insurance ........................................... Michelle Kolodny, Julie A. Mickiewicz 

Intellectual Property ............. Elizabeth M. Barnhard, Theresa O’Rourke Nugent 

A D H O C C O M M I T T E E S 

Membership ............................... Sherry Bishko, Marian Genio, Kristen Motel 

Networking ...................................................................................... TBD 

New Lawyers ..................................................... Katie Wendle, Kristen Motel 

Professional Development ............. Susan Edwards Colson, Stephanie Melowsky 

Programs ........................................... Natanya L. Briendel, Amanda C. Fried 

Public Relations ................................................................................ TBD 

Real Property ................. Anne R. Aicher, Allyson Lanahan, Robbin E. Sweeney 

Sponsorship .................................. Lucia Chiocchio, Susan Edwards Colson, 

Deborah Farber-Kaiser, Marian Genio 

Taxation .................................................................. Patricia Rusch Bellucci 

Trusts & Estates ...................................... Lonya A. Gilbert, Nancy J. Rudolph, 

Karen J. Walsh 

Judgment Enforcement & Collections ..... Daniel F. Florio, Jr., Michael Giannini 

Litigation .................................. Angela Morcone Giannini, Jacqueline Hattar, 

Rebecca McCloskey 

Long Range Planning ..................................... Lisa M. Denig, Linda Markowitz 

Mediation ......................... Hon. Sondra M. Miller, Abby Rosmarin, Lisa Denig 

Mentor ................................................................ Kim Berg, Sherry Bishko 

Past Presidents ..................................................... Angela Morcone Giannini 

Practice Management ............................................... Wendy Marie Weathers 

Pro Bono ................................................... Marian Genio, Natalie Sobchak 

Social Media .......................................... Kristen Motel, Jennifer N. Netrosio 

Technology/Website ................... Donna E. Frosco, Theresa O’Rourke Nugent 

Wellness ........................................ Jennifer Netrosio, Susan Mills Richmond 

Women in Leadership ................................................... Adrienne Arkontaky 


Representatives 

Network of Bar Leaders ................................................... Angela Morcone Giannini 

Pace Board of Visitors .............................................................................. Lisa Denig 

WWBA Foundation President ........................................................... Susan S. Brown 

WWBA Representative Director to the WCBA Board ....................... Dolores Gebhardt 

WBASNY Judicial Screening Committee .......... Gail M. Boggio, Lisa M. Bluestein 

WBASNY Nominations Committee ....................... Gail M. Boggio, Lisa M. Bluestein 

WBASNY Awards Committee ............................................................ Deborah Scalise 

WBASNY Health Law/Reproductive Rights Committee ........................... Shari Gordin 

WBASNY Fundraising Committee .................................................. Andrea Friedman 

WBASNY ERA/Women’s Civil Rights Committee ......................................... Kim Berg 

WBASNY Labor and Employment Law ....................................................... Kim Berg 

WBASNY Legislation Committee .................................................... Natanya Briendel 

WBASNY LGBTQ+ Committee ...................................................... Adrienne Orbach 

WBASNY Domestic Violence Committee .............................. Susan Pollet, Alayne Katz 

WBASNY Press and Public Relations ................................ Angela Morcone Giannini 

9th Judicial District Representative .................................... Angela Morcone Giannini 

Page 2 

Westchester Women’s Bar Association News

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

President’s Message 

from page 1 

“This surgery was 

unlike anything I 

had experienced, 

and took a great 

deal out of me, 

physically and 

emotionally.” 

feeding, and, like most women I had occasional 

scares as a result of cysts or other 

abnormalities, but no real issues. In 2001, 

when I was 46, I had thyroid cancer, resulting 

in a thyroidectomy and radioactive 

thyroid treatment, but other than taking 

thyroid replacement medication daily, I 

never had any problems relating to the 

thyroid cancer. 

In the spring of 2012, at the age of 

57, my experience changed when I was 

diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, 

known as DCIS, in one breast. In other 

words, it was cancer. Initially the diagnosis 

from each doctor I consulted (I consulted 

three) was that this was a minor 

concern, that DCIS is non-invasive and 

that a lumpectomy would take care of the 

problem. Then, a further analysis of my 

mammograms resulted in a finding that 

there was also DCIS in the other breast. I 

ended up with three lumpectomies, and 

none of the margins were clear, meaning 

that the doctors had not been able to remove 

all of the cancer, in either breast. By 

that time I was also quite physically misshapen 

as a result of the unsuccessful surgeries, 

and, I admit, I was frightened. For 

the first time my surgeon recommended a 

bilateral mastectomy, and my fear blossomed 

into terror. I was alone when I left 

the doctor’s office, and so upset that I 

nearly had a car accident – my recommendation 

is that you do not go to an important 

appointment alone, because you 

need someone else to hear and remember 

what is being said, to ask questions, and 

to allow you to lean on them if the news is 

bad. 

continued on page 5 ➥ 

Editor’s Note 


“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others 

to join you.” 

~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

Making Dates and Getting Published 

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS 

❑ Deadline for newsletter submissions is the 12th of the month prior to publication (submissions 

received after the deadline are subject to the discretion of the editor). 

❑ Send submissions as email attachments to Jennifer Robinson at secretary@wwbany.org. 

❑ Articles should be 1,000 words or fewer. Remove all pagination, headers, footers or other 

formatting, other than bold, underline or italics. Authors are encouraged to submit photographs 

for publication with their submissions and include a short biographical statement with 

their submissions. 

❑ Materials submitted allow the WWBA a limited copyright and full permission to reprint the 

material in any WWBA publication or on its website without additional consent. 

❑ Photographs must be high-resolution (150 dpi or more) and the subject and all persons in 

each photograph must be fully identified. 

PROGRAM SCHEDULING 

❑ First visit the WWBA website: www.wwbany.org and click on the calendar at the home page to 

view scheduled programs. Conflicts in scheduling will be assessed on a case by case basis, with 

priority for early submissions. 

❑ Contact Jennifer Robinson at secretary@wwbany.org to schedule a WWBA sponsored or cosponsored 

program, including committee meetings, CLE programs, etc. 

❑ Once you have reserved the date with Jennifer Robinson, proceed with planning your program 

and creating your flyer. 

❑ Flyers must be approved by the Programs Committee. In advance of the 12th of the month, 

please send your flyer to the Program Committee Co-chairs for review and copy the Executive 

Director. Once approved, please send your final flyer to the Executive Director, Elisabeth Campos 

and the President for publication on the website calendar and the newsletter calendar. The 

final flyer will also be emailed to the membership. 

❑ We will also consider publicizing programs from outside organizations that may be of interest 

to our members. 

❑ Post-event: You may report on the success of your program and provide photographs of the 

speakers and participants that can be included in an upcoming newsletter. Send your submission 

to Jennifer Robinson, following the guidelines above. 

A d v e r t i s i n g R a t e s 

Full Page Display Ad 

5-10 Issues - $525.00 per issue 


Half Page Display Ad 



Contacts 

Jennifer Robinson, Corresponding Secretary and Newsletter Editor-in-Chief: secretary@wwbany.org 

Natanya L. Briendel, Programs Committee Co-Chair: tanyabriendel@gmail.com 

Amanda C. Fried, Programs Committee Co-Chair: afried@cartonrosoff.com 

Hon. Lisa Margaret Smith, President: president@wwbany.org 

Ann M. McNulty, CLE Chair: ann.m.mcnulty@morganstanley.com 

Elisabeth Campos, Executive Director: executivedirector@wwbany.org 

Quarter Page Display Ad 



Business Card Ad 



Classified – office space, furniture/equipment, employment & situation wanted (up to 5 lines) 

Members - $50.00 first issue; $25.00 each succeeding issue; Non-Members - $75.00 per issue 

Back Cover (3/4 page) 

5-10 Issues - $650.00 per issue; 1-4 Issues - $700.00 per issue 

Deadline for all ads is the 12th of the month prior to publication. Ads are subject to space limitations. 

Contact Jennifer Robinson at secretary@wwbany.org for any questions regarding advertising. 

Page 3

from page 1 

~ IN MEMORIAM ~ 

THE HONORABLE RUTH BADER GINSBURG 

Ruth Bader went to Cornell 

University, where she met and 

fell in love with Martin Ginsburg, 

who would become her husband 

right after her graduation, 

and her partner for the rest of 

their lives. Ruth was a member 

of Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated 

as the highest ranking 

woman in the class at Cornell. 

At that time Martin, known as 

Marty, had completed one year 

at Harvard Law School. After 

their marriage the Ginsburgs 

went to Oklahoma, where Marty 

was stationed for his army service. 

Ruth obtained a civil service 

typist’s job, but when she 

revealed she was pregnant with 

her first child, she was demoted. 

It is in large part due to 

Justice Ginsburg’s work as an 

attorney that the action of demoting 

a woman due to pregnancy 

would be unlawful today. 

When the Ginsburgs returned 

to the East Coast following 

Martin’s army service Martin 

reenrolled at Harvard Law 

School and Ruth also enrolled, 

in the fall of 1953. She was just 

one of nine women in her class. 

