Leveraging New York’s Equal Rights Amendment to Protect LGBTQ+ New Yorkers
Monday, June 15, 2026 | 6:15 pm – 7:30 pm
Format: In-Person
Description:
In 2024, an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers voted to expand equal rights and protections against discrimination based on based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex—including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy—by passing the Equal Rights Amendment (“ERA”), which amended Article I, Section 11 of the New York State Constitution. In contrast to a federal landscape that is increasingly hostile towards LGBTQ+ rights, the ERA presents opportunities to establish robust state constitutional protections that go beyond these limiting federal equality frameworks.
This program aims to empower litigators and advocates to think creatively and expansively in leveraging these new protections to ensure LGBTQ+ New Yorkers receive full and equal treatment under the law. The program will provide an overview of how the ERA came to be, situate the ERA’s constitutional protections among New York’s statutory antidiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, and discuss emerging issues arising in ERA litigation across New York State.
Special Feature: Attendees of this CLE program are invited to attend the Pride/Leonard Award Reception immediately following this program at the NYC Bar.
Click Here to View Program Agenda & Faculty
CLE Credit:
New York: 1.5 Professioanl Practice
New Jersey: 1.5 General
California: 1.5 General
Pennsylvania: 1.0 General
Connecticut: Available to Licensed Attorneys
Program Fee:
Free for Members | $50 for Nonmembers
*For New York Newly Admitted Attorneys: Skills credits completed after December 31, 2025, must be completed in the traditional live classroom setting or by fully interactive videoconference. City Bar Webinar programs are not considered a fully interactive videoconference. Please see the CLE Format Requirements for Newly Admitted Attorneys for additional information.
For New York Attorneys: This program is a transitional/non-transitional course.
Program Chair:
Gabriella Larios | Staff Attorney, New York Civil Liberties Union
Sponsoring Association Committees:
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Rights | Hayley Gorenberg & Jared M. Trujillo | Co-Chairs
Sex and the Law | Natalie R. Birnbaum & Susan E. Cersovsky | Co-Chairs
Information about our Financial Aid Policy and Application can be found here.