e-Journal
01-19
Rep. Cabral, Sen. Rodrigues among speakers at Jan. 26 forum on Gateway Cities
MBA to host event at UMass School of Law
Massachusetts Bar Association members are invited to join MBA,
legislative and community leaders at a Jan. 26 forum on Gateway
Cities to be held at UMass School of Law in Dartmouth beginning at
5 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served during the opening
meet-and-greet reception, which will give way to an informational
forum. Leaders who have long worked with the issues impacting the
state's Gateway Cities will share their insight. The final leg of
the evening will focus on pinpointing ways in which the legal
community can help address such issues.
Some of the evening's featured speakers include MBA
President-elect Robert L. Holloway Jr.;
UMass School of Law Dean Michael G. Hillinger;
Rep. Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford)
and Sen. Benjamin Downing (D-Pittsfield).,
chairs of the Gateway Cities Caucus; representatives from MassINC
and UMass Dartmouth's Urban Institute; as well as other leading
voices on the academic, economic and cultural aspects impacting
Gateway Cities.
"The focus of the forum is to identify ways in which attorneys can
lend their expertise with issues affecting Gateway City communities
across Massachusetts," MBA President Richard P. Campbell said.
Campbell identified a Gateway Cities initiative as one of his
priorities for the 2011-12 association year. He named Margaret D.
Xifaras, who practices in New Bedford, and Francis A. Ford, who
practices in Worcester, to lead this important effort.
Xifaras will moderate the Jan. 26 forum.
Massachusetts' Gateway Cities are those mid-sized cities whose
residents are experiencing significantly higher rates of
unemployment and a stalemate in social, economic and civic
innovation. Some examples are Brockton, Fall River, Lawrence, New
Bedford, Springfield and Worcester.
Members interested in attending
should R.S.V.P. to Gwen Landford at (617) 338-0694 or glandford.
From left to right: Program co-chairs Marc L. Breakstone, Esq. and David W. White Jr., Esq. of Breakstone, White & Gluck PC in Boston.
Do you dream of starting your own practice?
Register for the Jan. 26 "How to Start and Run A Successful Solo or Small-Firm Practice" conference
Do you dream of "hanging your shingle?" Have the recent law firm
mergers and shifts affected you? Are you reevaluating your career
and thinking about striking out on your own? Are you a law student
with a plan to go straight into your own practice? "How to Start
and Run a Successful Solo or Small-Firm Practice" is a
comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts seminar about how to set up and
operate your own firm.
This lively program, which has been one of the most popular and
valuable MBA seminars to date -- attended, literally, by thousands
-- includes a working, networking lunch for a chance to meet with
colleagues who can help get you started. Program highlights
include:
- The Mechanics of Setting Up Your Firm;
- The Mechanics of Running Your Firm;
- The Essentials of Marketing; and
- Putting It All Together.
Click
here to register and for faculty information.
MBA members at the November 2011 Member Appreciation Reception.
Attend next week's Member Appreciation Reception
Network with MBA members on Jan. 26
Join the Massachusetts Bar Association at a Member Appreciation
Reception and Networking Event from 5 to 7 p.m. following
the Jan. 26 "How to Start and Run" Conference at Lombardo's, 16
Billings St., Randolph.
This event will feature passed hors d'oeuvres and beer and
wine.
Join the MBA at a Feb. 9 young lawyers' speed networking event
Bring your business cards and join us for an evening of
networking and fun at the MBA on Thursday, Feb. 9.
The night will begin with a speed networking session for new
attorneys and members of the MBA's Young Lawyers Division at
5:30 p.m. The speed networking session will be
followed by a cocktail reception where you will have the
opportunity to mingle with members of the MBA's leadership.
Click here to
R.S.V.P. Space is limited.
MBA co-sponsors Uniform Commercial Code Conference at New England Law | Boston on Feb. 16
Is the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) meeting today's finance and
technology needs? Is the code exploding or imploding? The
Massachusetts Bar Association is proud to co-sponsor
the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Conference, which will
feature leading national authorities on current issues bearing upon
the scope of the UCC's article 2 (sales) and the application of
article 9 (secured transactions). The panelists will discuss
related bodies of law, including the American Law Institute's
Principles of the Law of Software Contracts.
The article 2 panel, beginning at 1 p.m., will discuss attempts
to revise article 2, contracts for the development and transfer of
software, bankruptcy claims and defining electricity as a
"good."
The article 9 panel, beginning at 3:15 p.m., will discuss recent
amendments to article 9, recent commentary issued by the
Permanent Editorial Board for the Uniform Commercial Code and
the intersection of articles 9 and 3 with real property law
pertaining to foreclosures.
Registration is requested by
Monday, Feb. 6 by e-mailing abigail.p.adams or calling (617)
455-5705. Please include your name, affiliation, phone number and
e-mail address.
