New York County Lawyers Association Officers’ Letter to New York Times

Letter to the Editor of the New York Times

We are the leaders of the New York County Lawyers Association. For 117 years, our association has stood for upholding the rule of law and applying it fairly to all people, no matter their race, creed or position.

We are appalled by the news of the acting U.S. attorney Danielle Sassoon’s resignation in the face of her Justice Department superiors’ order to drop the case against Mayor Eric Adams for what, according to the internal correspondence, appear to be political, nonlegal reasons.

This is the way the rule of law is undermined. We are watching it in real time. We are heartened by the courage shown by Ms. Sassoon and her colleagues who also resigned over this order, but it will take far more than a handful of lawyers to stand up to this raw exercise of power.

Adrienne B. Koch
Richard P. Swanson
Ronald C. Minkoff
New York

The writers are, respectively, the president, president-elect and vice president of the New York County Lawyers Association. Published in the New York Times: Opinion | A Profile in Courage From Danielle Sassoon; February 14, 2025.

About the New York County Lawyers Association
The New York County Lawyers Association (nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender, and has a long history of supporting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Since its inception, NYCLA has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence. For more information on NYCLA please visit nycla.org.

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