(Our very own foremother, the 

Honorable Sondra Miller, had 

been three years ahead of Justice 

Ginsburg, in the first 

Harvard Law class to admit 

women, graduating in 1953. In 

1993 the two trailblazers participated 

in a Harvard Law event 

celebrating the 40th anniversary 

of women’s admission to 

the school.). 

When Martin graduated 

and got a law job in New York 

City, Justice Ginsburg asked 

Harvard to allow her to complete 

her studies at a New York 

law school and still receive a 

Harvard degree; this had been 

allowed for men in similar circumstances, 

but Harvard 

would have none of it, even 

though Ruth was highly ranked 

“A MEANINGFUL LIFE IS ONE LIVED NOT JUST FOR 

ONESELF BUT FOR ONE’S COMMUNITY.” 

~ Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

and served as editor of the 

Harvard Law Review. The 

School rejected her request. 

Justice Ginsburg transferred to 

Columbia Law, where she was 

editor of the Columbia Law Review, 

and where she graduated, 

with a degree from Columbia 

Law, tied for first in her class. 

In 2011 Harvard remedied its 

earlier slight, awarding Justice 

Ginsburg an honorary degree. 

In 2015 Harvard honored her 

with its Radcliffe medal, 

awarded to a person who has 

transformed society - few can 

doubt that Justice Ginsburg was 

qualified for that medal! 

Despite her extraordinary 

scholastic achievement, Justice 

Ginsburg was unable to obtain 

a job as a lawyer at any firm in 

New York. She was also unable 

to obtain a clerkship, despite 

fabulous recommendations; 

there is little question that these 

rejections were because of her 

gender. Finally, one of Justice 

Ginsburg’s Columbia Law professors 

told Judge Edmund 

Palmieri of the Southern District 

of New York that if Judge 

Palmieri did not hire Ruth Bader 

Ginsburg as a clerk then the professor 

would never again recommend 

a clerk to Judge 

Palmieri - the Judge did the right 

thing, and hired her. After her 

two year clerkship, again unable 

to find a job at a New York 

City firm, Justice Ginsburg was 

hired by Columbia to work on a 

special project on international 

procedure, learning Swedish 

and spending time in Sweden 

before writing the seminal book 

on Swedish legal procedure. In 

1963 Justice Ginsburg was hired 

as a law professor at Rutgers 

Law School. Even with her 

amazing credentials, Justice 

Ginsburg was paid less than her 

male counterparts, because, it 

is said, the School felt that a 

woman with a husband who had 

a well-paid job did not require 

the same salary as a man supporting 

a family. This may have 

been one reason for her oftquoted 

statement, “I ask no favor 

for my sex. All I ask of our 

brethren is that they take their 

feet off our necks.” 

In 1972 Justice Ginsburg 

was hired to teach at Columbia 

Law School, and became the 

first woman to achieve tenure 

at that prestigious institution. 

Also in 1972 Justice Ginsburg 

co-founded the Women’s 

Rights Project at the American 

Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”). 

During the next few years the 

ACLU took part in over 300 gender 

discrimination cases, many 

of them with input from Justice 

Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg argued 

six gender discrimination 

cases before the all-male Supreme 

Court, and she won five 

of them. She often selected men 

as plaintiffs, seeking to convince 

the Court that gender discrimination 

was unconstitutional 

no matter which gender 

benefited. She has been quoted 

as having said “I don’t say 

women’s rights-I say the constitutional 

principle of the equal 

citizenship stature of men and 

women.” 

In 1980 Justice Ginsburg 

was nominated by President 

Jimmy Carter to a seat on the 

prestigious United States Court 

of Appeals for the District of 

Columbia. She was confirmed, 

and thirteen years later, in 1993, 

she was nominated by President 

Bill Clinton to a seat on 

the Supreme Court, to which 

she was also confirmed, as just 

the second woman on that 

Court, after Sandra Day 

O’Connor. Justice Gisburg took 

the oath of office on August 10, 

1993, and sat until her death 

this past September. 

As a United States Magistrate 

Judge for the Southern 

District of New York I had many 

opportunities to hear Justice 

Ginsburg speak, because she 

served as the Circuit Justice for 

the 2nd Circuit and appeared at 

all but one of the 2nd Circuit 

conferences since she undertook 

that responsibility in 1994. 

The one time she did not travel 

to speak to us, she spoke by 

video; it was shortly after her 

husband Marty had passed 

away. Justice Ginsburg had a 

dry wit and a slow, elegant 

speaking voice; on her last appearance 

we had the opportunity 

to see the movie “RBG“ and 

heard her comment on it. My 

daughter had a chance to hear 

her speak, and she treasures 

that memory. 

You may disagree with 

Justice Ginsburg on many issues 

– abortion, gun rights, the 

Affordable Care Act, the list 

goes on – but as women professionals 

I suspect that we all 

agree that Justice Ginsburg laid 

the groundwork for us to be 

lawyers and to be treated fairly, 

no matter our gender. Rest in 

peace, Justice Ginsburg, you are 

forever “Our Justice.” 

Ruth Bader Ginburg said 

many memorable things. Here 

are two of my favorites: 

“Fight for the things that 

you care about but do it in 

a way that will lead others 

to join you.” 

“A meaningful life is one 

lived not just for oneself but 

for one’s community.” 

~ Lisa Margaret Smith 

Page 4 


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

WWBA Members Help Combat Domestic Violence with the 

New Westchester County Domestic Violence High Risk Team 

Stacey Neumann 

Co-Chair of WWBA Domestic Violence Sub-Committee 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness 

month and we want to alert you to a new 

County innovation that WWBA members are 

involved with to combat domestic violence. 

In September 2020, County Executive, George Latimer, announced 

the expansion of the Westchester County Domestic Violence 

High Risk Team. This innovative program is a multi-agency 

collaborative approach to preventing lethal domestic violence, 

identifying families at highest risk and intervening to save lives by 

providing immediate support and services. 

Prior to last month, a high-risk team was already in place in 

5 Northern Westchester towns: Pound Ridge, Lewisboro, Bedford, 

North Salem and Somers. The impetus for the creation of the 

Northern Westchester Team was the horrific murder-suicide case 

that occurred in 2017 in Pound Ridge. In that case, Steven Dym 

shot and killed his wife Loretta and their daughter Caroline with a 

shotgun before turning the gun on himself. This type of crime is 

called familicide and while it is very rare, Westchester County has 

had 3 such cases in the last 9 years. 

The Dym case spurred the County Office for Women led by 

Director Robi Schlaff, Chief David Ryan from Pound Ridge Police, 

CarlLa Horton from Hopes Door and others, to look deeper 

into these cases to figure out ways to provide enhanced safety to 

victims and minimize risks of lethality. “You can never predict 

catastrophe but that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to mitigate 

the risks”, said Robi Schlaff, Director of the County Office 

for Women. 

Funded by the New York State Office for the Prevention of 

Domestic Violence, in 2017, the Northern Westchester Risk Reduction 

Team (NWRRT) was created and became the model for 

the expanded countywide team. Partner agencies reported positive 

results and attributed this to the regular communication and 

collaboration between agencies. According to CarlLa Horton, 

Executive Director of Hope’s Door, “It takes tremendous courage 

for victims of abuse to take the painful and dangerous steps to 

safety and independence. Most feel incredibly alone, believing 

that no one is there to believe, to understand, and to offer the 

myriad of support that is so deeply needed. We have learned that 

no single agency or system can do the whole job by themselves. 

We and our partners, are working collectively, strengthening all 

of us in support of victims making their personal journey from 

victim to survivor.” 

Who makes up the Westchester County Domestic Violence 

High Risk Team? 

Partners in the team include Westchester County Office for 

Women, Hope’s Door, Pace Women’s Justice Center, Westchester 

County Department of Public Safety, Westchester County Probation 

Department, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, 

Westchester Medical Center, My Sister’s Place, Putnam/Northern 

Westchester Women’s Resource Center, Westchester Com- 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

President’s message 

from page 3 

The medical recommendation 

in my case was unanimous 

– I should undergo a complete 

bilateral mastectomy, with removal 

of any lymph nodes that 

might have cancer. So, in August 

2012, I had the surgery, 

including deip flap reconstruction 

using my own abdominal 

tissue to reconstruct my breasts 

without the use of implants. The 

tested lymph nodes were clear 

of cancer. The surgery lasted 

for twelve hours; when I awoke 

in recovery I was, for lack of a 

better description, tightly 

wrapped in what seemed like 

bubble wrap, and I was unable 

to move. The blood vessels between 

my chest and the newly 

placed tissue had been reconstructed 

to allow for blood flow, 

but the flow had to be checked 

nearly every hour with a sphygmometer 

to make sure that the 

reconstructed vessels continued 

to work. Without the blood flow 

the tissue would die and would 

have to be removed; the surgical 

incision was left open so that 

the blood flow could be measured 

and so, if any reconstructed 

blood vessel failed, an 

immediate emergency surgery 

could occur to correct the problem 

without having to reopen 

the original incision. After almost 

24 confusing and extremely 

painful hours in recovery 

– where a woman screamed 

incessantly from pain – I was 

removed to the ICU, because 

of the need for constant monitoring 

of the blood flow. I am 

no longer sure if I was in the 

ICU for one day or two, but 

eventually I was moved to the 

ward, still wrapped in bubble 

wrap, and still having constant 

monitoring of the blood flow. 

