New York City Bar Association Podcast

Tiffany Smith (WilmerHale) speaks with Beth Haddock (Warburton Advisers) and Boaz Goldwater (Davis Polk) about Treasury’s notice of proposed rulemaking implementing the Genius Act’s framework for regulating payment stablecoins, focusing on guidance for state regimes to qualify as “substantially similar” to the federal approach.

This podcast episode from the City Bar’s Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies compares the dual federal/state structure to banking and securities regulation, and describes “uniform” requirements versus areas with limited state calibration (e.g., capital, liquidity, supervisory procedures). We discuss the inter-agency stablecoin certification review committee’s discretion, challenges from evolving OCC standards, and the ten billion outstanding issuance threshold that triggers transition to OCC supervision while retaining state oversight, with possible waivers for certain pre-existing state regimes. We highlight key ambiguities for issuers, including moving federal benchmarks, supervisory capacity, and unresolved capital/liquidity measurement issues.

01:38 Genius Act Rulemaking Overview
03:08 Dual Federal State Framework
04:17 Why a State Pathway
09:31 State Discretion in Practice
11:31 Managing Moving Goalposts
13:34 Certification Review Committee
15:56 Reserve Capital Liquidity Rules
19:05 Crossing the 10 Billion Threshold
23:42 Supervision and Enforcement Capacity
25:33 Choosing State vs Federal Oversight
28:20 Open Questions and Comment Priorities

In this episode, beloved City Bar figure Richard Tuske reflects on his remarkable 50-year journey with the City Bar Law Library, from starting as a page in 1972 to serving today as Senior Director of Library Operations on the eve of retirement.

Along the way, he shares vivid stories with Legal History Committee Chair Abigail Nitka on the library’s transformation into one of the most prominent legal libraries in the world—from towering stacks to the dawn of digital research and early Westlaw and Lexis—along with behind-the-scenes anecdotes on the history of City Bar membership, unusual research requests, the auction of a remarkable rare-books collection, a failed merger attempt, and the library’s technological evolution.

00:00 Podcast Welcome 

01:03 Early Page Years 

07:30 From Stacks To Screens 

14:53 Computer Revolution Begins 

19:05 Unusual Research Request 

25:24 Famous City Bar Members Spotlight 

30:18 Salt Mines Preservation 

33:36 What Remains Today 

36:59 Computers Transform Research 

41:08 Library Merger Attempt 

43:52 Rare Books Collection & Auction 

51:30 Future Library After Retirement 

58:29 Legacy and Farewell

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