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Distinguished BLS professor gives CLE lecture at Brooklyn Bar Association

February 25, 2016 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle
From left: Michael Abdan, of Lexvia; Professor Richard T. Farrell, of Brooklyn Law School; Kate Langlois, deputy director for Academy of Trial Lawyers; and the BBA’s CLE Director Amber Evans. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese
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The Brooklyn Bar Association hosted professor Richard Farrell for a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar on the 2016 Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) update Wednesday night on Remsen Street.

The CLE seminar is an annual update and is co-sponsored with the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers.

“We do the Civil Practice Law and Rules update every year to update folks of changes within the last year,” said Kate Langlois, deputy director for Academy of Trial Lawyers. “It’s just something that has consistent changes and is relevant to every attorney’s practice, and because it changes so consistently, it’s important to update folks so they can stay abreast.”

Langlois said that Farrell taught a similar course at Brooklyn Law School for nearly 50 years, which made him perfect for the CLE lecture.

“For this we brought in Professor Farrell from Brooklyn Law School because this was his specialty when he taught there, and he taught there for over 50 years,” Langlois said. “It’s a real honor, I think, for the Brooklyn attendees especially.”

Farrell confirmed that many of the attendees were former students of his. He said, though, that this year’s update is not as substantial as in years past, so he decided to have some fun with it.

“It hasn’t been a big, exciting year in civil practice, so I decided that I would give myself a theme, which is based on something Don Vito Corleone said, ‘The lawyer with the briefcase can steal more money than the man with the gun,’” Farrell said. “I start off talking about a couple of things like that, talk about the power of the pen and how Don Vito got it right.”

This year’s update covered mostly technical aspects when it came to implementing technology within the law.

“The things I plan to discuss a lot of technical stuff when it comes to technology,” he said. “There has been a technological creep over the years and people have to stay up to date on the specifics.”

With the Brooklyn Bar Association off on an educational tour of Cuba next week, there will be a brief break until the next CLE lecture. Upon its return, Justice John M. Leventhal will be the speaker for a CLE session titled “Confrontation After Crawford,” which will be held at the bar association building on March 14.

 

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