Click here for
more program and panelist information.
Photograph by
Christine Peterson
2011 Walk to the Hill.
MBA President Campbell, SJC Justice Gants to speak at Jan. 26 Walk to the Hill
Hundreds of attorneys to gather at State House to ask for increased civil legal aid funding
Massachusetts Bar Association President Richard P. Campbell and
Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Ralph D. Gants will join
hundreds of private attorneys from more than 50 Boston-area law
firms at the State House on Thursday, Jan. 26 for the Walk to the
Hill for Civil Legal Aid. The goal of this annual lobby day, one of
the best attended in the state, is to ask for increased state
funding for programs that provide civil legal aid to low-income
Massachusetts residents.
Gants will kick off the speaking program at 11:30 a.m. in the
Great Hall of Flags. Following the speaking program, attorneys will
visit their legislators and ask them to increase funding for the
Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation line item (MLAC,
0321-1600) by $5 million to $14.5 million in the FY13 budget.
Increased funding is critical to restore service levels and prevent
further cuts to legal aid programs, as they have been struggling to
meet demand due to a 78 percent decrease in revenue since FY08 from
the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program, the other
major funding source for civil legal aid.
Walk to the Hill is sponsored by the Equal Justice Coalition,
Boston Bar Association and MBA, and it is co-sponsored by 30 county
and specialty bar associations.
The speaking program will be held from 11:30 a.m. to noon
and includes:
- Justice Ralph D. Gants of the Supreme Judicial Court;
- Massachusetts Bar Association President Richard P.
Campbell;
- Boston Bar Association President Lisa C. Goodheart; and
- Remon Jourdan of Randolph -- former client, Greater Boston
Legal Services.
Sandy Moskowitz, chair of the Equal Justice Coalition, will
serve as the program's emcee, and Jacquelynne Bowman, executive
director of Greater Boston Legal Services, will provide lobbying
instructions to the participants.
Have you registered for next week’s Massachusetts Bar Foundation Annual Meeting?
Honorable William G. Young will receive the MBF Great Friend of Justice award and deliver keynote
Click here to R.S.V.P. for the MBF's 2012
Annual Meeting.
LPM Tip
A matter of trust: Attorney funds may be deposited into IOLTA account to cover bank charges
While there is some confusion existing over this point,
attorneys can deposit some of their own money into their
IOLTA accounts in order to cover for bank charges. The reference
from the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct is
at Rule 1.15 (b)(2)(i):
'(2) No funds belonging to the lawyer shall be deposited or
retained in a trust account except that:
(i) Funds reasonably sufficient to pay bank charges may be
deposited therein'
This article, from the Board of Bar
Overseers' ethics articles repository, makes reference to
recordkeeping requirements for those funds deposited therein, as
follows:
'Records that lawyers are required to make and keep of the receipt
and disposition of trust funds-- including a check register,
individual client ledgers and an additional individual ledger for
the small
amount of the lawyer's own funds on deposit to pay bank
charges-- are described in detail. Rule 1.15(f).'
(emphasis mine)
Here's more, from the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee, as follows:
'It is permissible to maintain a minimal amount of attorney funds
in the account to cover service charges, check charges and minimum
balances. Treat these funds as a separate "client" and keep track
of them on their own ledger. Deduct these charges from the account
balance.'
You can, and should, keep a nominal amount of your own money in
your IOLTA account, in order to cover for the referenced, potential
charges -- especially if you take credit card payments, where 'chargebacks' are at issue. (If you do take
credit cards for payment, consider the Massachusetts
Bar Association member benefit company, Affinipay's LawPay credit card processing program, to help
you to manage those transactions.)
Tip courtesy of Jared Correia, Law Office
Management Assistance Program.
Published January 19, 2012
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To learn more about the Law Practice Management
Section, which is complimentary for all MBA members,
contact LPM Section Chair Thomas J. Barbar or Vice
Chair Stephen
Seckler.
Upcoming CLE seminar and program schedule
Learn how to represent an individual accused of a crime at the Feb. 1 "A Criminal Lawyer's Guide to Practice in the Massachusetts District Courts."
To register for the following
programs, call MBA Member Services at (617) 338-0530,
[e-mail membership] or visit the
CLE Web site. Scroll down for program
details, including dates and registration details.
Recorded session available for purchase
after live program through MBA On Demand.
Real-time webcast available for purchase
through MBA On Demand.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
How to Start and Run A Successful Solo or
Small-Firm Practice
Thursday, Jan. 26, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Lombardo's, 16 Billings St., Randolph
A
Criminal Lawyer's Guide to Practice in the Massachusetts District
Courts
Wednesday, Feb. 1, noon-5 p.m.
