New York City Bar Association Podcast

The City Bar’s Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies dives deep into the six pillars of President Trump’s March 2026 Cyber Strategy for America: Shape Adversary Behavior; Promote Common Sense Regulation; Modernize and Secure Federal Government Networks; Secure Critical Infrastructure; Sustain Superiority in Critical and Emerging Technologies; and Build Talent and Capacity.

Task Force co-chair Jerome Walker joins Sabeena Ahmed Liconte (Head of Legal & Chief Compliance Officer, Americas at ICBC Standard Bank Group) and Alex Southwell (Partner, McDermott Will & Schulte) to discuss the “aspirational” strategy in its totality, including its offensive, defensive, and future-minded qualities, as well as its challenges and the surrounding requirements for the strategy to be successful and ensure global compliance.

If you are interested in learning more about emerging AI developments and policy, join us for the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Conference on June 18 to hear from industry experts and connect with leading legal professionals across the field.

00:00 Welcome and Cyber Strategy Overview
02:07 Meet the Panelists
04:44 Big Picture Reactions
12:30 Pillar One - Shape Adversary Behavior
28:28 Pillar Two - Promote Common Sense Regulation
42:19 Pillar Three - Modernize and Secure Federal Government Networks
52:22 Pillars Four & Five - Secure Critical Infrastructure & Sustain Superiority in Critical and Emerging Technologies
01:01:23 Pillar Six - Build Talent and Capacity
01:06:11 Closing Thoughts

In a special Women’s History Month episode, City Bar President Muhammad Faridi speaks with Judge Bianka Perez, an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court and president of the Supreme Court Justices Association. Judge Perez speaks about her path to the bench – her roots as a Bronx paralegal and office manager, through night classes at New York Law School, and a legal practice serving both her intellectual ambitions and her commitment to supporting her community.

Perez discusses how private practice shaped her perspective on judicial empathy, how her Dominican heritage and role models influence her leadership and service, and how mentoring students is a priority. She addresses the difficulty of rulings constrained by statute and precedent, coping with the stress of judging, and defines success as making history and lifting the next generation of Latina leaders.

Want to hear more from women who lead? Check out the most recent International Law Conference on the Status of Women hosted at the City Bar, where we honor the women judges who uphold justice for all with courage and integrity: https://www.nycbar.org/videos/2026-annual-international-law-conference-on-the-status-of-women/

00:00 Welcome and Women’s History Month
00:26 Judge Perez’s Bronx Beginnings
02:04 Working Full Time in Law School
04:43 Why Private Practice Matters
06:00 Law School Through a Practitioner Lens
08:22 Opening a Storefront Practice
11:39 Dominican Roots and Bronx Service
15:36 Bar Leadership and Becoming a Judge
18:47 When the Law Ties Your Hands
21:15 Life Experience on the Bench
24:02 Choosing the Judgeship Path
27:27 Mentoring and Paying It Forward
31:38 Carrying the Work Home
34:25 Success, Advice, and Closing

New York is facing a growing mental health crisis, and the systems meant to support people are struggling to keep up. Efforts to fix an inadequate system have given rise to dueling reform proposals.

Maia Goodell, Chair of the City Bar's Mental Health Law Committee, hosts today's podcast in conversation with Dr. Thomas Insel, Former Director, National Institute for Mental Health; Arvind Sooknanan, New York–based mental health advocate and civic leader; Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Former Commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and Ken Zimmerman, Attorney & CEO of Fountain House.

They discuss existing reform efforts and explain those efforts' real-world impact, focusing on what they mean for care, public safety, and the rights of vulnerable individuals across the state.

Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/417gwTW

Scott Mason talks with Sara Walshe about what intuition is and how lawyers can use it to feel better, work smarter, and avoid burnout. Sara describes intuition as an immediate “knowing,” and says it can show up either as experience-based pattern recognition (like a strong BS meter built from years of practice) or as a deeper inner knowing that’s hard to explain. They discuss how to tell intuition apart from wishful thinking, how confidence can shape outcomes, and why “doom” feelings may be more about instinct and survival. Sara shares stories from studying for the bar, negotiating plea deals as a Brooklyn prosecutor, and eventually leaving law to combine yoga, mindfulness, and coaching. She emphasizes that intuition is easier to access when you feel safe, and suggests simple mindfulness tools—like slow finger rubbing paired with a deep breath—to get grounded in the moment.

