e-Journal
03-25
MBA On Demand
Annual Conference 2010 programming on "Compliance with the New Massachusetts Data Privacy Laws" now available
Practitioners who were not able to
attend the March 11 CLE plenary session on how to "Protect Your
Firm and Client Information: Compliance with the New Massachusetts
Data Privacy Laws" at Annual Conference 2010 can now purchase the
recorded session through MBA On Demand. Annual Conference 2010's
recent developments breakout sessions are also available.
MBA On Demand is a new MBA member benefit that offers you the
opportunity to watch an MBA program from the comfort of your home
or office, at a time that suits your schedule.
Click here to purchase the plenary session on
how to "Protect Your Firm and Client Information: Compliance with
the New Massachusetts Data Privacy Laws."
After you place a session order, you will receive an order
confirmation e-mail containing a link to your "My Resources" profile. Your "My Resources"
profile will permanently house all MBA On Demand products you
order.
For information about On Demand system
requirements and how to use the player, click here.
NOTE: Due to high interest in MBA On
Demand, you may experience connectivity issues when attempting to
view an On Demand product. Please be patient and try the link
again.
The MBA welcomes feedback on your MBA On Demand experience.
E-mail us your questions and comments to [e-mail ondemand].
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School and The Winsor School to compete at the MBA's 2010 Mock Trial Finals
High School teams from Boston and
South Hadley will compete for the Massachusetts Bar Association's
2010 Mock Trial State Championship at Faneuil Hall in Boston
tomorrow.
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School in South
Hadley and The Winsor School in Boston will square off at 10 a.m.
in the Great Hall of Faneuil Hall. The teams advanced after winning
semi-final elimination rounds held simultaneously at courthouses in
Boston and Worcester earlier this week.
Superior Court Justice Peter W. Agnes Jr. will preside over the
mock trial and will be assisted by Norfolk Probate and Family Court
Associate Justice John D. Casey and District Court Justice Barbara
Savitt Pearson. The winning team will secure the state championship
and advance to the national competition in Philadelphia, Penn. held
May 6-9.
The Mock Trial Program began its 25th year in January.
The competition places high school teams from 16 regions across the
state in simulated courtroom situations where they assume the roles
of lawyers, defendants and witnesses in hypothetical cases. This
year's civil case involves an individual who loses a large sum of
money after investing a daughter's college fund with a brokerage
firm financial advisor. The case focuses on whether the firm and/or
the advisor are responsible.
More than 100 high schools across the state initially signed up to
participate in the 2010 Mock Trial Program. The preliminary trials
began at the end of January. Local attorneys served as both team
coaches and judges of the preliminary trials.
The Mock Trial Program is
administered by the MBA, and made possible by the international law
firm of Brown Rudnick through its Center for the Public Interest in
Boston, which has contributed $25,000 per year to the program since
1998.
LPM Tip
Blogging for fun and profit
In the Age of Twitter, blogging has come to seem quaint and
old-fashioned. While Twitter is undeniably a great channel for
communication, the 140-character limit on each tweet makes it
imperative to link frequently to other content. Tweeting
links to your own blog helps build credibility - both through
thoughtful writing and through establishment of a bigger digital
footprint - so long as you don't link only to your own blog.
Click here to purchase the MBA On Demand
recording of Annual Conference 2010's plenary session on "Social
Media for Lawyers," where you can find some tips on
blogging.
One way to connect with other law bloggers - or blawgers - around
the country, and to get broader exposure for your own blawg, is by
reading, contributing to, and eventually hosting, Blawg
Review. This is a weekly "blog carnival," or compendium of
blawg posts that is hosted by a different blawger each week (and
presided over by an anonymous editor, known only as "Ed"). Links to
current and past editions are on the Blawg Review Home page. This
weekly digest is usually quite entertaining to read, but it is also
chock full of links to a diverse group of posts you might not
otherwise find. Even if you don't begin blogging this week, I
highly recommend following Blawg Review in order to see what some
successful lawyers are doing on line, and commenting on some of the
collected posts, if you are so moved. Call it the new water cooler
or the new town square, but whatever you call the blawgosphere, you
should be there.
David Harlow, principal of The Harlow Group LLC, in Newton,
blogs at HealthBlawg and has hosted Blawg Review four
times. You should follow him on Twitter.