Massachusetts School of Law, 500 Federal St., Andover
Law Practice Management Section Educational
Series: Rules You Need to Know 
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Contempt Actions in the Probate and Family
Court: Cut and Dry?
Thursday, Feb. 2, 3-5 p.m.
Norfolk Probate & Family Court, 35 Shawmut Road,
Canton
SAVE THE DATE
MUPC
Basics: An Overview of the New Massachusetts Uniform Probate
Code
Friday, Feb. 10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Massachusetts School of Law, 500 Federal St., Andover
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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.
News from the courts
New and revised G.L. c. 209A forms effective Jan. 17
The new and revised forms promulgated for use in G.L. c. 209A
cases took effect on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
A revised Guide to Completing G.L. c. 209A Forms has been
posted here.
Printed forms have been sent to all divisions of the four Trial
Court Departments with jurisdiction over G.L. c. 209A cases. Other
forms are downloaded from the Trial Court intranet and printed for
use.
Revised forms have also been sent to police departments across the
state for use with the judicial response system.
The Trial Court web site includes:
- Complete set of forms used in G.L. c.209A cases;
- Revised Guide to Completing G.L. c.209A Forms;
- Highlights of revisions to existing forms and descriptions of
new forms; and
- Guidelines for Judicial Practice: Abuse Prevention
Proceedings (revised September 2011) and the Highlights of
the September 2011 Revisions.
MBA Past Presidents and current leadership at the 2011-12 Past Presidents' Dinner on Nov. 17.
MBA seeks nominations for 2012-13 officer and delegate positions
Submit nominations to MBA Secretary by Friday, Feb. 24
The Massachusetts Bar Association is currently accepting
nominations for officer and delegate positions for the 2012-13
membership year. Nominees must submit a letter of intent and a
current resume to MBA Secretary Robert W. Harnais by 5 p.m. on
Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 to be eligible.
To submit a nomination, mail or hand deliver the information
to:
Massachusetts Bar Association
Attn: Robert W. Harnais, MBA Secretary
20 West St., Boston, MA 02111
If you have any questions about the nomination process, call MBA
Chief Operating Officer Martin W. Healy at (617) 988-4777.
Click
here for nomination and election procedures.
Featured member benefit: Catuogno Court Reporting & StenTel Transcription
Get 10 percent off court reporting, videography, encrypted e-mail service and more.
Established in 1966, Catuogno Court Reporting & StenTel
Transcription is a legal support services company that offers MBA
members a special rate on services, including court reporting,
video depositions, videoconferencing, encrypted e-mail service and
legal dictation and transcription.
With five locations throughout the area (Boston, Worcester,
Chelmsford, Springfield and Providence) the Catuogno offices
provide more than 40 spacious conference rooms for depositions,
client meetings, arbitrations, mediations and videoconferencing
around the world.
Use your MBA membership card to take advantage of the following
discounts to reduce costs and increase your bottom line, by taking
10 percent off these services:
- Court reporting and depositions;
- Videography;
- Videoconferencing (over 10,000 connecting sites) DVD
available;
- Legal dictation and transcription (letters, summaries,
etc.);
- Recorded witness statement transcription; and
- Encrypted e-mail service.
Become a member of The Lawyer's Conference Centers and save 20
percent on your next service.
To take advantage of your special MBA membership discount, visit
www.catuogno.us/ or call (888) 228-8646.
*Valid MBA membership is required.
Section News: Upcoming meetings and special section events
Join in the Jan. 24 General Practice, Business Law and Access to Justice Section Council meetings. Law Practice Management Section seeks professionals knowledgeable about practice management.
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General Practice, Solo &
Small-Firm Section Council meeting
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 5:30-7
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the General
Practice, Solo & Small-Firm Section Council is scheduled for
Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. All section members are
invited to attend.
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Business Law Section Council
meeting
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 6-7:30
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Business Law
Section Council is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 6 to 7:30
p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
This meeting will focus on the independent contractor issue and
guest speakers include State Senator Michael Rodrigues and State
Representative Lori A. Ehrlich, who are co-chairing a special joint
sub-committee charged with devising an amendment to fix the current
situation in Massachusetts.
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Access to Justice Section Council
meeting
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 6-7:30
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Access to
Justice Section Council is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 6 to
7:30 p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
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Law Practice Management Section
seeks accountants, technology consultants and professionals
knowledgeable about practice management
Are you a member of the Massachusetts
Bar Association who works with attorneys and law firms on law
practice management issues? Do you have expertise in law firm
bookkeeping and finance, law office technology, legal marketing or
general office administration? The Law Practice Management Section
is in the process of helping to expand the MBA's mentoring program.
We are looking for volunteers who are willing to invest a few hours
a year helping MBA members who have questions about how to run a
law practice more efficiently and more effectively.
Interested in learning more? Contact LPM Section Vice Chair
Stephen Seckler at [e-mail legal].