When a client is arrested, two cases are often born at once: the criminal prosecution and a potential civil rights action. Decisions made in the first weeks of the criminal case — what disposition to accept, what record to make, what motions to file, whether to file a CCRB complaint, when to serve a notice of claim — can preserve or permanently destroy the client’s civil claims.

This program brings together experienced criminal defense and civil rights practitioners for a practical discussion of how the two sides of the bar should work together. Topics include the civil claims that arise from arrests and police misconduct under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and New York law; how each criminal disposition (plea, ACD, § 30.30 dismissal, interest-of-justice dismissal, acquittal) affects each civil claim after Thompson v. Clark; the deadlines that run while the criminal case is pending, including the 90-day notice of claim; parallel-proceeding traps involving 50-h examinations, CCRB statements, and the Fifth Amendment; special considerations in protest and mass-arrest cases; and the practical mechanics of referral, evidence preservation, and joint strategy.

This program will satisfy the LIVE NY Skills and Ethics requirements for first and second year newly admitted attorneys in New York.

Join us for an all-day program will satisfy the Skills and Ethic requirements for first and second year newly admitted attorneys. The program also features topics of interest for attorneys at all stages of their careers.

Topics include:

• Managing Difficult Client Interactions Without Escalation
• AI and Legal Ethics: Everything You Need to Know, in One Hour!
• Labor & Employment 101
• Civil Court Decoded: What Every New York Lawyer Needs to Know
• Conflicts of Interest in Corporate Transactions: A Primer for Corporate Lawyers and Litigators
• The Ethical Use of Generative AI in Legal Research and Drafting

*Part of All-Day BTG Skills and Ethics

This session provides attorneys with practical strategies for managing difficult client interactions before they escalate into conflict, complaints, or disruptions to the attorney-client relationship. Through an examination of the communication patterns that often contribute to tension, participants will learn how emotional escalation develops, recognize common attorney and client triggers, and identify assumptions, misunderstandings, and reaction patterns that can undermine productive communication. The program will explore the impact of conflict on client satisfaction, case management, and professional effectiveness while emphasizing communication as a core risk-management and professionalism tool.

Building on this foundation, attendees will develop a framework for de-escalation and professional communication that can be applied in everyday legal practice. The program will cover active listening techniques, expectation management, maintaining appropriate professional boundaries, reframing conflict, managing emotionally charged conversations, and responding effectively under pressure. Through realistic legal scenarios involving angry, demanding, and repeatedly challenging clients, participants will apply these techniques to common practice situations and leave with actionable tools to reduce conflict, strengthen client relationships, improve communication outcomes, and minimize the risks associated with breakdowns in the attorney-client relationship.

*Part of All-Day BTG Skills and Ethics

A review of legal ethics rules in light of AI tools and applications in legal practice.

Attendees can expect to walk away with the following:

• Apply the core Model Rules to everyday AI use. Show how competence (1.1), confidentiality (1.6), communication (1.4), and reasonable fees (1.5) govern a lawyer’s use of generative AI, drawing on ABA Formal Opinion 512 and their own jurisdiction’s guidance.
• Evaluate an AI tool and workflow for ethical risk before using it. Assess vendor data practices, where client information goes, and when client consent is required, and decide whether a given task is appropriate for AI.
• Put verification and supervision into practice for AI output. Use a repeatable process to check citations, facts, and reasoning before anything goes to a court or client, and explain how the supervisory duties in Rules 5.1 and 5.3 apply to AI tools and to the staff who use them. This draws on the sanctions cases built on hallucinated citations.

*Part of All-Day BTG Skills and Ethics

Labor & Employment 101 provides a practical introduction to the federal, New York State, and New York City laws governing the workplace. Designed for newly admitted attorneys, general practitioners, and attorneys seeking a refresher, the program will cover key legal issues that arise throughout the employment relationship.

Following the employment lifecycle from hiring and onboarding through workplace management, discipline, termination, and post-employment considerations, the program will address discrimination and harassment, retaliation, reasonable accommodations, employee leave, wage and hour requirements, and worker classification.

The course will also introduce fundamental labor law concepts, including protected concerted activity, collective bargaining, and the role of unions and the National Labor Relations Board under the National Labor Relations Act.

Through practical examples and common workplace scenarios, attendees will learn to recognize potential legal issues and apply these principles to everyday workplace matters.

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Identify key federal, New York State, and New York City laws governing the workplace.
• Recognize common discrimination, harassment, retaliation, leave, and accommodation issues.
• Identify fundamental wage and hour and worker classification requirements.
• Explain basic labor law concepts, including protected concerted activity and collective bargaining obligations.
• Spot common workplace legal issues and determine when further legal analysis may be necessary.

