Name:		Kenneth G. Standard
		Month:		July/August/September 2004
		Schools:		Harvard, B.A. Harvard, J.D. New York University, LL.M.
		Organization:		Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
		Title:		Attorney

An Ivy League Reflection
The most dominant memory of my college and law school experiences in Cambridge is the racial isolation and the resulting occasional loneliness and identity ambivalence. Harvard Law School was for me more racially isolating. In my Harvard College class, there were 11 blacks (Negroes then) in my class of 1100 or so. There were no blacks in the comparable Radcliffe class of 300 or so. Nonetheless, during my 7 Cambridge years, I acquired a quality education, was exposed to people and lifestyles I was unlikely to encounter otherwise and developed lifelong friendships and acquaintances in both places, all with mostly male whites. Despite the limits on my social life, I believe my Ivy experience was beneficial and certainly helped to qualify and toughen me for life's challenges, reinforce my self confidence and open doors for me.

About Mr. Standard
Kenneth G. Standard, special counsel in the labor and employment law practice group at the Manhattan office of the international law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, took office on June 1 as president of the 72,000-member New York State Bar Association.

Standard received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. In addition, he holds an LL.M. degree from New York University School of Law.

In 2003, Crain's New York Business named him as one of "100 Most Powerful Minority Business Leaders in New York."

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Standard served as assistant General Counsel for Labor Relations, Environmental and Benefit Plans at Consolidated Edison Company (Con Ed) of New York City. In addition, he is the former director of the Office of Legal Services of the New York City school system and was earlier Vice-President and senior Counsel of the Products Division of the Bristol-Myers Company.

According to Standard, during his one-year term as president of the nation's largest voluntary state bar, he will focus his efforts on several initiatives, including: improving access to justice for all, maintaining the independence and accountability of lawyers and judges, increasing pro bono public awareness and fostering opportunities for participation, and examining the issue of balancing work-life and public service for members of the profession.

A sustaining member of the NYSBA, Standard is a Fellow of both The New York State and American Bar foundations. He also continues as a member of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the American Bar Association and the National Bar Association.

Active in community affairs, Standard served three years as Vice-President, followed by three years as President, of the 12,000-member Harvard Club of New York City. He has held numerous other offices at the organization, including secretary of the Admissions Committee, chair of the Athletics and Human Resources committees, trustee of the employees' pension fund and benefit plans, and chair of the Special Committee on Eligibility. He has also served as a member of the Nominating and Schools committees.

Standard serves as a director of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York City and a member of its Board's Finance and Audit, Development, and Governance committees. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York is the largest not-for-profit home health care provider in the nation, with approximately 10,000 employees. Standard also has served as a director of the United Seamen's Service and is a former vice-chairman of the Board of the Aspirin Foundation of America. He is a former director of the Harvard Club of New York City Foundation.

Along with his duties as chair of the House of Delegates, during his year as President-elect, Standard co-chaired the President's Committee on Access to Justice (formed to help improve access to the courts for all members of our society).

The NYSBA is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, NYSBA programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 125 years.