e-Journal
05-10
Have you registered for the 2012 MBA Annual Dinner?
The annual dinner will feature keynote speaker Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the presentation of the Legislator of the Year Award to Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and the Annual Access to Justice Awards
The Massachusetts Bar Association will hold its 2012 Annual
Dinner on Thursday, May 31 at the Westin Boston Waterfront, 425
Summer St., Boston. Join us for a reception, beginning at 5:30
p.m., which will be followed by the annual dinner at 7 p.m. The
event will feature a keynote address by Victoria Reggie Kennedy, 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, or consider purchasing a
table for your firm or office ($1,500). 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 displayed 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 displayed 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 view our current sponsors.
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.
Senate Ways and Means set to release budget proposal
Join the MBA in advocating for an adequately funded justice system throughout the budget process
As the result of last month's House of Representatives budget
debate, the Massachusetts Trial Court was funded at $560 million
for Fiscal Year 2013, $8 million below Gov. Deval Patrick's
recommendation.
Additional funding is essential to address critical court system
operating needs.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee will release its budget
proposal as early as Monday, May 14. Amendments will be due on May
18 and the budget will be debated by the full Senate beginning May
23.
Your continued outreach to your respective senators
is helpful as the Massachusetts Bar Association continues to
advocate for an adequately funded justice system throughout the
budget process.
As you know, the court system is serving approximately 42,000
people, who enter the courthouses each day, with more than 1,300
fewer court personnel since July 2007. Court backlogs are
increasing; many clerks and registers have had to reduce public
hours of operation, except for emergencies; and, there is an
insufficient number of court officers, which also increases
security risks and causes disruptions and delays.
For more information or resources to assist with your
outreach, click
here.
New issue of Lawyers Journal available
The May issue of Lawyers Journal has been mailed and is
available online.
It features profiles of Annual Dinner keynote speaker Victoria
Reggie Kennedy and this year's Access to Justice Award winners.
It also includes:
- Information about the House's move to add $6 million to the
Trial Court budget;
- An article and President Richard P. Campbell's column about
judicial compensation;
- Section Review articles on a new pro hac vice
fee to fund access to justice efforts, and a nightmare scenario for
a trust beneficiary created by Medicaid regulations.
Click here to
read the May issue of Lawyers Journal.
Labor & Employment Conference to feature the Globe's Bob Ryan
All-day conference to focus on employment law and MCAD updates, courtroom skills and more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Register for the
33rd Annual Labor & Employment Law Spring
Conference on Friday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The
Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston. The conference
features keynote speaker Bob Ryan, Boston Globe sports
columnist.
- 9 a.m.: Introductory Remarks
- 9:10-10:15 a.m.: Employment Law Update -- An Overview of
Significant Developments and Notable Cases
- 10:15-10:30 a.m.: Networking Break
- 10:30-11 a.m.: An Act Relative to Gender Identity -- What
Employment Lawyers Need To Know
- 11 a.m.-noon: Employee Misclassification and Current State And
Federal Government Enforcement
- Noon: Lunch and keynote address by Bob Ryan, columnist,
Boston Globe
- 1:15-2:15 p.m.: NLRA Issues for Non-Union Workforce
- 2:15-2:30 p.m.: Networking Break
- 2:30-3:30 p.m.: Practicum on Courtroom Advocacy -- Tips For
Improving Your Courtroom Skills
- 3:30-4:15 p.m.: News and Developments from the MCAD
- 4:15 p.m.: Reception
Price:
Sponsoring section MBA members: $180; MBA member paralegals, law
students: $120; MBA members: $200; and nonmembers: $240.
Registration:
For more information, or to register, call Member Services at
(617) 338-0530 or click here.
LPM Tip
Mixed messages: Keep your personal and professional profiles separate on social media
Perhaps the surest sign of the
Apocalypse that does not terminate in the number seven is
likely that there exists a social networking app called 'Pair,' on which
couples can connect exclusively with each other. The Internet:
relationship saver. Couple the existing of Pair with Pinterest's
near-overnight success, Google's determination to make Google+ a viable social network and old school
stalwarts going strong (Facebook, LinkedIn) and not so strong (MySpace), and
you can acquire a number of social media profiles, all across the
Internet.
Social media wasn't always used for business marketing; there
weren't any 'business' profiles, only business people, with
business intentions and personal profiles. Now, though, almost
every major platform has, or is likely developing, business
profiles; and, in that environment, those attorneys who seek to
market their practices on social media should segregate their
business marketing endeavors from their personal networking. A
number of folks start with a personal account, which ends up
becoming a mixed-use page, for personal and professional
information streams; but, that is not the optimal arrangement. Even
on services where business page functionality does not yet exist,
users can jury-rig a professional profile with fairly simple
workarounds.