Want to learn more about combining mindfulness techniques with your legal practice? Get involved with the sponsor of today’s podcast, the Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Committee! A great opportunity is coming up on March 26, join the committee’s Mindfulness and Well-Being in Law Book Club (nycbar.org/calendar). Reading the book is encouraged but not required to take part in this community space.

00:00 Defining intuition
02:22 Two types of knowing
04:13 Wishful thinking vs intuition
07:21 Bar exam visualization
16:18 Using intuition in practice
19:38 Negotiation and efficiency
27:49 Office politics and EQ
30:57 Leading with intuition
34:26 Soft Skills Are Hard
35:07 Lawyer Identity Beyond Work
36:38 Connection Crisis and Screens
39:12 Marriage Lens of Intuition
40:21 When Not to Use Intuition
41:06 Intuition and Instinct Dance
49:16 Prosecutor to Coach Story
55:37 Mindfulness for Intuition
57:25 Fingertip Grounding Trick
58:45 Closing Thanks and Credits

The City Bar’s Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies hosts today’s podcast on President Trump’s:  Winning the Race, America's AI Action Plan. Task Force co-chair Jerome Walker is joined by task force members Matthew Bacal (Davis Polk), Azish Filabi (American College of Financial Services), Robert Mahari (Stanford Codex), and Evan Abrams (Steptoe), to review the plan’s three pillars and key action steps.

Pillar One (“Accelerate AI Innovation”) is described as largely deregulatory, including agency review of rules and certain FTC/FCC actions, with targeted concerns such as ideological bias and synthetic media in the legal system, plus investments in open-source/open-weight models, data, interpretability, evaluations, and government/DoD adoption.

Pillar Two (“Build American AI Infrastructure”) focuses on the physical side of AI—permitting for data centers and fabs, energy and grid expansion, semiconductors, water for cooling, workforce training, cybersecurity, and “security by design,” while anticipating trade-offs and litigation.

Pillar Three (“Lead in International AI Diplomacy and Security”) balances support for exporting US “full stack” AI with tighter national security controls, including stronger export-control enforcement and participation in international bodies primarily to counter China.

The conversation closes with suggestions for improving the plan by strengthening trust, safety/rights considerations, and maintaining flexibility as AI capabilities evolve.

If you are interested in learning more about emerging AI developments and policy, join us for the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Conference on June 18 to hear from industry experts and connect with leading legal professionals across the field.

00:00 Trump’s 2025 AI Action Plan: Big Goals, Short Document, 3 Pillars
03:23 Pillar One Preview: 15 Action Steps to ‘Accelerate AI Innovation’
09:16 Meet the Panel + Setting Up the Pillar One Deep Dive
11:21 Pillar One Explained: Deregulation, Free Speech, Data Sharing, Evaluations, and Trust
18:33 Key Takeaways for Stakeholders: Business, Finance, Civil Society, and Tech
23:57 Which Pillar One Steps Matter Most? Sequencing, Competitiveness, and Data Access
27:52 Pillar Two: The Physical Side of AI—Energy, Chips, Data Centers
36:32 Critical Infrastructure Security: Physical Risks, Cyber Threats & ‘Security by Design’
37:14 Data Poisoning Explained: How Training Data Can Be Manipulated at Scale
38:00 Workforce Training at Scale: From Trades to Semiconductor Talent Pipelines
38:52 Wrapping Pillar Two: China Competition, Speeding Projects, and Ranking Priorities
40:34 What Lawyers & Judges Need to Know About Pillar Two (Red Tape, Legal Tech, Litigation)
45:30 Pillar Three Overview: Balancing Global AI Leadership with National Security Controls
50:05 Pillar Three Priorities by Industry: Export Controls, Frontier Evaluations & Data Center Risk
58:56 Why Engage International AI Bodies? Countering China and Filling the Leadership Vacuum
01:03:20 Trump vs. Biden Narratives: Competition vs. Safety—What Should Change in the Plan?
01:07:38 Panel Advice to Improve the Action Plan: Rights Framework, Nimble Policy, Safety & Research Funding