To recognize Lawyers Alliance's legacy and contributions of alumni, in 2011 we launched a series of profiles of the people who have helped build Lawyers Alliance since 1969. Each winter, spring/summer, and fall Newsletter will feature a different alumnus or (as in the first profile) an alumni couple, whose stories are below.

Sheila Avrin McLean and David McLean first became involved with the Council of New York Law Associates in the early 1970s when a group of young associates, who were members of the Council and the City Bar, took action to give young lawyers a greater voice in the City Bar's governance. Read full profile. (Winter 2011)

Cynthia R. Shoss was first a Lawyers Alliance pro bono attorney, then a member (and later, Chair) of the Lawyers Alliance Board of Directors during the 1990s.
Read full profile. (Spring 2011)

S. Anita Sinha Stone was once a Skadden Extern at Lawyers Alliance and was instrumental in the formation of Lawyers Alliance's new Associates Advisory Board, and is now serving as its first president. Read full profile. (Autumn 2011)

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In formation in 2011, the Board of Advisors will include several former members of Lawyers Alliance's Board of Directors and provide strategic, development, and operational guidance to the organization. Edward F. Greene of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Cynthia R. Shoss of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP will serve as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.

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A group of law firm associates met while working on John Lindsay's 1968 mayoral re-election campaign ("Lawyers for Lindsay"). As young lawyers, they felt inadequately integrated into the profession, lacked outlets for public service work, and needed a forum to share their interests with others. Out of these concerns, the Council of New York Law Associates was born in 1969.

Click here for a list of founders and early members of the Council.

Read more history about the Council's evolution to the present day Lawyers Alliance.

Help us build our archive and alumni database. Share your experiences with the Council of New York Law Associates or Lawyers Alliance for New York with Development Director Erika Byrnes at 212-219-1800 x230 or ebyrnes@lawyersalliance.org.

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Founder Neal Johnston passed away on May 24, 2010. He is remembered for his warmth, wit, and irrepressible heart. His family, friends, and former colleagues from the Council of New York Law Associates celebrated his life at a memorial service held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York on Friday, October 1, 2010.
See more, including remembrances.

Guest Photo Gallery | Speaker Photo Gallery | Event Program

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In 2011, Lawyers Alliance and a group of dedicated law firm associates and in-house counsel launched the Associates Advisory Board. It is comprised of former Cornerstone awardees, externs, and other exceptional volunteers who enthusiastically seek to raise support and visibility for Lawyers Alliance within their respective firms.

Current members (pictured, left to right): Nia M. Brown, DLA Piper LLP (US); Vijaya Palaniswamy, Linklaters LLP; Samantha Y. Warshauer, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP; Mara Byrne, Citigroup; Jason E. Burritt, Seyfarth Shaw LLP; S. Anita Sinha Stone, (President, Associates Advisory Board), Hamilton Sundstrand; Irini Kalamakis,Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Not pictured, Cam Fuller, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

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We are grateful to law firms that sponsor ongoing externship programs at Lawyers Alliance. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP created the first externship at Lawyers Alliance in 1989; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP joined in 1999; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP also joined in 1999; and Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in 2007. Since 1980, Lawyers Alliance has had close to 150 externs, who are attorneys that work full-time at Lawyers Alliance for four months on a rotating basis.

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Click here for a list of our former executive directors.

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