About a week after the surgery 

I was allowed to be freed 

from the cocoon I was in, and 

was allowed to get up and move 

around. I did require a second 

surgery to close the incision that 

had been left open in order to 

monitor the blood flow. In a 

few more days I was allowed to 

go home, where I had regular 

attention from a visiting nurse 

and a physical therapist. I had 

been told that I should plan to 

stay home for eight to ten weeks 

after the surgery, and I had 


grand ideas of using the time 

to sort my boxes of old photographs, 

clean out the junk 

drawers, and otherwise find 

useful things to do. In actual 

fact, I was not able to do much 

of anything. This surgery was 

unlike anything I had experienced, 

and took a great deal 

out of me, physically and emotionally. 

The boxes of photos 

and the junk drawers are still 

untouched to this day. 

A week or so after getting 

home the visiting nurse noticed 

that the incision was red and 

swollen, and a call to the plastic 

surgeon who had done the 

reconstruction resulted in a 

quick trip to his office, a prescription 

for high dose antibi- 



Page 5

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

SDNY Hosts Virtual Celebration Honoring 

the Hon. Lisa M. Smith 

Deborah A. Scalise 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020, 

the United States District Court for the 

Southern District of New York (SDNY) held 

a Virtual Tribute by Zoom to honor the 

career of our President, Magistrate Judge 

Lisa Margaret Smith. More than 140 

people Zoomed in for the event to celebrated 

Judge Smith’s retirement. The attendees 

came from as far as Scotland and 

England, and from Atlanta, Chicago, 

California, Maine, North Carolina, Washington 

D.C., Vermont, and, of course, New 

York and New Jersey. 

The evening was hosted by United 

States District Judge Cathy Seibel, who sits 

in the SDNY in White Plains. Judge Seibel 

began the tribute with kind words of her 

own about Judge Smith, from their time 

together in the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Judge 

Seibel became an AUSA a few months after 

Judge Smith did), and the period when 

Judge Seibel was still an AUSA and she 

had to appear before Judge Smith, and 

ultimately, since 2008, when they have 

served together in the Charles L. Brieant 

United States Courthouse in White Plains. 

Judge Seibel introduced Chief Magistrate 

Judge Paul Davison, who noted that 

he previously served as Federal Defender, 

and appeared before Judge Smith hundreds 

of times. When Judge Davison became 

a Magistrate Judge in in the SDNY 

in White Plains, he succeeded the Hon. 

Mark D. Fox in 2009. In that capacity he 

noted that he came to know Judge Smith 

as a judge, colleague, and friend. 

Next on the docket was retired Magistrate 

Judge Mark D. Fox. Judge Fox came 

to know Judge Smith when she was AUSA 

Smith and appeared before him many 

times. When a new Magistrate Judge position 

was established in 1994, Judge Fox 

encouraged then AUSA Smith to apply for 

the position. He became her colleague in 

March 1995, where they initially worked 

at the old courthouse (rented space in an 

office building) at 101 East Post Road, 

which was very different from the beautiful 

new courthouse at 300 Quarropas Street. 

The two had the good fortune to have adjacent 

chambers, and they shared a cof- 

feepot, many lunches, and lots of laughs. 

AUSA Perry Carbone spoke on behalf 

of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, noting his 

and his colleagues many appearances 

before Judge Smith, and her attention to 

detail when it came to applications for 

search warrants, such that she often edited 

them with a red pen. This earned Judge 

Smith two awards: the (hilarious) “Red Pen 

Award” and a plaque in Appreciation of 

her Service. 

Susanne Brody, Esq. has been a Federal 

Defender in White Plains and was an 

adversary of then AUSA Smith at the old 

courthouse. Ms. Brody reminisced that she 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

represented James Noel Damey in a matter 

in which AUSA Smith represented the government; 

the case involved possible interviews 

of witnesses located in Europe. When 

Judge Smith later became a Magistrate 

Judge, Ms. Brody noted that she appeared 

before Judge Smith many times, and appreciated 

that even when it was clear that 

her client was not going to get bail, Judge 

Smith would allow the argument to be made, 

and would give it consideration before ruling 

(before denying bail)! 

On behalf of the Westchester Women’s 

Bar Association, of which Judge Smith is 


Page 6 


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

An Interview with Allyson J. Lanahan 

Susan L. Pollet 

Chair of the Archive and 

Historian Committee 

Q: When and why did you 

become involved in the 

WWBA? 

A: The Westchester Women’s 

Bar Association offered a natural 

starting point for reinventing 

myself as a working mother 

when I was ready to pick up 

my legal career after taking 

time off to start a family. At 

that point in my life it was important 

to connect with other 

women who had successfully 

navigated professional and 

family responsibilities. As our 

culture is slowly starting to acknowledge, 

this careful balancing 

act is largely the province 

of women, and I found 

the support and guidance of 

the women I met at the WWBA 

to be a vital part of my successful 

re-entry. 

Some of the women I met 

through the WWBA during 

those early re-entry days ultimately 

became my colleagues 

and mentors. A neighbor of 

mine suggested I reach out to 

Stephanie Melowsky who graciously 

responded to my outof-the-blue 

email inquiry and 

invited me to an inspiring diversity 

lecture organized by the 

WWBA Diversity Committee. 

Through Stephanie, I connected 

with then-president, 

Susan Edwards Colson. Susan 

invited me to Law Day 

where I was inspired to see the 

WWBA reaching out to engage 

the next generation of 

lawyers. Susan and I later went 

on to found and co-chair the 

Women in Professional Transition 

Project in order to support 

WWBA Members making 

changes in their legal careers, 

as I was doing. This turned 

out to be a great way to meet 

“. . . I am curious to see what impact 

this time in our culture has on women’s 

professional lives. At this particular 

moment, I think women especially are 

struggling to balance family and 

household demands with professional 

responsibilities, because there’s no 

longer a clear division between the two.” 

and help other members. 

Around that same time, the 

WWBA hosted its annual Cocktails 

and Conversation event on 

the rooftop at the Red Hat. I 

was introduced to then incoming 

president Lisa Denig who was 

her usual charming and energetic 

self. She introduced me 

to anyone and everyone she 

thought I should know, including 

my future co-chair of the real 

property committee, and now 

trusted mentor, Michele A. Luzio. 

After being introduced that 

night, Michele and I ended up 

co-chairing the Real Property 

Committee together for the next 

three years! 

It’s remarkable to look back 

now and recognize how these 

inspiring and dedicated women 

supported me personally, and 

professionally, as I navigated my 

re-entry into the legal field. 

Q: Which WWBA activities have 

you participated in? 

A: While part of the WWBA, I’ve 

cochaired the Real Property 

Committee, and the Women in 

Professional Transition Project. 

Each of these roles has offered 

me the valuable opportunity of 

connecting with other women in 

the WWBA and Westchester’s 

broader legal community. 

This network is especially 

valuable to me as a solo practitioner. 

In particular, the community 

of members in the real prop- 


erty committee, has become a 

valuable collaboration among 

knowledgeable practitioners in 

the field. Our bi-monthly meetings 

provide an opportunity to 

identify and discuss common 

practice issues. During my time 

as Co-Chair, it has been a goal 

of the Committee to offer its 

members a space to learn and 

sharpen skills by harnessing the 

collective experience and legal 

expertise of the larger group. 

Frequently the members make 

client and resource referrals to 

support one another. Furthermore, 

on a personal level, it’s 

been very rewarding getting to 

know that group of women. 

Susan Edwards Colson and 

I founded the Women in Professional 

Transition Project to support 

WWBA Members making 

changes in their legal careers. 

We recognized there was value 

to be offered to Members by providing 

a place to connect, and 

to exchange ideas and resources. 

Among the group there 

was always something to learn, 

a referral to be made or a way 

to expand our networks. This 

project was doubly rewarding 

because supporting other 

women in professional transition 

helped me with my own. 

Q: Tell us about your practice, 

including what you like most 

about it and what are you find 

most challenging. 

Allyson J. Lanahan 

A: I am a solo-practitioner 

specializing in residential real 

estate and estate planning. 

On the real estate side of 

things, I really enjoy working 

with first-time buyers, and helping 

them transition to the next 

chapter in their lives. They 

usually have a lot of questions 

and it is rewarding to be able 

to offer them guidance and 

peace of mind. I also enjoy 

getting to know the group of 

real estate agents, title agents, 

mortgage brokers and the 

other lawyers making up 

Westchester’s residential real 

estate community. 

On the estate planning 

side of things, I’ve come to 

understand that estate plans 

are about more than how 

much money you have. Ultimately, 

they reflect a given 

client’s personal goals and 

values. I enjoy helping my clients 

identify those goals and 

envision their legacy, and then 

translate those goals into a 

comprehensive plan. 

On the practice management 

side of things, being a 

solo practitioner definitely has 

its rewards – and challenges. 

First and foremost, I appreciate 

the autonomy and flexibilcontinued 

on page 9 ➥ 

Page 7

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

New Westchester County Domestic Violence High Risk Team 

from page 5 

munity Opportunity Programs/ 

Victims Assistance Services and 

Legal Services of Hudson Valley. 

