New Massachusetts Law Review available

The volume 92, number 4, issue of Massachusetts Law Review was mailed this week to members. Articles include:

• "Civil Sanctions Revisited: The Unfinished Business;"
• "Third-Party Standing to Challenge Identifications in Massachusetts;" and
• "The Law of Humanity: Tracing the History of Animal Welfare Law in Massachusetts, and Anticipating the Next Step."

Also included in the issue are comments on the requirement of certification of an appropriation; an expert witness' reliance upon hearsay evidence; and unfair and deceptive practices in mortgage lending.

Click here to view the issue online.

Photograph by Tricia Oliver

MBA to hold free Visiting Lawyer Program for veterans in Western Mass. counties

The Massachusetts Bar Association will offer a free Visiting Lawyer Program to veterans in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties as part of our Serving Our Veterans in the Law initiative. The program will be held on Thursday, June 17 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Soldiers' Home, 110 Cherry St., Holyoke.

All veterans who reside in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties are eligible for the free program. Veterans will be matched with attorneys based on their legal concerns. Each in-person meeting will last 15 minutes. If you are an attorney and you would like to volunteer at the Visiting Lawyer Program, contact MBA Director of Community and Public Services Elizabeth A. O'Neil at (617) 338-0560 or via e-mail.

To participate, veterans can either call for an appointment or register online. The deadline for appointments is Friday, June 4. Walk-ins will not be accepted.

To schedule an appointment, call:

Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services Paralegal Gail Cavanaugh-McAuliffe
Toll free 888-844-2838, Ext. 5782, or (617) 210-5782

Click here to register online and click on the "Visiting Lawyer Program" button on the top right hand side of the page.
The event is co-hosted by the MBA, the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services (DVS) and Shelter Legal Services.

The Visiting Lawyer Program is provided at no charge as a public service of the MBA with the financial support of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, the philanthropic partner of the MBA. The MBA acknowledges its partnership DVS and thanks them for their important role in the success of the program.

The MBA's Serving Our Veterans in the Law initiative also includes a free weekly call-in service for veterans struggling with state and federal benefit appeals. Call (617) 338-0572 on Mondays from 3 to 5 p.m. Qualified veterans will be matched up with attorneys who agree to represent their case free of charge.

Photograph by Tracy Powell

John Richardson Ellement of the Boston Globe

Longtime Boston Globe reporter to be honored at "Excellence in the Law"

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and MBA partner to present May 20 event

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and the MBA will salute a star-studded roster of legal professionals at the annual Excellence in the Law celebration at the Boston Marriott Copley Place on May 20 beginning at 5:30 p.m. A cocktail reception will precede the awards ceremony.

In addition to the Diversity Heroes and Up & Coming Lawyers selected by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly to be honored at the event, the Excellence in the Legal Journalism Award will be presented to John Richardson Ellement, a reporter for The Boston Globe.

Richardson Ellement has been covering legal issues and breaking news for the Boston Globe since 1986. During his long-standing journalism career, he has covered the Boston police, ran the Globe's Suffolk County Court Bureau and more recently served as reporter/editor for the Globe's Web site, boston.com. Richardson Ellement has covered thousands of arraignments and hundreds of trials and has developed a keen knowledge of the Massachusetts legal system.

Click here for more information on the event.

MBA section news

Disturbing the universe; Municipal Tax and State Tax practice groups joint open meeting; Individual Rights & Responsibilities open meeting

Disturbing The Universe

A Documentary on Civil Rights Lawyer William Kunstler
Wednesday, May 5, 5:30-8 p.m.
Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston

The MBA's Access to Justice and Individual Rights & Responsibilities sections and the Women's Bar Association's Rosa Parks Committee are co-sponsoring this program. The documentary film will be followed by a discussion with local attorneys who have handled controversial cases from police misconduct to the rights of Guantanamo detainees.

Speakers include: Ellen Lubell, Tennant Lubell, LLC (past MBA Access to Justice Award winner), Howard Friedman, Law Office of Howard Friedman PC, Nancy Kelly, Greater Boston Legal Services,  John Wilshire-Carrera, Greater Boston Legal Services (past MBA Access to Justice Award winner), as well as a skype conversation with Sarah or Emily Kunstler.

R.S.V.P. directly to [e-mail mlindauer].

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Municipal Tax and State Tax Practice Groups open meeting

Thursday, May 6, 5-6:30 pm
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

The Taxation Law Section's Municipal Tax Practice Group and State Tax Practice Group will host a joint open meeting on Tuesday, May 6. The business meeting will begin at 5 p.m. and the guest speaker at 5:30 p.m. will be Mark Defrancisco, chief counsel to the Appellate Tax Board's legal department. Defrancisco advises the board on legal, evidentiary and related issues; reviews and advises the board on motions heard before the board; and drafts, edits and approves the board's findings of fact and reports. With experience in state and local taxation, in both the public and private sector, Defrancisco has spoken frequently on matters relating to Massachusetts taxation at conferences sponsored by MCLE, Massachusetts Association of Assessing Offices, county assessors associations, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the MBA and Boston Bar Association's taxation committees. This meeting is free.

To R.S.V.P., click here.

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Individual Rights & Responsibilities open meeting

Guantanamo Bay: Opened - Closed, Why and When
Thursday, May 27, 4-6 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

This open meeting presentation will explore the legal issues relating to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as legal, ethical and political principles relating to detainees.  

