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November 12, 2024 Chair’s Message

Welcome to the New Chair

Please welcome Ms. Lai Sun Yee as our new Section Chair.

Ms. Yee serves and has served in the federal government in various positions. She was the Principal Advisor of Homeland Security for the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). Ms. Yee also has an extensive record of service to the people of New York. She is the former New York State Assistant Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, New York State Assistant Deputy Secretary for Criminal Justice, and General Counsel for the New York State Emergency Management Office.

Chair Yee served as the New York City Deputy Commissioner for Legal Services and General Counsel for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, where she worked in support of the City’s response to the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. She served as the Assistant Fire Commissioner of the Bureau of Investigation and Trials for the New York City Fire Department and worked as an attorney in the Fire Department Legal Division.

Yee also was the Counsel to the Bronx Borough President.

Chair Yee holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, a Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School, and a Master of Arts degree from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

Please welcome her and meet with her at an ABA or Section meeting.

Special Notice to SLG Members: By Council vote on 10.24.24, the Council approved renaming the Section to “Section of State, Local, and Tribal Government Law.” The date of our Section Annual Business Meeting is Saturday, August 9, 2025.

The Section has been working hard to incorporate Tribal Law issues in its area of expertise for over seven years. The Section has and continues to sponsor significant content, both written and digital/webinars, on inter-government relations, including Tribal governments. Renaming the Section to include Tribal law will more appropriately identify the scope of the Section’s work. (Supporters include NNBA, Judicial Division’s National Conference of Specialized Court Judges (NCSCJ), which includes some Tribal Judicial leaders; Criminal Justice Section, National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) and Immediate Past ABA President Mary Smith)

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