Additionally, county agencies 

such as the Department of 

Social Services and Community 

Mental Health are resources for 

the team. 

Each of these agencies 

brings a level of expertise in the 

area of Domestic Violence from 

a variety of different vantage 

points which, combined together, 

provide the best chance 

of helping victims. 

How does the Westchester 

County Domestic Violence 

High Risk Team work? 

At the center of the team’s 

approach is a Lethality Assessment 

Program (or LAP). The 

LAP is a set of 12 questions that 

officers can use to assess the 

level of risk when they respond 

to a domestic violence incident. 

It is predicated on the work of 

Dr. Jaqueline Campbell from 

Johns Hopkins University 

School of Nursing. Dr. 

Campbell interviewed abused 

women, shelter workers, law 

enforcement officials, and other 

clinical experts on battering and 

from that research, identified 

key risk factors that were incorporated 

into a series of questions 

that became known as the 

Danger Assessment. 

Representatives from the 

County Office for Women, 

White Plains Police Department, 

Pound Ridge Police Department, 

the Westchester District 

Attorney’s Office, the 

Westchester Medical Center 

and Pace Women’s Justice Center 

are training police officers 

throughout the county on how 

the LAP works and how to use 

the danger assessment tool. 

Darlene Reda, Program Administrator 

from the County 

Office for Women explained 

“The trauma-informed training 

is crucial in helping responding 

officers understand the effects 

of trauma on victims of 

domestic violence and how that 

trauma affects a victim’s 

memory, demeanor and the 

way they respond to the situation. 

The officers are trained on 

the importance of making eye 

contact and really listening to 

and following up on a victim’s 

answers to the Danger Assessment 

questions. We know that 

it is often frustrating for officers 

to go out again and again to 

the same residence for DV calls; 

this training helps the officers 

to understand the dynamics of 

domestic violence and why, for 

example, a victim continues to 

stay with the abuser. We want 

the officers to know that their 

demeanor can make all the difference 

in the world to a victim.” 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

Once a victim is evaluated 

as high risk after the LAP 

screening, the police officer 

doing the screening will call a 

24 -hour hotline and connect 

the victim with a trained advocate. 

The hotline is staffed by 

advocates from Westchester 

Medical Center who will provide 

crisis intervention, safety 

planning and referrals for 

emergency housing along with 

other critical services. The service 

providers on the high-risk 

team will then follow up with 

high risk victims within 24 

hours and obtain victims’ consent 

to coordinate critical services 

for them. 

The underlying theory behind 

this program is that if a 

victim is given the opportunity 

to connect with a domestic violence 

advocate while a police 

officer is present, the victim is 


A Leader in Serving the 

Legal Services Community. 

That’s Sterling. 

Expect the highest caliber of personal service and 

banking expertise. 

Expect extraordinary. 

Contact banking professionals experienced in 

serving your unique needs at 914-367-9000, 

or email team556@snb.com 

Jamie O’Connell 

Wealth Director 

701 Westchester Avenue 

White Plains, NY 10604 

T 914 299 3050 F 955 498 2839 

jamie.o’connell@bnymellon.com 

www.bnymellonwealth.com 

Larry McElroen, Senior Managing Director 

Michael Henderson, Senior Managing Director 

Anthony Forgione, Managing Director 

Moira Kiernan, Managing Director 

Luis Rivera, Associate Managing Director 

To learn about Sterling’s full suite 

of services, visit snb.com. 

Member 

FDIC 

Page 8 


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

THE 19TH AMENDMENT: 

The Past in the Present 

Eileen N. Nadelson 

On September 22, I celebrated 

two birthdays - Voter 

Registration Day and the 

Centennial of the 19th 

Amendment. The latter gave 

women the right to vote on 

August 18, 1920. The theme 

of 2020 seems to center 

around the vote, and I took 

on the role of producing a 

documentary video to honor 

the long and difficult campaign 

forged by the woman 

suffrage movement. So, what 

does this have to do with our 

bar association? Glad I 

asked. 

Besides the obvious connection 

to gender, we, as attorneys, 

take an oath to uphold 

the Constitution, and the 

19th Amendment is certainly 

a part of that. We also make 

up a large chunk of “We the 

People”, tipping slightly into 

the majority. But, bestowing 

accolades on the triumphs of 

women in history is not the 

objective of this article. What 

is my objective is to reinvigorate 

the notion that what we 

do in the present is the foundation 

for the future. The 

Jews call it tradition; the Buddhists 

or Hindus call it karma. 

I call it legacy. 

Our profession gives 

ample opportunity to provide 

a legacy. Yet, many fail to 

utilize it. Think about it. We 

create documents, write 

briefs, and make arguments 

at court. Even without a word 

recorded, the base is established. 

We interpret and, 

sometimes, reestablish the 

rules of law. Can you get how 

significant and influential that 

is? Here is the mindset I want 

to propose. Treat every case, 

every client, every document 

or agreement, every argu- 

ment, whether fierce or finessed, 

as historical strata. 

Sure, some will follow a pattern. 

Every movement has a 

pattern. The woman suffrage 

had a pattern. It is the totality 

of the action that leaves 

the legacy. 

Generally, we follow the 

footprints that precede us. 

Ever notice how we step into 

the footprints already set in 

the snow or on a muddy 

road? Of course, we can always 

set our own path of 

footprints. Think of the 

people you admired or revered. 

That includes members 

of your own family, or, 

perhaps, historical icons. In 

my case, I live on the legacy 

of my ancestors, and, also, 

revere the lifestyle and principles 

of Abraham Lincoln. I 

assert that Justice Ginsburg 

will be one of the legacy 

icons for future generations. 

Time to bring this back 

full circle. What we do today 

will have a lasting impact 

on those who follow. 

The woman suffrage left a 

legacy of the vote for approximately 

half the population 

of these United States. 

The culmination of that 

achievement was based on 

the legacy of the women who 

initiated the first meeting in 

Seneca Falls, NY in 1848, 72 

years prior. Leaving a legacy 

is never easy, but it is inevitable. 

Remember this: Posterity 

is created in the present. 

[Oh, and don’t forget to 

vote.] ◗ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

Eileen N. Nadelson is a retired judge 

from NYC. As the founder of Judge 

For Yourself, she now counsels attorneys 

on making a winning argument 

at court or conference. You can 

reach her directly at 914-415-1292 

or judgeforyourself.info. 

An Interview with 

Allyson J. Lanahan 

from page 7 

ity that being your own boss 

provides. As mother to two 

young children, it is especially 

important to me to be able to 

work remotely and navigate 

my work responsibilities 

around my parenting responsibilities. 

As the boss, I never 

have to make excuses or seek 

permission to attend that 

school concert or parent 

teacher conference. On the 

other hand, the buck stops 

with me. If there’s a problem, 

I am the only one to solve it, 

and I need to wear every hat: 

bookkeeper, IT department, 

billing department, paralegal, 

file clerk. You name it, I do 

it! It can be challenging to 

be and do All The Things, All 

The Time, but for me the tradeoff 

has been worth it. 

Q: How do you think the legal 

profession will change in 

this time of the pandemic, 

and how do you believe it’ll 

impact women in the profession 

in the community? 

A: I imagine that some of the 

changes we have made to 

adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic 

will last long after the 

pandemic has passed. For 

example, remote work is likely 

here to stay and to be extended 

to more people, including 

working from home, 

and, for better or worse, virtual 

meetings. 

In particular, I am curious 

to see what impact this 

time in our culture has on 

women’s professional lives. 

At this particular moment, I 

think women especially are 

struggling to balance family 

and household demands with 

professional responsibilities, 

because there’s no longer a 

clear division between the two. 

This universal “work from 

home” moment is revealing 

just how deep the inequities of 

caretaking and household 

management have traditionally 

been between men and 

women, even when both are 

working full-time jobs. What 

will we do with that information? 

Will we decide that affordable 

quality childcare is 

something we want to make 

accessible to everyone so that 

women, and all parents, are 

free to pursue their careers? I 

hope so, and I hope we use 

this moment as an opportunity 

to reexamine how corporate 

culture can do better by 

women and families. 

Q: When you are not practicing 

law, what are your activities 

in the community preand 

postcoronavirus pandemic? 

A: When I’m not working, I 

am active in my local community 

association, where I 

am a member of the executive 

board. We monitor and address 

civic issues in our town, 

connect neighbors and build 

community. We’ve been able 

to meet virtually during the 

health crisis and, in a way, our 

role is even more vital now as 

we strive to make sure our 

most vulnerable and affected 

neighbors have the support 

they need. I’m also part of the 

parent’s committee of my son’s 

preschool. Taking leadership 

roles in both these groups is 

rewarding, not only because 

of the opportunities these roles 

provide to engage with and 

support my immediate community, 

but because of the 

neighbors and friends I’ve met 

along the way. ◗ 


Page 9

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

WWBA AND SDNY CELEBRATE LAW DAY 2020 VIRTUALLY 

Tiana Colon, Deborah A. Scalise 

and Hon. Lisa Margaret Smith 

Law Day has always been 

an amazing experience where 

students are surrounded by talented 

and remarkable individuals 

who, through their careers 

in the legal community, endeavor 

to inspire others and further 

a better society. This was 

the fourth year that the Rye Neck 

Mock Trial Team has participated. 