The panel will explore whether and to what extent Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be opened or closed, and the faculty will suggest what role citizens and legal practitioners can have as to the legal and political process. Topics include:

• Representation of detainees;
• The legal, ethical and political issues involved in representation of detainees;
• The role of citizens and lawyers as to Guantanamo Bay; and
• Selected syllabus of Supreme Court decisions regarding detainees.

Faculty:

Frank A. Smith, III, Esq., program co-chair, Law Office of Frank A. Smith III, Boston; Jonathan Mannina, Esq., program co-chair, Legal Assistance Corp.of Central Mass., Worcester; Buz Eisenberg, Esq., Weinberg & Garber PC, Northampton; Shiva Karimi, Esq., Karimi & Associates PC, Boston; Kevin G. Powers, Esq., Rodgers, Powers &  Schwartz LLP, Boston; Robert Roughsedge, Esq., Lawson & Weitzen LLP, Boston

To R.S.V.P., click here.

Upcoming CLE seminar and program schedule

Register for the "Alternative Careers in Development" roundtable

To register for the following programs, call MBA Member Services at (617) 338-0530, [e-mail membership] or visit the CLE Web site. To download a PDF of the May/June CLE brochure, click here.

Recorded session available for purchase after live program through MBA On Demand.

Real-time Webcast available for purchase through MBA On Demand.

MAY CLE PROGRAMS

The Anatomy of Enforceable Ante-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements
Monday, May 3, 4-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

Veterans Benefits: Aid & Attendance Eligibility and the Application
** Note: This particular CLE program does NOT meet the training guidelines set forth by the Veterans Administration with regards to the accreditation procedure.
Tuesday, May 4, 4-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

Alternative Careers in Development: Planned Giving, Major Gifts, Corporations and Foundations
** Sponsored by the Lawyers in Transition Committee
Wednesday, May 5, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

Representing the OUI Client
Wednesday, May 5, 4-7 p.m.
Massachusetts School of Law, 500 Federal St., Andover

How to Use the Mortgage Discharge Statute to Improve Your Real Estate Practice
Wednesday, May 5, 4-7 p.m.
Registry of Deeds, 90 Front St., Worcester

Intellectual Property Basics for the Non-Specialist
Thursday, May 6, 4-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

31^st Annual Labor & Employment Law Spring Conference
Tuesday, May 11, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston
**Click here to view the full conference schedule.

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Unable to attend these seminars? Purchase the recorded session available after the live program through MBA On Demand and watch the presentation from the comfort of your home or office.

To view a listing of current programs offered on MBA On Demand, click here.

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SAVE THE DATES

Fourth Annual Public Law Conference
Wednesday, June 2, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

Second Annual Health Law Conference
Wednesday, June 9, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

Criminal Justice Conference - Doing Time: Effective Advocacy at Sentencing and in the Parole Process
Tuesday, June 15, 2-6 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston

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DISCOUNTED PROGRAM FOR MBA MEMBERS

Detours & OnRamps: Trying to Make Work, Work for You?
Tuesday, May 4, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Bentley College, 175 Forest St., Waltham

Make plans to go to Detours & OnRamps, a one-day event focused on work/life balance, restarting a career or making a career work for your family. Mention the Massachusetts Bar Association to save $25 off the day's $125 registration fee (which covers sessions, meals, and a great "Goody Bag" of books, magazines, discounts, and more). Simply enter "MassBar" on the registration page where it asks "Where did you hear about us?" and you'll get a $25 credit within a day of registration.

Click here for a complete agenda and for registration information.

Featured member benefit: Catuogno Court Reporting & Sten-Tel Transcription Services

In need of video conferencing services, verbatim statements and interviews by phone with transcripts?

Catuogno Court Reporting & Sten-Tel Transcription Services offers MBA members a special rate on technological services, including court reporting, video depositions, videoconferencing and legal transcription.

With five offices located throughout the area (Boston, Worcester, Lawrence, Springfield and Providence) the Catuogno offices provide spacious conference rooms for depositions, client meetings, arbitrations, mediations, and videoconferencing around the world with over 10,000 sites.

Take advantage of the following discounts using your MBA member card to reduce costs and increase your bottom line:

• 10 percent discount on deposition services;
• 10 percent discount on transcription services;
• 10 percent discount on video conferencing services;
• 10 percent discount on statements and interviews by phone with transcript;
• Waiver of "set up" fee transcription services ($450 value); and
• Waiver of "annual support" fee  ($250 value).

To take advantage of your special MBA membership discount, visit Catuogno Court Reporting or call (888) 228-8646.

News from the Courts

Massachusetts Appeals Court to hold sitting in Fall River

A panel of three justices of the Massachusetts Appeals Court will hear oral arguments in six appeals in a special session to be held on Monday, May 3 at the campus of Bristol Community College, located at 777 Elsbree St., Fall River. The sitting, part of the Appeals Court's continuing outreach to communities outside Boston, is open to the public. Teachers and students from local area high schools are expected to attend and have been invited to participate in discussion sessions conducted by members of the Women's Bar Association.  

Oral arguments for each case take approximately thirty minutes. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. The SJC Rule for cameras in the courtroom will apply: http://www.massreports.com/courtrules/sjcrules.htm#1:19 .

Immediately following the session, members of the panel, Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza, Hon. Elspeth Cypher and Hon. James Milkey will conduct an informal question and answer period for the students on general topics related to the role of Massachusetts Appeals Court. (Pending matters will not be discussed.)