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Contact: Jon Sullivan
Manager of
Media Services
jsullivan@nysba.org
518/487-5532
August 13, 2007
NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION PROPSOSAL AGAINST AGE
DISCRIMANATION WINS NATIONAL APPROVAL
American Bar Association Endorses New York
Resolution Against Mandatory Age-Based Retirement for Lawyers
San Francisco, Ca (August 13, 2007) – At the annual meeting of
the House of Delegates, the American Bar Association (ABA) today
endorsed the recommendation of the New York State Bar Association that
calls upon law firms to discontinue the practice of requiring senior
lawyers to retire when they reach an arbitrary age. The ABA also agreed
that law firms should evaluate senior partners individually based upon
the performance criteria used to evaluate other lawyers in the firm.
The New York State Bar Association was the principle sponsor of the
recommendation, with immediate past-president Mark H. Alcott, New York
City (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP) giving the
primary speech in support of the recommendation on the floor of the
house. It stemmed from one of Mr. Alcott’s key initiatives
as president.
“Senior lawyers should not be forced to leave their firms
solely on the basis of age when they have many productive years left and
are still making valuable contributions to the firm. Forcing
lawyers to retire solely because of age, regardless of performance,
regardless of objective criteria, is not an acceptable practice and not
in the interests of the legal profession,” Mr. Alcott said.
As New York State Bar Association President in 2006, Mr. Alcott
established a Special Committee on “gray” lawyers, chaired
by Mark C. Zauderer (Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer LLP), to study
the issue of mandatory age-based retirement. After a thorough study the
Committee could find no legitimate reason to endorse a blanket policy of
mandatory retirement. In fact, the Committee found quite the opposite.
In a detailed report, which is the basis of the ABA decision, the
committee concluded that mandatory retirement – requiring a
partner to leave the firm upon reaching an arbitrary age – runs
contrary to the wellbeing of law firms and to the legal system as a
whole.
The committee went on to find that mandatory age-based retirement is
“inconsistent with accepted employment practices in this
country” and is “against the best interests of law firms,
clients and the profession.”
The Special Committee further concluded:
“Modern experience demonstrates that this practice is both
unwarranted and unwise. A lawyer’s age, standing alone, is not an
appropriate criterion for determining professional capacity or
employment status. A blanket policy of mandatory retirement of law
partners is, at best, shortsighted. It short changes not only the
individual lawyer but the firm and society as a whole.”
As a result of today’s ABA vote, it is now the policy of the
American Bar Association that the practice be discontinued, and while
there is no binding legislation, the ABA decision is expected to carry
significant weight.
“The American Bar Association is the voice of the American
legal community and I expect that most firms will take this
recommendation quite seriously,” said current New York State Bar
Association President Kate Madigan, of Binghamton (Levene Gouldin &
Thompson LLP). “As lawyers we are committed to the pursuit of
fairness and justice. This initiative sends an important message
to law firms across the country that retirement policy based on age
alone is neither fair, nor just.”
President Madigan added that the New York State Bar
Association’s Special Committee on Age Discrimination in the
Profession will continue to explore issues related to age discrimination
and recommend further reforms in the future.
The 72,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official
statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary
state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, NYSBA
programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved
the justice system for more than 130 years.
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