In the past, one of the 

best parts of the day was seeing 

the younger students energetically 

entering the Court 

ready to participate in every 

activity, and eager to learn more 

about the justice system as well 

as the history behind Law Day. 

Unfortunately, due to COVID- 

19 and social distancing guidelines, 

the tradition of hosting 

Law Day at the United States 

District Court in the Southern 

District of New York was hindered. 

However, this did not 

prevent the annual event from 

occurring for these students. 

On May 4th, 2020, The 

Westchester Women’s Bar Association 

hosted the annual 

Law Day/Take Your Children to 

Work Day Presentation virtually 

for students, teachers, and parents. 

This year’s event involved 

a record number of more than 

300 attendees from Westchester 

Schools, as well as attendees 

from as far as the Bronx, 

Putnam and Rockland , Bethel, 

NY , Danbury, Connecticut, 

and even, North Miami Beach, 

Florida. This event was made 

possible via a live webcast 

which was able to display presenters 

communicating through 

a virtual video conference that 

was soon uploaded to 

everyone’s digital screens. All 

guests were first welcomed by 

WWBA Community Outreach 

Co-chairs, Deborah A. Scalise, 

Esq., and the Honorable Lisa 

Margaret Smith, United States 

Magistrate Judge, along with 

the WWBA President, Angela 

Morcone Giannini. 

Ms. Scalise, of Scalise and 

Hamilton, P.C. Scarsdale, introduced 

herself and her colleagues 

to all participants 

watching the live stream. After 

a few words of thanks shared 

by Angela Giannini, a founding 

partner of Fontana 

Giannini, LLP in White Plains, 

Magistrate Judge Smith explained 

the history behind Law 

Day and announced this year’s 

theme: “Your Vote, Your Voice, 

Our Democracy: the 19th 

Amendment at 100.” Following 

the conversation about the 

United States Constitution, the 

importance of the Women’s 

Suffrage Movement was discussed 

as Magistrate Judge 

Smith recognized the hundreds 

of thousands of women and 

other individuals who for decades 

fought long and hard for 

women to finally be granted the 

ability to vote. Participants were 

informed on how other achievements 

in U.S. history, such as 

the 15th Amendment, influenced 

the Suffrage Movement 

and encouraged the drive of 

supporters of the Movement. It 

was explained that the enactment 

of the 19th Amendment 

was a turning point in history 

that signified one of the first 

steps towards reaching gender 

equality and how the huge 

milestone would forever shape 

today’s society. 

Magistrate Judge Smith 

then introduced the Rye Neck 

High School Mock Trial Team, 


Page 10 


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 



from page 6 

the current President, past WWBA President 

Deb Scalise presented a montage of 

photographs in celebration of Judge 

Smith’s career, as well as her longtime commitment 

to the WWBA, which recently culminated 

in her induction as President of 

the WWBA. The slide show’s introduction 

bears repeating: 

Our colleague, mentor, friend, and 

fearless leader, the truly Honorable 

Lisa Margaret Smith and current President 

of the WWBA, epitomizes the 

mission of the Westchester Women’s 

Bar Association. 

So, forgive me for adding to and 

paraphrasing our Mission Statement: 

The mission of the WWBA, and its President 

the Honorable Lisa Margaret 

Smith, United States Magistrate Judge 

for the Southern District of New York is 

and will continue to be to promote justice 

for all, regardless of gender; to 

advance the social, economic and 

legal status for women through the 

law; to expand opportunities for 

women and to raise the level of competence 

and integrity in the legal profession. 

We hope that you enjoy this presentation 

which is but a small part of 

who Judge Smith is. She is a prime 

example of someone that we can all 

look to as a woman. Judge Smith is a 

devoted wife to William Bowen, and 

Mom to J.T and Kinsey, yet she has 

managed a successful career of firsts. 

For most that would be enough. Yet, 

Judge Smith never says no. She makes 

the time and effort volunteering over 

the years, generally to mentor all of 

us at the WWBA, but in large part to 

the younger generations of judges, lawyers, 

and students in our community. 

No matter what she may undertake, it 

is evident that the Hon. Lisa Margaret 

Smith ensures that all her energy, intellect, 

and decency are focused on 

that case, person, or task. 

We are grateful to have the Hon. 

Lisa Margaret Smith in our lives. We 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

Flowers from the WWBA for 

Hon. Lisa M. Smith 

wish her well on her retirement as well 

as her new role as President of the 

WWBA. 

The photographs of Judge Smith, her 

family, her colleagues on the bench and 

at the bar as well as her WWBA activities, 

demonstrated her substantial contributions 

to and participation in programs with her 

judicial colleagues, and as Community 

Outreach Co-chair, where for more than 

twenty years she has coordinated the Law 

Day/ Take Your Children to Work Day Programs; 

and Career Day Programs. More 

recently, she helped to coach the Rye Neck 

Mock Trial High School Mock Trial Team, 

and also incorporated the Team into our 

Law/Day festivities, which was held virtually 

this year and was attended by more 

than 300 students! The slide show concluded 

with Judge Smith’s virtual induction 

as WWBA President this past June. In 

honor of her retirement the WWBA gave 

Judge Smith a beautiful orchid in her favorite 

color - purple!! While everyone truly 

enjoyed the slide show, Judge Smith’s 

WWBA Presidency will long be remembered 

for virtual events! 

Judge Seibel also introduced District 

Judge Vincent Briccetti. Judge Briccetti and 

Judge Smith have known each other since 

they were both AUSAs in the Southern District 

of New York. They are also neigh- 

bors, and Judge Briccetti’s daughters 

babysat Judge Smith’s children years ago. 

Judge Briccetti talked about how he encourages 

litigants to consent to holding 

trial before Magistrate Judges, because 

when he was in private practice, he had 

good luck with trials before Magistrate 

Judges, including a bench trial before 

Judge Smith. He talked about his belief 

that Judge Smith did not get swayed by his 

client’s prior criminal record, and instead 

credited his client’s testimony, then found 

in favor of Judge Briccetti’s client. Like the 

other speakers, he spoke of knowing Judge 

Smith in different roles, as a colleague in 

the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as a judge before 

whom he appeared, as a colleague 

in the District Court, and as a friend. 

Concluding the tribute was the Hon. 

Colleen McMahon, Chief Judge of the 

Southern District of New York. Getting 

somewhat choked up, Judge McMahon, 

who began her federal judicial career in 

White Plains in 1998, where she sat until 

2007, commented that Judge Smith was 

the first to welcome her to White Plains. 

She also assured the audience that she loves 

Judge Smith even though Judge Smith is 

the only Magistrate Judge whose Report 

and Recommendation she has reversed, 

only to find the Second Circuit reversing 

Judge McMahon, and she does not hold 

it against Judge Smith. Judge McMahon 

reiterated that she will truly miss her friend, 

Judge Smith. 

Notably, even though the speakers 

independently prepared their remarks, they 

uniformly emphasized Judge Smith’s dedication, 

intellect, collegiality, and friendship. 

Although Judge Smith had a chance 

for rebuttal, she chose to give heartfelt 

thanks to all, stating: 

Good evening everyone. I am so 

blessed to have such extraordinary friends 

and colleagues as the ones we have 

heard from this evening. Thank you to 

each and every one of our speakers for 

your kind words, I am truly and humbly 

honored. I know this is my chance for 

rebuttal, but I’d like to focus on a few thank 



Page 11

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

President’s message 

from page 5 

otics, and in another day a return 

to the hospital for a third 

surgery (not counting the 

lumpectomies) to be certain the 

infection was contained. The 

operating room on that occasion 

was jampacked, because 

this was a teaching hospital, 

and very few of the interns and 

residents had ever seen what a 

reconstruction looked like a 

week or more after the patient 

went home. The surgery went 

well, the infection was tamed, 

a few more days of IV antibiotics 

and I was home again. 

Anyone who has had any 

reconstruction knows that there 

are follow-up surgeries and procedures, 

including tattooing to 

create areolas around newly 

created nipples. Every doctor 

who looks at my reconstruction 

marvels at the high quality of 

my plastic surgeon’s work, but 

when I look at myself I just see 

all the scars and a shape that 

is not my own. Another consequence 

of my surgery that I had 

not known would happen is that 

I have lost most sensation from 

my abdomen to the top of my 

breasts. Some has returned, but 

most has not. 

There were tests, the tissue 

was oncotyped, I had DNA 

analysis, I learned that I did not 

have a breast cancer gene. The 

cancer was estrogen positive, 

meaning that if there were any 

tiny cells of the cancer remaining, 

estrogen would encourage 

growth, so I was prescribed an 

estrogen blocking drug for five 

years, which I took religiously. 

I was very fortunate, others have 

suffered severe side effects from 

similar drugs, but my only side 

effect, discovered during a 

bone density scan, was that the 

drug was leaching calcium 

from my bones, so I became 

osteopenic, which can be a 

“I [am telling] you this story because 

I want each of you who has gone 

through this challenge, or who is 

going through this challenge, or 

who will go through this challenge, 

to know that you are not alone.” 

precursor to osteoporosis. I did 

not have chemotherapy or radiation. 