Harlow spoke on: "Marketing and Branding Your Practice Using Social
Media" at the MBA Annual Conference 2010 on March 11.
Published March 25, 2010
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For more helpful tips, join the MBA's Law Practice Management
Section. Call MBA Member Services at (617) 338-0530 to join.
To learn more about the Law Practice Management Section,
contact Co-Chairs Andrea
Goldman or
Rodney Dowell.
MBA section news
Access to Justice and General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section seminar; Individual Rights & Responsibilities open meeting; How to Represent Claimants (employees) at Unemployment Insurance Hearings; Juvenile & Child Welfare Section Council April open meeting; Municipal Tax and State Tax Practice Groups open meeting
Access to Justice and General
Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section seminar
Earning Attorney Fee Awards
for Helping Low and Middle Income Clients
Wednesday, March 31, 4-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Are you looking to earn additional
income? Attend this seminar and learn how to expand your practice
to include statutory fee awards for resolving legal problems for
low and middle income clients. Topics include:
- Federal: How to claim and collect attorneys'
fees in civil rights litigation and under the Equal Access to
Justice Act. Fees may be available in areas including civil rights,
Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare benefits,
HUD, EPA, INS, OSHA and NLRB; and
- State: More than 40 state statutes have an
attorneys' fee provision. Learn how to compute fees, costs and
expenses.
Faculty: James
Breslauer, Esq., program chair, Neighborhood Legal Services,
Lawrence; Hon. Bonnie H. MacLeod-Mancuso, Superior Court, Boston;
Patti A. Prunhuber, Esq., Legal Assistance Corp. of Central
Massachusetts, Worcester
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Individual Rights &
Responsibilities open meeting
Guantanamo Bay: Opened -
Closed, Why and When
Thursday, April 8, 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. A
panel comprised of 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 Massachusetts, Worcester;
Fausto Da Rocha, executive director, Brazilian
Immigrant Center, Allston; Kevin Powers, Esq.,
Rodgers Powers & Schwartz LLP, Boston; and Shiva
Karimi, Esq., Law Office of Shiva Karimi, Boston 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. This meeting is free. 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;
- Selected syllabus of Supreme Court decisions regarding
detainees;
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How to Represent Claimants
(employees) at Unemployment Insurance Hearings
Thursday, April 8, noon-3
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The Labor & Employment, Civil
Litigation and Access to Justice sections and Young Lawyers
Division are proud to co-sponsor a training seminar on How to
Represent Claimants (employees) at Unemployment Insurance
Hearings. This seminar will be provided by Greater Boston
Legal Service's Employment Law Unit and the Volunteer Lawyers
Project.
The program is free of charge, however, all attendees are strongly
encouraged to become a member of the Volunteer Lawyers Project pro
bono panel and agree to take one pro bono unemployment insurance
case over the next year. Given the current economic climate, there
is an enormous need for claimant representation at unemployment
hearings. Legal Services, however, cannot not meet the demand for
representation therefore we urge all attendees to volunteer to be
part of VLP's pro-bono panel. All volunteers must be licensed to
practice law in Massachusetts. Training topics will include:
- How to represent a claimant at an unemployment hearing;
- Basic procedures for initial unemployment determinations;
and
- Practical information about conducting direct and cross
examination and witness preparation.
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Juvenile & Child Welfare
Section Council April open meeting
Featuring Chief Justice
Michael F. Edgerton
Wednesday, April 14, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The Juvenile & Child Welfare
Section Council will host an open meeting on Wednesday, April 14
from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m at the MBA, 20 West St., Boston. The guest
speaker will be Chief Justice Michael F. Edgerton
of the Juvenile Court Department. This meeting is free. All section
members are invited to attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Associaton of
Assessing Offices, county assessors associations, Lincoln Institute
of Land Policy and the MBA and Boston Bar Assocation's taxation
committes. This meeting is free.
Upcoming CLE seminar and program schedule
Register for the "Alternative Careers: Opportunities in Higher Education Administration" 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
March/April CLE brochure, click here.
