CHENANGO – Local attorneys from Delaware, Chenango and Otsego Counties recently formed the Del-Chen-O Women’s Bar Association, a chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY). The Del-Chen-O Women’s Bar Association supports organizations and causes that advance the status and progress of women in society. Part of the chapter’s mission is to encourage the education of lawyers and to promote improvement in the administration of justice.

The Del-Chen-O Chapter presented its first continuing legal education program in June at the Foothills Performing Arts Center in Oneonta. The program was a mock meeting of the Committee on Professional Standards from the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department. The program was presented by Monica Duffy, the Chief Attorney for the Committee on Professional Standards in the Third Department, along with four other staff attorneys. The speakers explained the disciplinary process for attorneys in New York State and then reviewed several mock disciplinary cases, using the audience as voting committee members. The panelists were very informative and the discussions were lively. The program was well-attended by many attorneys and judges from Delaware, Chenango and Otsego Counties, including Justice Elizabeth A. Garry, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department; Hon. Molly R. Fitzgerald, Administrative Judge of the Sixth Judicial District; Hon. Gary A. Rosa, Delaware County Family Court Judge; Hon. Lucy P. Bernier, Oneonta City Court Judge; and Chenango County District Attorney Joseph A. McBride.