After five years further 

analysis led my doctors to recommend 

that I stop taking the 

estrogen blocker, because my 

risk of recurrence was quite low, 

with or without the drug. As a 

result, my bones strengthened, 

and the doctors determined that 

I could be considered cancer 

free. 

Though considered cancer 

free, I did not stop seeing my 

doctors, usually it was just an 

annual visit to a nurse practitioner. 

At one point I became 

concerned about a small lump 

in my reconstructed breast tissue, 

so I returned to my breast 

surgeon. She biopsied the 

lump, and, as she had suspected, 

it was an accumulation 

of fat tissue resulting from the 

reconstruction. I also pointed 

to a raised area above my 

breasts, right next to my breastbone, 

that was oval in shape, 

and just a protruding disc, not 

a lump like the other one. It 

did not hurt, and over time it 

had not seemed to grow. My 

surgeon palpated it, and she 

then dismissed it, saying it was 

nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, 

she was wrong. 

In May of 2020, after postponing 

a doctor’s appointment 

because of the coronavirus 

pandemic, I saw my internist of 

30 plus years for something 

quite unrelated. While I was 

there I pointed out this raised 

area, and asked if he thought I 

should be concerned. It had 

not grown markedly in the year 

or so since I had shown it to 

my breast surgeon, nor did it 

hurt, but it still concerned me. 

My internist looked at it, and 

said “In light of your history let’s 

get it checked.” 

First he sent me for an ultrasound. 

I was subsequently 

told that on the first look the 

radiologist did not see anything, 

but that he asked the ultrasound 

operator to do further scans, 

because he knew my internist 

would likely have had a reason 

to send me there. On further 

review he felt the tissue 

looked suspicious. So my internist 

sent me for a needle biopsy. 

The needle biopsy also 

revealed suspicious cells, but 

there was not enough tissue for 

a firm diagnosis. So I went for 

a core biopsy, with additional 

tissue taken from the raised 

area, and also from a lymph 

node near my underarm. This 

was it. The tissue was diagnosed 

as metastatic breast cancer, 

also known as stage four. 

It is invasive breast cancer. 

Further tests showed it is 

triple negative, meaning that 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

unlike my prior breast cancer, 

this was not estrogen positive. 

Triple negative stage four breast 

cancer is considered very aggressive. 

I then went to an oncologist 

(I am going to a different 

hospital and cancer center 

than the one that failed to diagnose 

this cancer), who ordered 

a petscan to determine 

the extent of the spread. The 

petscan seemed to indicate 

likely spread in my thoracic 

spine, subsequently confirmed 

by an MRI and a bone biopsy. 

Finally, in late June, I started 

my first round of chemotherapy. 

The oncologist told me that the 

cancer is incurable, but treatable, 

and that it was not yet time 

to put my affairs in order. 

So far I am lucky. I am taking 

oral chemotherapy medication, 

each cycle is three 

weeks long, during the first two 

weeks I take four pills in the 

morning and four more in the 

evening, and then I have a 

week off. Every six weeks I have 

an injection intended to 

strengthen my bones to prevent 

further spread. I have not had 

terrible side effects. I have a 

funny metallic taste in my mouth 

pretty much all the time, and 

the skin on my fingers has 

sloughed off. I am also somewhat 

tired, but I have been able 


Page 12 


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 



from page 11 

yous, instead. 

First, thank you to the Chief 

District Judges who have led the 

Southern District during my tenure, 

beginning with the late 

Hon. Tom Griesa, who, without 

hesitation, granted my request 

for time off following the birth 

of my first child, this was new 

territory because, as far as I 

know, no sitting judge in the 

SDNY has given birth while serving 

as a judge, except me. 

Next came the Hon. Michael 

Mukasey, for my first reappointment 

he agreed to do a swearing 

in ceremony in White Plains 

so that my two children could 

attend, because they had not 

even been born when I was first 

sworn in. The Hon. Kimba 

Wood served as Chief during 

the two-year period when I was 

the Chief Magistrate Judge, we 

attended a “Hail to the Chief” 

event during our respective 

chiefdoms, I have a treasured 

photo of the two of us from that 

event. Next came the Hon. 

Loretta Preska, who served during 

the budgetary battles resulting 

from the Great Recession. 

During that time, I served on 

the Committee on the Budget 

for the United States courts, and 

I benefitted tremendously from 

Judge Preska’s guidance. I 

also appreciated the support I 

received from our Circuit Chief, 

Bob Katzmann, while I was on 

the Budget Committee. The final 

chief for whom I’ve served 

is my friend, the Hon. Colleen 

McMahon, who had the good 

sense to begin her federal judicial 

career in White Plains, giving 

her insight into the entire 

District, not just that auxiliary 

Courthouse in Manhattan! Of 

course, Colleen has had to face 

the impact of Covid-19, and with 

the incredible support of all of 

our District and Magistrate 

Judges, and the guidance of Ed 

Friedland and Ruby Krajick and 

their staffs, the Southern District 

of New York barely skipped a 

beat in serving our constituencies. 

With the exception of being 

able to conduct in person 

hearings and trials, during the 

last six months the work has 

gone on. All of the Chief Judges 

who have led the Court during 

my time as a Magistrate Judge 

have demonstrated extraordinary 

leadership, and I thank 

them. 

In addition to those that 

I’ve mentioned, I must thank 

the late Hon. Charles Brieant, 

who had been Chief Judge of 

the District before I was appointed, 

but who truly was the 

de facto Chief of the White 

Plains Courthouse until his 

death in 2008. Everyone who 

knew and worked with him will 

agree that he was truly our 

leader in White Plains. 

I must also thank my most 

sustaining judicial mentor, the 

Hon. Mark Fox, from whom you 

heard, who served ably in 

White Plains from 1991until his 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

retirement in 2008. Mark encouraged 

me to apply for the 

new second Magistrate Judge 

position in White Plains, and he 

guided me daily during the succeeding 

years until he retired. 

We were joined by the Hon. 

George Yanthis, the third Magistrate 

Judge in White Plains in 

1997, and the three of us were 

definitely a team, I thank them 

both. I must also thank Hon. 

Marty Goldberg, he is the only 

Southern District Magistrate 

Judge with even more seniority 

than I have, as he was appointed 

a part time Magistrate 

Judge in 1993 and is still sitting. 

Most of you probably do 

not know Marty, as he quietly 

performs his duties, handling 

the petty offense docket for the 

six northern counties in the 

Southern District. In 1996, when 

my son was born and I took 

some time off, Marty voluntarily 

helped Mark Fox to handle 

the criminal duty in my stead, 

this is just one example of the 

extraordinary support and cooperation 

that exists among the 

Magistrate Judges of this District 

every day. 

You have heard from the 

current Chief Magistrate Judge, 

the Hon. Paul Davison, who 

appeared before me regularly 

when he was a Federal Defender, 

and I was delighted 

when he joined me on the 

bench in 2009. I gladly supported 

his candidacy because 

I knew how perfect he would 

be as a judge, and in order to 

slightly balance the imbalance 

between prosecutors and defense 

attorneys on the bench 

in White Plains. Another balance 

that deserves mention is 

the gender balance, when I 

started in White Plains, I was 



Page 13

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

WWBA AND SDNY CELEBRATE LAW DAY 2020 VIRTUALLY 

from page 10 

who presented an hour-long trial to all 

viewers. Magistrate Judge Smith explained 

that this year’s statewide Mock Trial competition 

was canceled due to the 

coronavirus. With help from Marcella L. 

Scalise (Teacher Coach), Deborah A. 

Scalise (Lawyer Coach), and the Hon. Lisa 

Margaret Smith (Assistant Coach), the Rye 

Neck Mock Trial Team has been able to 

learn how to accurately conduct legal research, 

interpret certain rulings and regulations, 

and even how to prepare legal 

documents. All of the helpful knowledge 

and teachings led our team to win their 

match in the first and only round of the 

competition season. We thought the season 

was over, but our Team and Coaches 

gladly reassembled remotely to practice 

and to participate virtually in Law Day! 

This year’s criminal case, U.S. v. 

Phoenix Jones, was about Phoenix 

Jones, who was accused of the purchasing 

and selling of stolen items off of the 

internet with a source of cryptocurrency 

referred to as “Byte coin.” While Magistrate 

Judge Smith officiated the mock trial, 

the Team presented both the Prosecution 

and the Defense, including opening and 

closing statements and a direct and crossexaminations 

of each witness involved in 

the case. The audience at home was able 

to partake in the fun as well. They received 

a Verdict Sheet virtually and acted as the 

jury, rendering their verdict in favor of 

the Defense by declaring Phoenix Jones 

“Not guilty”. Through the trial presentation, 

the viewers learned about trial 

essentials and followed what it is like to 

be a part of a live trial. 

After the trial, viewers witnessed a presentation 

offered by Lindsey Keenan, Esq., 

an Assistant United States Attorney in the 

Southern District of New York and Julie 

Brown, a Special Agent at the Federal Bureau 

of Investigation. During this part of 

the day, AUSA Keenan and Special Agent 

Brown shared overviews of their specific 

professions and the many responsibilities 

their job positions require of them. 