'Don't commingle' is the ancient caveat when it comes to keeping
attorneys' operating and trust accounts apart; but, the same
warning applies to segregating personal and professional accounts
on social media. And, there are some practical considerations for
doing so: If you have individual personal and business pages, you
can still say what you want on your personal page (with
ratcheted-up security settings) while maintaining your business
reputation in another space. This method will allow you to insulate
your personal account, to the extent possible. Creating a public
business profile on a social media outlet is also an easy way to
add to your web presence, while cultivating your professionalism in
a new medium. With improving functionality, it's also becoming
easier to cross-post across platforms, and to toggle between
account profiles. From an ethics standpoint, there are certain
additional advantages: It's perhaps less misleading to have an
up-front business profile; and, it'd be, likelier, clearer to your
potential clients that there is a level of formality in place,
thereby probably decreasing the chances that said potential clients
would end up believing that an attorney-client relationship was
created informally, based on access to, posts made on or
conversations surrounding a personal profile page. It's easier (and
essential, frankly) to be in the attorney mindset/wear the lawyer
hat when you're active in your professional account. You can apply
disclaimers to your business pages more effectively, as well; these
won't appear so awkward, or out of place, as they would on a
personal page.
Of course, as you might suspect, none of this is printed in black
and white. For example, if you're not a solo attorney, your
business profile will likely be accessed/co-administrated by others
-- which gives rise to the question of how you personalize the
site, other than by making posts from your (still) personal
account. Perhaps the end game here is the adoption of branching
business accounts (professional-individual and
professional-company); but, nothing like this has yet been formally
adopted by any of the major social media services. The trick, then,
is to work within the existing frameworks (and to apply certain
workarounds) to keep your personal and professional online social
identities as distinct as possible from one another.
Tip courtesy of Jared Correia, Law Office
Management Assistance Program.
Published May 10, 2012
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Call for Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards nominations
Deadline is Saturday, June 30
To recognize outstanding commitment to
volunteer legal services for the poor and disadvantaged, the
Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal
Services is seeking
nominations for the 2012 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards.
The deadline for nominations is Saturday, June
30.
The awards will be presented in a
ceremony at the John Adams Courthouse on Wednesday, Oct. 24, in
conjunction with the American Bar Association's recognition of
National Pro Bono Week.
Award criteria
Awardees will be selected from those
who have excelled in providing volunteer services in one or more of
the following ways:
-
Volunteer participation in an
activity or pro bono program which resulted in satisfying
previously unmet needs or in extending services to underserved
segments of the population;
-
Successfully litigated pro bono cases
that favorably affected the provision of other services to the
poor; and/or
-
Successfully achieved legislation
that contributed substantially to legal services to the poor.
Nomination guidelines
Nominations should be submitted to: Robert C. Sacco, Esq., The
2012 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards, c/o Lyon & Fitzpatrick LLP,
14 Bobala Road, Fourth Floor, Holyoke, MA 01040. Contact Crystal
Barnes at (413) 536-4000, ext. 122 or [e-mail cbarnes] with questions.
Nominations
submitted in 2011 remain active for consideration in the 2012
awards program provided that the nominating party submits a letter
restating the intent to nominate the candidate and updating the
narrative with any relevant information. Eligibility for the awards
has been expanded this year to include law schools and law
students.
Series to offer practical tax theory application tips
Register for the seminars today to learn more about the tax aspects of various transactions.
The Massachusetts Bar Association's
Taxation Law Section and Young Lawyers Division are presenting a
series of continuing legal education programs in May and June. The
affordable series provides a solid tax foundation for general
practitioners, and others, who would like to learn more about the
tax aspects of various transactions. The series is also a rare
opportunity for law students to learn practical application of tax
theory.
Unable to come to Boston? These programs are available as
real-time Webcasts. When registering, participants can choose to
attend virtually from a home or office computer. If you choose to
attend the programs via real-time Webcast, space is limited.
Registrants will be taken on a first-come, first-served
basis.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxation Practice Series: 
Estate Planning, Basis and Forming a
Nonprofit Organization
Thursday, May 17, 4:30-6 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
- Estate planning and gift tax issues
- Tax basis
- General rules;
- Step up in basis at death;
- Basis of gifts; and
- Rules on losses and why you don't make a charitable gift of
loss assets.
- Forming a nonprofit organization
- Massachusetts rules;
- Private benefit/inurement;
- Charitable purposes; and
- IRS Form 1023, Exemption Application.
