Schraver will lead presidential summit

Educating tomorrow’s lawyers and helping practicing lawyers adapt to changes in the rapidly evolving legal profession are the focus of the New York State Bar Association’s 2014 Presidential Summit.

The summit, the centerpiece of the association’s weeklong annual meeting, will run from 2 to 5 p.m. today in the Grand Ballroom West of the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. The summit will be webcast live at www.nysba.org/AMSummit.

“Legal education, like the profession itself, is adapting to the changing needs of the profession and the people we serve,” said NYSBA President David M. Schraver of Rochester (Nixon Peabody LLP). “Our Presidential Summit this year directs our focus on these two complementary issues with an outstanding collection of panelists.”

The first panel discussion, “Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers,” will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Panelists will discuss the dramatic changes within legal education, as well as cost, curriculum, the need for greater diversity, the relevance of the bar exam and the job market facing graduates.

American Bar Association President James R. Silkenat of New York (Sullivan & Worcester LLP) will moderate. The keynote address will be delivered by William M. Sullivan, founding director of Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers and primary author of the groundbreaking 2007 Carnegie Report on the future of legal education.

Panelists include:

• Phoebe A. Haddon, dean, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

• The Hon. Jenny Rivera, associate judge, New York State Court of Appeals

• Kent R. Syverud, chancellor, Syracuse University

The second panel, “Supporting Today’s Lawyers,” will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and address the challenges facing today’s lawyers, including developments in law-related services, new technology, globalization, a changing economic climate and new client demands.

The panel will be moderated by former state bar President Stephen P. Younger of New York City (Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP). The keynote address will be delivered by Bruce MacEwen, president of Adam Smith Inc. consulting group and author of “Growth is Dead: Now What? Law firms on the brink.”

Panelists include:

• Frank R. Jimenez, general counsel, secretary and managing director of government affairs at Bunge Limited

• Anne Reynolds Copps, principal attorney, Copps DiPaola

• Benjamin F. Wilson, managing principal, Beveridge & Diamond

The association’s 137th annual meeting began Monday and runs through Saturday.