AUSA Keenan has worked in the Criminal 

Division at the United States Attorney’s 

Office since 2018. She informed viewers 

that she prosecutes violations of federal 

law, which include various types of organized 

crime, fraud, and political corruption. 

Special Agent e Brown works with 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate 

federal crimes and enforce federal 

laws. She revealed that she obtains 

statements from witnesses and victims and 

analyzes records in order to discover more 

information about a particular case. 

AUSA Keenan and Special Agent Brown 

discussed that they were working on a trial 

together with a local Police Department 

regarding a hate crime that took place 

last year. Both presenters were able to give 

viewers an inside look into their expertise 

in law and share the duties of their profession 

that they carry out on a daily basis. 

In addition, Ms. Giannini, Ms. Scalise 

and Judge Smith shared what their roles 

are in the legal system; Ms. Giannini is a 

Plaintiff’s attorney in civil matters; Ms. 

Scalise is a defense attorney, and of 

course, Magistrate Judge Smith is a Judge! 

Next, the webcast presented a U.S. Courts 

Law Day video titled “The Courts and You: 

From Suffragist Sashes to Antiwar 

Armbands.” This video discussed the impacts 

that Virginia Minor and Mary Beth 

Tinker had on their communities and ultimately 

the U.S Constitution. Virginia Minor 

decided to sue when being turned 

away while trying to register to vote in a 

presidential election. The video also acknowledges 

Mary Beth Tinker, who sued 

the Des Moines Independent Community 

School District after believing her First 

Amendment rights were violated when encouraging 

others to wear black armbands 

to protest the Vietnam War. Both of these 

remarkable women advocated for real 

change in our country as they publicized 

inequality. Their efforts tested the limits of 

the law and influenced so many other 

women to follow in her footsteps to improve 

the legal system. The video’s main 

purpose is to show young people the real 

power they have to strengthen the country’s 

democracy and to inspire individuals to 

stand up for what they believe in, regardless 

of the possibility of a negative outcome. 

Finally, Magistrate Judge Smith, Ms. 

Scalise and WWBA President Giannini 

and Rye Neck Mock Trial Coach Marcella 

L. Scalise joined each other one last time 

to conclude the presentation. A number 

of thanks were shared with all those who 

made the day possible, such as Total 

Webcasting, Inc, who controlled the live 

webcast its entire duration. The WWBA 

and The SDNY issued a Law Day proclamation 

to all participants and attendees, 

commemorating this year’s Law Day 

theme of “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our 

Democracy: the 19th Amendment at 

100.” providing the students, teachers, 

and parents a reminder of the importance 

of justice and law in our society. 

While this year’s Law Day 2020 occurred 

virtually under unusual circumstances, 

the event was still a great success. 

As a part of the Rye Neck Mock 

Trial Team, I enjoyed the experience which 

allowed students, teachers, and parents 

to come together to experience a day that 

celebrated legal professionals, who continue 

to promote and encourage justice 

and democracy. 2020’s Law Day and the 

live webcast’s turnout was so positive, that 

it sparked an idea to not only host Law 

Day in the U.S. Court House in White 

Plains next year, but to stream the day 

virtually as well, as a way to advance this 

annual tradition by reaching more students. 

The day was a success! 

As WWBA Outreach Co-chairs, we 

want to thank the United States District 

Court in White Plains for supporting this 

program once again. We also thank 

WWBA President Angela Morcone 

Giannini and the entire WWBA for once 

again helping us to put on a Law Day 

program for the education of young 

people in our community. Finally, our 

sincerest thanks to the Rye Neck Mock 

Trial Team and their coach, Marcella 

Scalise, for their terrific presentation. ◗ 

Tiana Colon is a Senior at Rye Neck High School. 

She is a Captain of the Mock Trial Team and has 

been a member of the team for four years. Ms. 

Colon will be attending Monmouth University in 

fall, where she plans to major in Psychology. 

Ms. Colon was to be a WISE intern at Scalise & 

Hamilton PC this spring but due to the Pandemic 

her internship was cancelled. Nonetheless, we are 

grateful that she took time out of her studies for 

AP exams to write this article. 

Page 14 


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 



from page 13 

the only woman judge there. 

That continued until 1996, 

when the Hon. Barbara Jones 

did a brief rotation of about a 

year in White Plains, and then 

in 1998 when Colleen 

McMahon joined me in White 

Plains, until 2007. Our amazing 

MC this evening, District 

Judge the Hon. Cathy Seibel, 

joined me in White Plains in 

2008, again helping the gender 

balance that was subsequently 

improved when the 

Hon. Judith McCarthy succeeded 

George Yanthis as the 

third Magistrate Judge in White 

Plains in 2014. I am blessed to 

have amazing colleagues, beginning 

with my two incomparable 

Magistrate Judge colleagues 

currently in White 

Plains, continuing through our 

District Judges, Cathy Seibel, 

the inestimable Vince Briccetti, 

from whom you also heard, Ken 

Karas, Nelson Roman, and, 

soon to be installed in White 

Plains, Phil Halpern, along with 

all the other District Judges who 

served in White Plains before 

them, all of whom helped me 

along the way, and I thank them 

all. 

Of course, my Magistrate 

Judge colleagues throughout 

the District, both past and current, 

are an amazing group, 

the intelligence and work ethic 

of every single one is beyond 

compare; as a group we have 

continued to work together 

seamlessly, supporting each 

other at every turn, throughout 

my 25 years. I thank them all, 

from the bottom of my heart. 

I could not have done this 

job without having had the support 

of my Chambers Family, 

starting with my first Courtroom 

Deputy, Jim Galvin, who supported 

me in every way for 15 

years, until his retirement. Each 

and every law clerk has been 

not only an intelligent and talented 

lawyer, but everyone has 

been a wonderful human being. 

I am truly honored to be 

able to call each one my 

friend, I only hope they benefitted 

from their time in Chambers 

as much as I benefitted 

from having them there. 

I also extend thanks to all 

of the attorneys who have appeared 

before me during my 

25 years, you have heard from 

Perry Carbone and Suzanne 

Brody, excellent attorneys both, 

I will say that I have held both 

sides to a very high standard, 

and with few exceptions they 

have met that standard. Their 

excellent work has helped to 

make this job a joy. 

As you could see from the 

presentation prepared by my 

good friend Deb Scalise, I have 

also had the support of the 

Westchester Women’s Bar Association. 

They supported my 

application to become a Magistrate 

Judge, they have supported 

and applauded me at 

every turn since, and I am 

proud to hold the position of 

President of the WWBA this 

year. I am grateful for everything 

they have done for me. 

I should also thank all of 

my friends from every part of 

my life, many of whom are with 

us this evening, including the 

most enduring of my friends, 

Judy Evans Johnson, we were 

born 3 days apart in the 

Hamilton Community Memorial 

Hospital, and we have been 

friends ever since. To all my 

friends, thank you for your 

friendship. 

My immediate family also 

deserves a word of thanks. To 

my late parents, the Reverend 

Dr. Robert Smith and Dr. 

Rosalind Smith, I give them all 

the credit for raising me, along 

with my sister Debby, who is a 

retired teacher, and my brother 

Brian, who is a public interest 

lawyer, and instilling in us the 

knowledge that education was 

the gateway to whatever we 

wanted to pursue. My sister 

and brother have also supported 

me every step of the 

way, as has our stepmother, Dr. 

Joyce Irwin, and I love them for 

it. I also want to thank the rest 

of my extended family. 

To my children, J.T. and 

Kinsey, you are the lights of my 

life. I believe and hope that I 

raised you to be strong and independent, 

and to speak your 

minds when necessary. I am 

so proud of you. 

Finally, to my dear husband, 

Bill Bowen, who is seated 

here beside me, I cannot possibly 

express how much his love 

and support have meant to me 

over the years. He is my best 

friend, and my rock, without him 

I could never have done this 

job or any of the other things I 

have accomplished. I am ever 

grateful that I have him by my 

side as I move into retirement. 

Thank you all for being 

here, and for your many 

kindnesses and support over 

the years. I look forward to seeing 

each of you in person one 

of these days, when it becomes 

safe. I have been truly blessed 

to have this job, and to work in 

the White Plains Courthouse, 

for more than 25 years. Thank 

you all. 

The virtual attendees gave 

Judge Smith a virtual ovation 

and wished her well. It was a 

wonderful evening. Needless to 

say, the WWBA is grateful that 

the Hon. Lisa Margaret Smith 

chose to spend her “retirement” 

as President of the WWBA. We 

look forward to joining her to 

celebrate the WWBA’s 45th Anniversary 

this year. ◗ 

Westchester County Domestic 

Violence High Risk Team 

from page 8 

more likely to obtain services than if they were simply given a 

phone number to call at some later time, thereby reducing the 

likelihood of being killed. 

Legal service providers on the team will then assist victims in a 

range of civil family law matters including child custody and 

support, immigration assistance and obtaining orders of protection, 

while the District Attorney’s Office and Probation will work 

with victims to ensure offender accountability. 

What does the Westchester County Domestic Violence High 

Risk Team hope to accomplish? 

