e-Journal
03-15
Become a sponsor of the 2012 MBA Annual Dinner
Dinner to include Legislator of the Year Awardee DeLeo and annual Access to Justice Award presentations
The Massachusetts Bar Association will hold its 2012 Annual
Dinner on Thursday, May 31 at the Westin Boston Waterfront, 425
Summer St., Boston. The event will feature the presentation
of the Legislator of the Year Award to Speaker Robert A.
DeLeo and the annual MBA Access to Justice Awards.
Attend this annual event as a sponsor. Sponsorship opportunities
to consider include:
- Platinum Sponsor ($5,000)
Table for 10, full page ad in dinner program, firm logo projected
at the dinner, sponsorship level recognition in Lawyers
Journal and on MBA website
- Gold Sponsor ($3,500)
Table for 10, 1/2 page ad in dinner program, firm logo projected
at the dinner, sponsorship level recognition in Lawyers
Journal and on MBA website
- Silver sponsor ($2,500)
Table for 10, 1/4 page ad in dinner program, firm logo
projected at the dinner
Click here to register for the MBA's
2012 Annual Dinner online. For a printable PDF outlining
sponsorship opportunities and table reservation information,
click
here. For additional information call (617) 338-0543.
Join us at Court Advocacy Day next Monday, March 19
Help urge legislators to support $593.9 million for FY13 court funding
The Massachusetts Bar Association and
the Boston Bar Association will host Court Advocacy Day at the
Statehouse on Monday, March 19 at 11 a.m. to underscore the
importance of the Massachusetts Trial Court receiving its requested
funding for fiscal year 2013.
Click here to
R.S.V.P.
The Trial Court has asked for $593.9 million to ensure quality
justice for the citizens of the commonwealth. This level of funding
is necessary for the court to continue to provide basic services to
the public. Without it, justice is in jeopardy.
Following a brief speaking program at 11 a.m. at the Grand
Staircase inside the Statehouse, event attendees will be encouraged
to meet with their local legislators to emphasize the need for
$593.9 million in funding.
In addition to MBA President Richard P. Campbell, featured
speakers will include Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick
L. Ireland; Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert
A. Mulligan; and BBA President Lisa C. Goodheart.
"Full funding of the Massachusetts courts is absolutely crucial to
preserving the rule of law in Massachusetts," Campbell said. "The
legal community's participation in Court Advocacy Day will help
send an important message to the Legislature: adequate funding of
the courts ensures the level of service the public needs. Adequate
funding also calls to the forefront, the public's constitutional
right to a properly functioning court."
Gov. Deval L. Patrick released his FY 13 state budget proposal in
late January. Recognizing the tremendous cuts already endured by
the court system, Patrick recommends level funding for the courts.
The March 19 Court Advocacy Day will take place in advance of the
House and Senate budget debates slated for April and May,
respectively.
Court Advocacy Day complements the Massachusetts Bar Association's
comprehensive public awareness campaign on the underfunded courts.
In addition to a statewide billboard campaign on this topic, the
MBA has posted videos on YouTube and conducted outreach to members
of the legal community and other key community leaders and groups.
All stress the importance of adequately funding the state's third
branch of government.
For more information on the March 19 event or on the MBA's overall
campaign on underfunded courts, visit
www.massbar.org.
Featured member benefit: MBA Member Appreciation Week, April 2-6
R.S.V.P. for the FREE April 5 Member Appreciation Dessert Tasting and Reception; Participate in exclusive giveaways and raffles
Click here to register for the reception and
to enter to win.
Register for the April 5 MUPC Help Desk Training
Learn how to answer MUPC questions from peer attorneys, as well as pro se petitioners
As the courts prepare their staff for the new MUPC, going
into effect in 2012, the Massachusetts Bar Association has
been working hard to prepare the bar. As
practitioners, we now have the opportunity to assist the
Probate and Family Court through this important transition.
The MBA was committed to the passage of the MUPC and that
commitment continues with its implementation. Members of the MBA,
Boston Bar Association and attorneys from the Probate Court have
collaborated to develop programs in which volunteer members of the
bar can be most helpful to the court, attorneys and pro se
petitioners. One program is the "MUPC Resource Desks" that will be
located in the Probate Court registries throughout the
commonwealth.
