St. Patrick’s Day celebrated by NYSBA General Practice Section and Young Lawyers at a Diversity Event

By: Michael Raymond Hernandez, Esq. (NYSBA YLS 2^nd District Representative, Brooklyn Bar Association Editorial Board, Associate at David J. Hernandez & Associates)

		"Let us celebrate diversity," said a jubilant David J. Hernandez, Chairman of the Diversity Committee of the General Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). "Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day." On Wednesday, March 14, 2012, the NYSBA General Practice and Young Lawyers sections with the Brooklyn Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and the Brooklyn Law School Latin American Law Students Association sponsored a Networking event at Brooklyn Borough Hall to celebrate and encourage diversity within the Bar.
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David J. Hernandez encouraged the attendees to join bar associations and to get involved on the local, state and federal levels. He emphasized the importance of attorneys from different backgrounds joining various bar associations so that all bar associations represent the needs of a diverse bar.

"Often times people can get isolated into their own groups of friends and colleagues," said Jimmy Lathrop, Co-Chair of the Brooklyn Bar Association Young Lawyers Section. "We wanted to provide a forum where different groups of individuals could meet up, have a beer and make new connections and we wanted to increase the membership of our associations."

The event started at 6:00pm and was held in the lobby of Brooklyn Borough Hall. The organizers provided Irish fare, such as, potatoes, corn beef and cabbage for the attendees. The Brooklyn Brewery sponsored the event and free Brooklyn Beer was provided to the attendees. There was approximately 85 attendees which were a very diverse group of individuals, in part, due to the different organizations which sponsored the event.

"I enjoyed networking with such a wide cross-section of practice areas and levels of experience," said Norma Ortiz, Chairwomen of the Bankruptcy Committee of NYSBA. "It was great to see NYSBA organizing events here in Brooklyn, I haven’t seen a NYSBA event is Brooklyn for a while and I really liked the venue and can’t wait for the next event."

"Tonight, I joined the General Practice Section of NYSBA," said Adam Kalish, a practicing attorney in Brooklyn. "I definitely agree that it is so important to get involved with the different bar associations and I’m glad they had this event so I could join up, meet new attorneys and get involved."

Large groups of young attorneys were meeting each other and talking with judges and veteran attorneys. Some of the judges in attendance were, Hon. Kenneth P. Sherman, Hon. Ingrid Joseph, Hon. Margarita Lopez-Torres, Hon. Carolyn E. Wade and Hon. Larry D. Martin.

Towards the end of the evening large cakes were served to the crowd with rainbows and leprechauns decorated on them. The Benny Lopez Quartet provided live music throughout the event including several Irish favorites, such as "Oh Danny Boy." "I had a blast, meeting new people and making friends," said Sam Collin, a 2009 Brooklyn Law School Graduate. "I really enjoyed the live music, free food and drinks, so I decided to join the NYSBA General Practice Section to participate in the upcoming events.