Through a coordinated response and trauma informed intervention, 

the Westchester County Domestic Violence High Risk 

team is hopeful that their multi- agency approach will save lives. 

The goal is that this model will ultimately expand statewide and 

by doing, so will honor those lives lost as a result of domestic 

violence. ◗ 


Page 15

Chapter News and Announcements 

Announcements & Notes on Members 

❑ On September 15, 2020, the Real Property Committee hosted its annual kickoff 

meeting via Zoom. Although Covid has presented many real estate challenges, 

hosting our committee meetings via Zoom allows busy practitioners the 

opportunity to connect with each other and learn practice tips with minimum time 

commitment. Our guest speaker was our own committee member, Jean Par 

ar- 

tridge, Chief Counsel and Managing Member of Benchmark Title Agency, LLC, 

and President of the New York State Land Title Association. Jean answered the 

committee’s questions regarding title issues ranging from benefits of obtaining a 

new survey, what should be shown on a survey, options when an encroachment 

or “out of possession” is shown on a survey, marketability of title, and what is 

(and is not) covered by standard title policies. The Real Property Committee 

welcomes new members, whether you practice real estate law full time or would 

just like a better understanding of the area of practice. 

It’s a great opportunity to learn, collaborate 

and problem solve. Please join us at our next Zoom 

meeting on November 11th at 1:00 pm. Contact 

Anne Aicher at aaicher@hollislaidlaw.com for a 

Zoom invitation. 

❑ Susan L. . Pollet 

ollet, former WWBA President, published 

her third novel, entitled “Women in Crisis: 

Stories From the Edge.” Each chapter is the story of 

a different woman, speaking with her psychiatrist, 

about important issues which impact upon all women 

and the men who care about them. It is available 

on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/ 

1952570492. ◗ 

Become a New 

Member Today 

RENEW YOUR 

WWBA MEMBERSHIP TODAY 

FOR THE PERIOD 

JUNE 1, 2020 TO MAY 31, 2021. 

RENEW NOW! DON’T WAIT! 

WWBA Membership includes 

membership to the Women’s Bar 

Association of the State of New York 

(WBASNY). 

January 31, 2021 is the closing date in 

order to count the WWBA members 

towards our certification to WBASNY and 

assure our number of delegates. 

Renewing before this date will allow our 

Westchester Chapter (WWBA) to continue 

to be a strong presence in our statewide 

organization (WBASNY) while you will 

enjoy its many benefits, events, 

newsletter and CLE programming. 

The Show will Go On!! 

WWBA Holiday Party to Take Place on 

Saturday, November 28, 2020 

This year’s Holiday Party will be virtual and will be like nothing we have 

ever done before. Our Party will be on Saturday, November 28 – Small 

Business Saturday. 

We will offer an all-day Zoom virtual shopping boutique! Many of our 

favorite vendors from prior years will be back, and one or two newcomers 

who I know you’ll love. Each vendor will get 30 minutes to show you their 

wares; you will already have in your possession a list of vendors, their 

contact information, and their time slots. You see, you like, you buy directly 

from the vendor . . . all from the comfort of home! One of the 30-minute 

slots will go the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Foundation, which 

will sell their cards as always….and they are planning a special half-our 

CLE as well. I won’t steal their thunder by giving it away, but I promise it will 

be a lot of fun. 

The whole thing will be hosted by yours truly, Dolores “Jerry Lewis” 

Gebhardt! We want this to be a big success, so plan to spend the day in 

your sweatpants while you safely shop for the holidays, and pick up half a 

CLE credit as well!” ◗ 

Hélène Côté, Sherry A. Bishko, 

Elisabeth Campos 

It is easy to renew by going to the 

WWBA Website at www.WWBANY.org. 

You can use a credit card or 

PayPal to make payment. 

Page 16 


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

Westchester Women’s Bar Association New Members 

The Westchester Women’s Bar Association proudly welcomes our newest members: 

TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF OUR MEMBERS, 

THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS OF THE WWBA ONLY. 

President’s Message 

from page 12 

to work, and to continue my duties with WWBA. I have not had 

nausea or diarrhea, two of the most likely side effects (in 

fact, because I am quite contrary, I have had to deal with 

constipation rather than diarrhea). I do suffer from anxiety, 

though of course the pandemic, solitude, and preparing 

for retirement all add to that (by the way, retirement was 

planned a full year ago and was not the result of this diagnosis). 

I have not had medication by infusion, or faced 

losing my hair, though I know that if the current medication 

regime is not successful I may have to move to that. I will 

have a scan in October that should reveal whether the cancer 

is responding to this medication - the goal is to stop the 

spread of the cancer without having terrible side effects. 

Ideal would be if it causes the cancer to regress - but the 

truth is, it will not go away. I will not beat this. I will delay 

it, and I will live every day until I no longer can, and that 

day may be many years away, but I do not pretend that it 

will disappear. I am trying to be both an optimist and a 

realist, and to keep putting one foot in front of the other. In 

that, I have a victory. 

Dear friends, I am sharing this with you not because I 

want your pity. As of now I do not need meals delivered 

and I am capable of driving; my treatment is not disabling. 

I will say that prayers are appreciated, and positive vibes if 

you are more comfortable with that. I do tell you this story 

because I want each of you who has gone through this 

challenge, or who is going through this challenge, or who 

will go through this challenge, to know that you are not 

alone. This message also goes to our male members and 

friends, because breast cancer also affects men, as pa- 

“If you are afraid, or if you need a 

friend to go with you to the doctor, 

or if you just need to talk, whether 

or not you have been diagnosed with 

breast cancer, please reach out to 

me . . . If you are moved to try to 

do something about this horrible 

disease, then please donate to the 

American Cancer Society . . . ” 

tients, as caregivers, as spouses, as sons, as fathers, as 

brothers, and as friends. If you are afraid, or if you need a 

friend to go with you to the doctor, or if you just need to 

talk, whether or not you have been diagnosed with breast 

cancer, please reach out to me at 

lisamsmith@rocketmail.com. 

If you are moved to try to do something about this horrible 

disease, then please donate to the American Cancer 

Society, through Team Orbach, for our Breast Cancer Walk, 

scheduled virtually for October 18, 2020. I assure you that 

I will be walking, in my own neighborhood, and wearing a 

mask. You can find Team Orbach to donate or to sign up 

to walk, or both, at https://secure.acsevents.org/site/ 

STR?fr_id=97723&pg=team&team_id=2554957, or sign 

in on the weekly WWBA events email. 

If you are unable to donate, then please join our team 

and walk. Together we can beat this. Please help us do it 

sooner, rather than later. ◗ 


Page 17

WWBA Schedule of Upcoming Events 

COMMITTEE DATE/TIME PLACE TOPIC RSVP (also online at www.wwbany.org) 

Board of Directors Meeting 10/7/20 

5:30-7:30 pm 

WWBA-American Cancer 10/18/20 

Society Walk 

9:00-12:00 pm 

Education Committee, 

Diversity; Children, Families 

& the Courts; & Immigration 

Committees 

Employment Law 

Committee 

WWBA & The Pace 

Women’s Justice Center 

10/21/20 

12:00-1:30 pm 

10/27/20 

12:30 pm 

10/28/20 

6:30-8:30 pm 

Zoom 

Manhattanville College, 

Purchase, NY 

Zoom link will be sent 

prior to the start time to 

all registrants 

Zoom 

Zoom 

Making Strides Against 

Breast Cancer-Team 

Orbach 

Immigration Students: 

Their Legal Rights, 

Challenges, and Needs 

in the Public Schools. A 

primer for attorneys, 

practioners, and 

interested community 

members. 

Peer group discussion 

focused on employer 

and employee concerns 

related to Covid-19. 

Demystifying the Role 

of the Attorney for the 

Child 

$20 for members and 

non-members 

2 Credits: 1.5 in 

Professional Practice 

and .5 in Ethics 

For more information go to 

www.wwbany.org 

Please RSVP by 10/20 at 5:00 p.m. 

online at www.wwbany.org or 

email 

executivedirector@wwbany.org 

To receive the Zoom link members 

can RSVP to 

kberg@gouldberglaw.com 

RSVP by 10/26 online at 

www.wwbany.org or email 

executivedirector@wwbany.org 

WWBA is a chapter of WBASNY, which is an approved provider of CLE credit. Full and partial scholarships for CLE programs based 

on financial need are available. For information on the guidelines and procedures for applying, please contact the person running 

the program. All requests are strictly confidential. All programs are for transitional credit unless the program states otherwise. 

Unless otherwise indicated, events are for WWBA members and invited guests only. 

The opinions expressed by any program presenter are the presenter’s own, and do not reflect 

the official position of the WWBA. 

REMEMBER, YOU CAN FIND THE WBASNY WEB PAGE 

AT WWW.WBASNY.ORG. 

PLEASE REMEMBER TO RECYCLE 

Connect 

with 

us 

THE WWBA MEMBERSHIP PERIOD FOR 

2020-2021 BEGINS ON JUNE 1, 2020. 

PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TOD 

ODAY AT 

WWW.WWBANY 

.WWBANY.ORG 

.ORG

WWBA October 2020 Newsletter

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?