*Part of All-Day BTG Skills and Ethics

This program provides a practical overview of the New York City Civil Court system, and the essential skills attorneys need to effectively represent clients in this fast-paced forum. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the court’s structure, jurisdiction, procedures, and expectations, while exploring common case types, motion practice, settlement conferences, and courtroom advocacy. Designed for attorneys at all experience levels, the program offers practical guidance on navigating the unique challenges and opportunities presented in Civil Court.

Attorneys who attend this program will receive the following skills:

• Navigating Civil Court procedures and practice requirements
• Effective courtroom advocacy and oral presentation techniques
• Case management, motion practice, and settlement strategies
• Professionalism and practical litigation skills for successful client representation

*Part of All-Day BTG Skills and Ethics

Conflicts of interest are not a problem faced only by litigators. Transactional lawyers have to address conflicts as well, and in many ways, the problems they face are more subtle and difficult to resolve. This seminar will focus on the sorts of conflict issues that transactional lawyers face and will address such forefront issues as accommodation clients, advance conflict waivers, representation of corporate affiliates, corporate family conflicts, and joint representations of potentially adverse parties in business transactions. Ms. Hyland and Mr. Minkoff, two of New York State’s leading practitioners in the field of attorney ethics and professional responsibility, will address these issues and show transactional practitioners how to avoid the conflict-of-interest trap.

*Part of All-Day BTG Skills and Ethics

This program will examine the ethical and professional responsibility issues that arise when attorneys incorporate artificial intelligence into their practice. Topics will include the duty of competence under Rule 1.1, with a focus on understanding both the capabilities and limitations of AI tools before relying on their outputs, as well as the confidentiality obligations imposed by Rule 1.6 and the risks associated with entering client or case-specific information into AI platforms. The program will also address the duty of candor to the tribunal under Rule 3.3, including the importance of independently verifying legal research, citations, and authorities, and will review recent sanctions cases involving AI-generated inaccuracies and fabricated citations.

In addition, the program will discuss supervisory responsibilities under Rules 5.1 and 5.3, emphasizing attorneys’ ongoing responsibility for AI-assisted work product and the need for appropriate oversight of both lawyers and nonlawyers using these technologies. Participants will gain practical guidance on developing a responsible workflow for integrating AI into legal research and drafting, including strategies for validation, quality control, and risk management. The program will conclude with a judicial perspective on the use of AI in litigation and legal practice, highlighting what courts expect from attorneys who incorporate AI tools into their professional work.

Attorneys who attend this program will receive an insight into:

• Identify and apply key professional responsibility rules governing the use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, including duties of competence, confidentiality, candor, and supervision.
• Recognize and mitigate ethical and practical risks associated with AI-assisted legal work, including the protection of client information and the verification of AI-generated research and citations.
• Develop a responsible workflow for incorporating AI into legal research, drafting, and other legal tasks, with appropriate quality-control measures and attorney oversight.
• Understand current judicial expectations regarding the use of AI in litigation and legal practice, including lessons from sanctions decisions and best practices for maintaining credibility before courts and tribunals.

Neuropsychological evaluations can play an important role in special education matters, but the scores and recommendations are only part of the picture. Attorneys must also understand how the evaluator reached those findings, what they mean for the student, and how they will be weighed at a hearing. This program brings together two neuropsychologists, two special education attorneys, an educational specialist, and an Impartial Hearing Officer to examine evaluations from each perspective.

The neuropsychologists explain how an evaluation is built. They translate areas such as working memory, processing speed, and executive functioning into practical terms and address what an evaluator can appropriately conclude or recommend. The attorneys cover the legal framework and how to connect findings to FAPE, placement, and tuition reimbursement claims. The educational specialist discusses how recommendations become a school program, and the Impartial Hearing Officer explains how evaluations and expert testimony are weighed.

Cultural and linguistic considerations are addressed throughout. The program closes with real-world scenarios, including outdated evaluations and conflicting expert opinions. Attorneys will leave better prepared to read, question, and use neuropsychological evaluations in their cases.

This program will explore the emerging legal, ethical, and practical implications of AI-assisted filings, including those submitted by pro se litigants. The panelists will address associated concerns, including:

• attorney-client privilege
• authentication
• identification of AI-generated content
• local court rules and requirements
• ethical considerations related to courts monitoring or limiting AI use

Panelists will examine whether and how current legal frameworks, such as model rules, the NIST AI RMF, and standards applicable under the E-SIGN Act, address these developments. They will also discuss what obligations, if any, should be placed on technology providers, courts, and litigants to ensure reliability and accountability.

The discussion will also consider whether AI represents a meaningful advancement in access to justice or introduces new risks to the integrity of the judicial process. Panelists will debate the appropriate balance between expanding access to legal resources and preserving procedural fairness by analyzing recent developments and case law, including court responses to litigants’ use of private or sensitive information in AI systems. Attendees will gain practical insights into:

• a lawyer’s professional responsibilities when evaluating AI-generated work product
• questions general counsel and courts are increasingly asking
• safeguards that may be necessary as AI becomes a more prominent feature of modern legal practice