Federal Bar Council

Federal Bar Council
Name	Federal Bar Council
Type	Professional association
Founded	1954
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Membership	Federal practitioners, judges, clerks, academics

Federal Bar Council The Federal Bar Council is a professional association for attorneys and judges practicing before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, headquartered in New York City. It serves as a forum connecting practitioners who appear in appellate courts with members of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, and federal courts in Vermont and Puerto Rico. The Council engages with federal jurists from the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and district courts through educational programs, publications, and advocacy.

History

Founded in the mid-20th century, the Council emerged amid postwar legal developments linked to decisions from the United States Supreme Court, responses to rulings like Brown v. Board of Education, and procedural reforms following the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure amendments. Early activity intersected with notable appellate litigation involving firms such as Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Sullivan & Cromwell, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and personalities who later appeared before panels including judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit like Henry Friendly and Wilfred Feinberg. The organization responded to landmark events including the expansion of civil rights litigation in the 1960s, the effects of the Patriot Act on federal practice, and jurisprudential shifts exemplified by cases argued in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Organization and Membership

Membership is drawn largely from advocates who practice in federal appellate and district courts, including attorneys from major law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, boutique firms like Boies Schiller Flexner, and solo practitioners. Judges and clerks from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the United States Court of International Trade participate as members or honorary affiliates. Academic members come from law schools including Columbia Law School, Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, NYU School of Law, Fordham University School of Law, and Brooklyn Law School. Institutional relationships extend to entities like the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the National Association of Attorneys General, and the Federal Judicial Center.

Activities and Programs

The Council organizes appellate argument panels, moot courts, and events featuring practitioners who argued before the United States Supreme Court, the Second Circuit, and district judges from Manhattan and Brooklyn. Programs have included panels on topics influenced by decisions from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and landmark appellate rulings such as those involving the RICO Act, Antitrust Division cases, and disputes before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Council sponsors networking receptions with firms like Debevoise & Plimpton and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, mentoring initiatives for clerks from chambers of judges like Jacqueline Nguyen and panels with litigators who appeared in matters associated with entities like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, AIG, and Enron-era litigation. Collaborative programs involve the Federal Defenders Office, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and nonprofit litigators from ACLU and Human Rights Watch.

Publications and CLE

The Council publishes newsletters and bench-bar reports featuring summaries of Second Circuit opinions, commentary on decisions from the United States Supreme Court, and updates on procedural rules promulgated by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. Contributors include scholars from Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and practitioners who teach at Columbia Law School and NYU School of Law. Continuing legal education (CLE) programs deliver credits on topics informed by opinions from judges such as Amalya Kearse and Dennis Jacobs and cover subjects involving statutes like the Federal Arbitration Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and regulatory actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission. CLE events have featured speakers from the Office of the Solicitor General, partners from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, academics like Arthur Miller (legal scholar) and appellate advocates including members of the Federal Appellate Project.

Governance and Leadership

Governance is vested in an elected board of directors and officer positions comparable to leadership structures at organizations such as the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. Officers have included judges, senior partners from firms including Paul Hastings, Mayer Brown, and former federal prosecutors from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Department of Justice. Leadership works with the Federal Judicial Center and engages with judicial councils like the Judicial Conference of the United States on issues affecting appellate practice. The Council’s committees mirror subject-matter committees found in entities such as the Civil Rights Division and the Antitrust Division.

Notable Members and Alumni

Notable affiliated jurists and practitioners have included judges elevated from chambers across the Second Circuit such as Jonathan Lippman, Robert Katzmann, Denny Chin, and litigators who argued landmark cases before the United States Supreme Court and the Second Circuit from firms like WilmerHale, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and Jones Day. Alumni include former federal prosecutors who later served in cabinet or high office, litigators involved in high-profile matters concerning Microsoft and Apple antitrust appeals, counsel to financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, and academics who published in journals like the Columbia Law Review and the Harvard Law Review.

Category:Legal organizations in the United States