We hope that you and your families and staff had safe, restful, and peaceful holidays and wish all of you a happy and productive new year. The NYWBA celebrated the holidays with various festive in-person events, including committee mixers and a wonderful and well-attended wine tasting, at which members had an opportunity to connect and commune.

Thank you to everyone who donated monies, items and time to our partner organizations: Her Village, a non-profit that addresses period poverty and diaper need, which raised nearly $8,000 this holiday season; the Norejko Schwaeber Gift Drive to support domestic violence organizations and survivors; the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY)’s “Feeding America” initiative; and the NYWBA Foundation.

This January, NYWBA is proud to co-sponsor an in-person lunchtime Guardianship Open House, hosted by Hon. Lisa A. Sokoloff, Hon. Ta-Tanisha James, and Hon. Ilana Marcus, offering an opportunity for guardianship practitioners and judges to get together and build community. Our Elder Law & Disabilities Committee also continues its well-attended Lunch & Learn Elder Law series, hosting City Councilwoman Crystal Hudson to speak on her proposal for Public Guardianship in February. Thank you to Lillian Mosley, the committee’s chair for Lunch & Learn sessions, along with her committee co-chairs Hon. Alice Tam Tien, Sabrina E. Morrissey, and Maria F. Galante.

Our active Solo and Small Law Firm Practice Committee has two Lunch & Learn events planned: the first on January 8, a self-improvement workshop entitled “Stop Prosecuting Yourself,” and the second on February 12, on an always useful topic, “All Things Real Estate in NY.” Thank you to Gail I. Bader and Sabrina E. Morrissey for your wonderful leadership of this committee.

Our Immigration Committee’s Season to be Giving, Pro Bono Lunch Series continues January 9, 2026, with a much-needed program on “Trauma Informed Lawyering & Our Ethical Obligations.” Welcome to new committee chair Karla Rosero, and thank you for hitting the ground running. Our annual membership drive is underway! Please check online for your membership status and to seamlessly renew your membership if lapsed. Invite a co-worker, colleague, or friend to join NYWBA or attend an event. We invite Officers, Board and Advisory members, and Committee Chairs to join us for an in-person Membership Phone-A-Thon the evening of January 12, to call non-renewed former members to share our love for NYWBA, update them on our happenings, answer questions, and invite them to renew.

Please save the date for one of our annual signature events, our Judicial Reception to honor newly elected, appointed, and re-elected New York County judges, scheduled for March 10, 2026, at the Yale Club. We are proud that many of the honorees are NYWBA members and supporters. Members of the NYWBA attended the December inductions of Onya Brinson and Terence McCormick as judges of the NYC Civil Court, and we look forward to the induction of Eric Wursthorn this month.

The statewide women’s bar, WBASNY, has its next virtual Board meeting on January 26. My thanks for your service goes to all the NYWBA delegates to the WBASNY Board and representatives to WBASNY committees. Our Chapter also looks forward to taking part in WBASNY’s state-wide Women in Law Program, designed to bring legal professionals together with high school students to educate them on the various professional roles in the law and to promote the advancement of women in the legal profession. Thank you to Hon. Crystal Villaseñor and Hon. Judith Gische, who organized our chapter’s phenomenally successful Women in Law program last year and are planning this year’s. Approximately ninety students took part and had the opportunity to speak with women and men in the legal community about their professional roles, journeys, and experiences within the legal field.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Kay Marmorek, long-time valued member of our Board of Directors who is stepping off the Board, for her dedicated service to NYWBA and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. We are fortunate that Kay will be joining our Advisory Council so that we will continue to benefit from her wisdom. We also extend a warm welcome and congratulations to Diana Sen, an accomplished federal prosecutor, who will be joining our Board of Directors starting January 2026.

Our Nominations Committee released its slate of nominees for 2026, to be voted on at our annual membership meeting scheduled for April. Congratulations to the wonderful nominees for NYWBA President, Officers, Directors, Nomination Committee members and WBASNY delegates. Each nominee is an accomplished lawyer dedicated to our organization who will bring insight, experience, and wisdom. I am especially proud of Vivian Rivera Drohan’s nomination as President. Vivian is not only a highly accomplished lawyer and businessperson, but is also fiercely devoted to her family and a role model for balancing work and family.

Thank you to our Officers and Board for your dedication, service, and guidance. It is such a pleasure to work with this amazing team of leaders: Vice Presidents Vivian Rivera-Drohan, Meaghan E. Carey, and Crystal R. Villaseñor; Treasurer Judith E. White; Recording Secretary Melissa F. Glassman; Corresponding Secretary Tara Diamond, and Immediate Past President Jocelyn L. Jacobson. I look forward to working with all of you to make NYWBA better and stronger in 2026.

Lissett Costa Ferreira