This week's highlighted programs include:
- The Impact of Social Networking on Employment Law
Luncheon Roundtable
- Earning Attorney Fee Awards for Helping Low and
Middle Income Clients
- Probate/ Property Series: Part III - Probating Real
Estate from Start to Finish
- Basics of Divorce Practice
- Alternative Careers: Opportunities in Higher
Education Administration
- Contempt Trends and Beyond
- Save the date: 31st Annual Labor & Employment
Law Spring Conference
- MBA co-sponsored program: Rebuilding Financial
Integrity
Scroll down for program descriptions, dates and
registration details.
MARCH CLE PROGRAMS
The Impact of Social Networking on
Employment Law Luncheon Roundtable
Wednesday, March 31, noon - 1:30 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Earning Attorney Fee Awards for Helping
Low and Middle Income Clients
Wednesday, March 31, 4 - 7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Probate/ Property Series: Part III -
Probating Real Estate from Start to Finish
Tuesday, April 6, 4 - 7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Basics of Divorce
Practice
Tuesday, April 6, 4 - 7 p.m.
Western New England College School of Law, 1215 Wilbraham Road,
Springfield
Alternative Careers: Opportunities in
Higher Education Administration
**Sponsored by the Lawyers in Transition
Committee**
Wednesday, April 7, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Hampden Superior Court-Hall of Justice, Commissioners Hearing
Room, 2nd Floor, Springfield
Contempt Trends and
Beyond
Thursday, April 8, 4 - 7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
SAVE THE DATE
31st Annual Labor & Employment Law
Spring Conference
Tuesday, May 11, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave.,
Boston
9 a.m.: Discrimination: Survey and Hot
Topics
10:15 a.m.: Discrimination: Practice Tips and
Technology Issues
11:15 a.m.: Break
11:30 a.m.: Wage and Hour Update and Practice
Tips on Collective Actions
12:10 p.m.: Lunch featuring Keynote
Speaker Stuart J. Ishimaru, acting chairman, U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
1 p.m.: Labor Law Update
2 p.m.: Break
2:10 p.m.: Practice Issues Faced by Employment
Lawyers
3:10 p.m.: Summary Judgment: The Real World
featuring the Hon. William G. Young
4:10 p.m.: Reception
MBA CO-SPONSORED PROGRAM
Rebuilding Financial Integrity: The
Emergence of Business Ethics in Institutional
Reform
Thursday, April 1, 1:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Suffolk University Sargent Hall, 120 Tremont St.,
Boston
The MBA invites you to this timely symposium at Suffolk
University, followed by a reception at the Union Club and
book-signing by keynote speaker Harry Markopolos, the Madoff
"Whistleblower." Additional outstanding speakers include
individuals from The Ethics & Compliance Officer Association;
Federal Reserve Bank-St. Louis; Boston Securities and Exchange
Commission; Financial Industry Regulatory Assocation, and
TIAA-CREF.
The event offers four CLE credits to attendees and Massachusetts
Bar Association members will be able to attend at the discounted
rate of $50. This program is co-sponsored by the MBA, TIAA-CREF,
Suffolk University Sawyer Business School and the Suffolk Alumni
Association.
NOTE: Click here to register. Registration for this
program is through Suffolk University and NOT the MBA.
How to Use the Mortgage Discharge Statute
to Improve Your Real Estate Practice
Featured member benefit: LimoLiner
Heading to New York to enjoy a spring activity such as the Macy's flower show, new art exhibits or fleet week?
Take the
LimoLiner, a luxurious 28 passenger custom coach designed for
executive class travel, and receive a special MBA discount
of 10 percent off the regular LimoLiner round
trip fare of $178.
LimoLiner allows you to make the most of your time by
offering a full complement of business and personal services,
including:
- Conveniently
scheduled arrivals and departures from Hilton Hotels in Boston and
Manhattan, with an on demand stop at the Mass Pike Park and Ride
Commuter Lot in Framingham (there is free parking in Framingham for
Limoliner passengers);
- Free Internet
access;
- Clear and
constant cell phone reception;
- Work tables for
on road meetings;
- Advanced seat
selection of 28 leather reclining armchairs;
- Daily round
trips, seven days a week;
- Itinerary change
without penalty;
- Full refund for
trip cancellation or credit for future trip; and
- Light meals,
snacks and beverages.
For more information and a full
schedule, visit LimoLiner.com or call (888) LIM-LINZ.
To receive the special MBA rate, enter
C1050 in the Promo Code box.