Ideally, the resource desks will be staffed one to two days a
week for at least two hours each day. Volunteer attorneys will
answer questions from peer attorneys, as well as pro se
petitioners, and walk them through the new substantive rules
and Probate Court forms.
Attorneys interested in volunteering
their time for this important resource are encouraged to attend an
April 5 Resource Desk Volunteer Training at the MBA Boston
offices from noon to 1:30 p.m. Interested attorneys have the
choice to participate in person, remotely via real-time webcast, or
at a later date and time, through MBA On Demand.
Upcoming CLE seminar and program schedule
Attend the first seminar in the "Lifecycle of a Business" series and learn how to establish, operate and conclude business entities on March 21.
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
Responding to Disaster -- FEMA Eligibility and
Reimbursement 
Tuesday, March 20, noon-2 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Legal Chat: Handling Short Sales
Tuesday, March 20, 4-5 p.m.
NOTE: There is no on-site attendance for Legal Chats.
How to Conduct an Open Meeting Law
Training
Wednesday, March 21, 9 a.m.-11 a.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Law Practice Management Section Educational Series:
Marketing Madness -- Developing a Marketing Plan
Wednesday, March 21, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Lifecycle of a Business Part 1: Forming a Business
& Protecting Assets
Wednesday, March 21, 5-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
It's Confidential -- Privilege Law in Massachusetts
Thursday, March 29, 4:30-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Taking on the Anti-Bullying Law From All
Angles
Friday, March 30, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
Criminal/ Immigration Law Training
Conference 
Wednesday, May 9, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
GP Solo Symposium 
Thursday, May 10, noon-5 p.m.
Lombardo's, 6 Billings St., Randolph
33rd Annual Labor &
Employment Law Spring Conference
Friday, May 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston
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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.
Top: Hon. James F. McHugh, recently retired associate justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, speaks to Tiered Community Mentoring Program participants.
Bottom: Students from the New Mission High School, Roxbury Community College and Suffolk University Law School participate in the March 9 program.
Photos by Joe Caci.
MBA's Tiered Community Mentoring Program learns about the SJC
On Friday, March 9, the MBA's Tiered Community Mentoring Program
participants were invited to observe two Supreme Judicial Court
hearings on first-degree murder appeal cases at the John Adams
Courthouse in Boston. Over 30 high school, college and law school
students attended, including students from the New Mission High
School, Roxbury Community College and Suffolk University Law
School. Also, in attendance were several of the Tiered
Community Mentoring Program's attorney mentors.
In addition to observing two hearings, the Tiered Community
Mentoring Program participants were able to view presentations from
the Hon. James F. McHugh, recently retired associate justice of the
Massachusetts Appeals Court (pictured), who opened the event by
giving attendees an overview the SJC and appeal process, and the
Hon. Peter Agnes Jr., associate justice of the Massachusetts
Appeals Court, who closed the event by answering attendee's
questions.
The Tiered Community Mentoring Program provides students at
the high school, undergraduate, and law school levels access to
legal professionals to provide them with an understanding of the
legal profession and an awareness of the career opportunities
available to them. The program is based in Boston in an effort to
reach urban high school students, with a focus on building a
diverse mentoring network.
LPM Tip
Signature Authority: Using footer tools to create template e-mails
As an attorney, you likely create numbers of template documents
for use in your practice. Perhaps you've even established nifty methods for advancing your document
library. Only, these days, the vast majority of business
communications are through e-mail. So, do you utilize email
templates? If not, there's a fairly easy way to begin to do so,
that may make your practice life a little bit easier. If you love
document templates, you're really going to love e-mail
templates.
Most people use e-mail signatures to apply standard footers to their messages; but, you need not
stop there. You can use the signature feature to create entire
template e-mails; and, it's literally just as easy as typing your
template in, saving it as a signature and applying it when you need
it. (For the limited information that will change within the
template, use highlighted language to reflect where specific
information will need to be included before sending.)
