Ethel Sorokin also served on the Judicial Review Council, hearing ethical complaints about judges from 1979 to 1992, and held positions with local and national bar organizations.
She was a frequent speaker on privacy issues and free press topics. Together with Milton Sorokin, who died in 1996, she created the Center For First Amendment Rights in Hartford, which featured annual symposiums of nationally recognized speakers on free press topics.
A few years ago, the center merged its Milton Sorokin Symposium and other programs into the ACLU. Throughout the year, the program organizes lectures and classes for middle school and high school students to increase awareness of First Amendment freedoms.
Jeff White, who chairs Robinson & Cole's appellate practice group, was a UConn law student back in 2001 when he first met Ethel Sorokin. White was in the law library when he noticed an index card on a bulletin board marked "Center For First Amendment Rights."
The organization was looking for a volunteer newsletter editor. When White called, Ethel answered the phone. "By the time we hung up, she'd given me five things to do," he said. "She was one of those people who was able to call you on the phone and you wouldn't be able to say no."
White stayed on with the center for several years, helping out whenever he could. Even as his career grew more demanding, he enjoyed working with Ethel to organize the annual symposium. "Her heart was in the right place. She was just one of those people who you don't mind helping out," he said. "I was sad when I heard she passed away."
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