An appearance by an ex-porn actress at the summer meeting of the New York State Bar Association's Family Law Section has been canceled.
Patrick C. O'Reilly, chair of the section, said Wednesday he did not know of Sydnee Steele's background in the adult video industry when he arranged in January for her to speak at the meeting.
He canceled her July 13 appearance in deference to some attorneys who questioned the appropriateness of Steele's presence, O'Reilly said.
The topic of Steele's planned talk was to have been "Sex and love -- making your time away from the office really count and how to not wind up as one of your clients."
O'Reilly said Steele was not to have appeared on any of the continuing legal education programs planned for the July 12-15 weekend in Manchester Village, Vt. "It was basically an entertainment presentation at 9:15 one of the nights," he said. "Her spiel is about relationships and making the best of your relationships."
Promotional materials for the meeting referred to Steele as an "internationally published author, speaker and sexual empowerment consultant."
More than 300 people registered for last year's summer meeting, O'Reilly said.
Steele, 38, has said she retired from the adult video industry in 2005 after making more than 200 films and now works full time as an author and relationship consultant.
