Michael Getnick became the New York State Bar Association's 112th president on June 1, 2009. He joined the Association in 1970, soon after he received his J.D. from Cornell Law School.Mr. Getnick is a partner in Getnick, Livingston, Atkinson, Gigliotti & Priore, LLP in Utica and of counsel to Getnick and Getnick in New York. He is a trial attorney and concentrates his practice on insurance and personal injury law, corporate and business law, appellate practice and litigation.
Mr. Getnick's focus for the past few years as a member of the Executive Committee has been on equal access to justice. He has said that one of his priorities as president will be advocating "to eliminate federal restrictions on funding for legal services." Another of his major concerns as president is how the nation's economy is affecting New York's lawyers. "I am tremendously concerned for the lawyers that have been laid off, law students who have been promised jobs that are now not available and the amount of debt being incurred by law students."He wants to find ways for New York's attorneys to minimize the devastating effects of a declining economy.
Stephen P. Younger became the State Bar's president-elect on June 1, 2009.His focus for the coming year is to look for ways to help people adapt in the current economic crisis, such as lawyers who are in transition, and solo and small-firm practitioners who are facing difficult times.
Mr. Younger earned his law degree from Albany Law School, magna cum laude, where he was editor-in-chief of the Albany Law Review.
He is a partner in Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in New York, where he is a leading commercial litigator and is well-known for his work in international arbitration.