Here are some instructions on how to set up signatures within the
two most popular business e-mail platforms:
- Outlook; and
-
GMail (use 'Canned Responses' from GMail Labs, since GMail's basic signature tool
only allows you to create one, traditional footer; though, full
disclosure: I've had a great deal of trouble getting 'Canned
Responses' to work at all -- the Outlook option is vastly superior,
in my opinion).
Keep in mind, however, that you can't append more than one
footer (your standard footer) to a single e-mail in Outlook,
because the second footer (your template e-mail) will entirely
overwrite the first -- though, this does not appear to be the case
with GMail Canned Responses. There is, however, an easy solution to
this Outlook issue: Just add your standard footer to the end of
each of your template e-mail signatures, and the whole thing
(template e-mail signature and standard footer) will show up.
If your e-mail system does not offer the capability to create
multiple signatures, or if the functionality is far too wonky to be
useful (as it has been for me, in GMail), WiseStamp can
add the functionality, for a number of e-mail platforms.
Tip courtesy of Jared Correia, Law Office
Management Assistance Program.
Published March 15, 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.
From left to right: Michael Y. Saji (WilmerHale LLP) of AALAM, BC Law Dean Vincent D. Rougeau, BC Law Alumni Board Member in charge of affinity groups, AALAM and BBA Council member Ingrid C. Schroffner (Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services); and Kelli J. Powell (WilmerHale LLP) of the MBLA.
Photo courtesy of Ingrid C. Schroffner.
MBA attends Boston College Law's Fourth Annual Diversity Bar Review
On March 12, Boston College Law School held its Diversity Bar
cocktail event, inviting representatives from state affinity and
mainstream bar associations to come, mingle with the students and
discuss life after law school. More than 200 students and faculty
attended the event for an evening of networking.
This event, the first one attended by BC Law's new dean, Vincent
D. Rougeau, included members from the Massachusetts Bar
Association, Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts,
Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association,
Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association and Women's Bar Association.
The event sponsored by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
as part of its sponsorship of BC Law Diversity Month.
News from the courts
SJC approves changes to Rule 7 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure
The Supreme Judicial Court has approved changes to Rule 7 of the
Rules of the Rules of Criminal Procedure effective June 1,
2012.
Click here to view the
changes.
Section News: Upcoming meetings and special section events
Join in the March 20 Labor & Employment, Criminal Justice, General Practice and Property Law section council meetings. Attend the March 21 Civil Litigation, Judicial Administration, Probate Law and Taxation Law section council meetings.
Labor & Employment Section
Council meeting
Tuesday, March 20, 4:30-6
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Labor &
Employment Section Council is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20 from
4:30 to 6 p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
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Criminal Justice Section Council
Meeting
Tuesday, March 20,
6-7:30 p.m.
Western Mass Correctional Alcohol Center, 26 Howard St.,
Springfield
The next meeting of the Criminal
Justice Section Council is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, from 6
to 7:30 p.m. (NOTE:change of time) at the Western Massachusetts
Correctional Alcohol Center, 26 Howard St., Springfield. The guest
speaker will be Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni.
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General Practice, Solo &
Small-Firm Section Council meeting
Tuesday, March 20,
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
Wednesday, March 20 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. All section members are
invited to attend.
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Property Law Section Council
meeting
Tuesday, March 20,
5:30-7 p.m..
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Property Law
Section Council is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20 from 5:30 to 7
p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
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Civil Litigation Section Council
meeting
Wednesday, March 21,
4:30-6 p.m..
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Civil
Litigation Section Council is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21
from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
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Judicial Administration Section
Council meeting
Wednesday, March 21,
4:30-6 p.m..
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Judicial
Administration Section Council is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21
from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
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Probate Law Section Council
meeting
Wednesday, March 21,
5-6:30 p.m..
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Probate Law
Section Council is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21 from 5 to 6:30
p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
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Taxation Law Section Council
meeting
Wednesday, March 21,
5-6:30 p.m..
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Taxation Law
Section Council is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21 from 5 to 6:30
p.m. All section members are invited to attend.