Click here for a list of faculty and to
register.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxation Practice Series:
Tax Implications of Divorce, Taxation of
Litigation Proceeds and Spotting Issues on Tax
Returns
Thursday, June 7, 4:30-6 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
- Divorce
- Taxability and deductibility of alimony;
- What is alimony?;
- Taxability and deductibility of child support; and
- Dependency exemptions.
- Taxation of Litigation Proceeds
- Scope of personal injury exemption;
- Punitive damages; and
- Taxation of other damages.
- Reviewing Tax Returns and Spotting Issues
- Federal and Massachusetts Individual Returns; and
- Federal and Massachusetts Entity Returns.
Click here for a list of faculty and to
register.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxation Practice Series:
Tax Issues Related to Entities and Real
Estate
Thursday, June 21, 4:30-6 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
- Tax Issues Related to Entities
- Choice of entity when establishing a law practice;
- Comparison of tax implications of corporations, partnerships,
limited liability companies and associations; and
- Difference between C and S corporations, including requirements
for S election.
- Tax Issues Related to Real estate
- Mortgage interest;
- Points;
- Exclusion of gain from sale of principal residence;
- What is a principal residence and requirements of living
there?;
- Principal residence exclusion when portion of property
rented;
- Tax effect of a foreclosure; and
- Home office deductions.
Click here for a list of faculty and to
register.
Featured member benefit: Daily Legal Headlines
Looking for recent legal news?
Each morning, visit www.massbar.org to view the latest news
headlines related to state and federal laws, the legal profession
and the MBA. Updated every day, our headlines section is accessible
on the Homepage and here.
Subscribe to the MBA's Headlines
RSS feed here.
Top (from left to right): Criminal / Immigration Law Training Conference Co-Chairs Jennifer Klein, Esq. and Jeannie Kain, Esq. of the Committee for Public Counsel Services' Immigration Impact Unit.
Bottom: Attendees participate in a training conference panel discussion.
Photos by Marc D'Antonio.
MBA holds first Criminal / Immigration Law Training Conference
For the first time, the Massachusetts Bar Association's
Immigration Law Section held an all-day training conference on May
9. The conference offered attendees the opportunity to attend four
panel discussions, which included experts who spoke on the
effects of criminal conduct on immigation
proceedings.
Jeannie Kain, Esq. and Jennifer Klein, Esq. -- both from the
Committee for Public Counsel Services' Immigration Impact Unit --
chaired the program, which provided experienced immigration law
practitioners, as well as criminal defense attorneys, with the
opportunity to learn more about how immigration concerns can impact
representations.
"This program was very effective in bringing the criminal and
immigration bars together," Kain said. "We made a concerted effort
to make sure the programming catered to both the experienced
immigration lawyer and those defense attorneys who dabble."
Upcoming CLE seminar and program schedule
Register for the May 16 "The Adaptable Lawyer," for tips to help minimize professional liability risk.
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
Lifecycle
of a Business Part 3: Employment & Business Litigation
Matters 
Tuesday, May 15, 5-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The
Adaptable Lawyer: Staying Practical in Today's Complex Legal
Environment
Wednesday, May 16, 10 a.m.-noon
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Law Practice Management Section Educational
Series: Your Law Firm's Website In-depth
Wednesday, May 16, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
Taxation Practice Series: Estate Planning,
Basis and Forming a Nonprofit Organization
Thursday, May 17, 4:30-6 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
33rd Annual Labor &
Employment Law Spring Conference 
Friday, May 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston
Latest in
the Law: Family Law Update
Wednesday, May 23, 4-7 p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Section News: Upcoming meetings and special section events
Attend the May 15 Labor & Employment, Family Law, General Practice, Solo & Small-Firm, or Property Law section council meetings. Join in the May 16 Civil Litigation, Judicial Administration, Probate Law or Taxation Law section council meetings.
Labor & Employment Section
Council Meeting
Tuesday, May 15, 4:30-6
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Labor & Employment Section Council is
scheduled for Tuesday, May 15 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All section
members are invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Law Section Council
Meeting
Tuesday, May 15, 5:30-7
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Family Law
Section is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. All
section members are invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Practice, Solo &
Small-Firm
Section Council meeting
Tuesday, May 15, 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, May 15 from 5:30 to 7
p.m. All section members are invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Property Law Section Council
meeting
Tuesday, May 15, 5:30-7
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Property Law Section Council is scheduled
for Tuesday, May 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. All section members are
invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Civil Litigation Section Council
meeting
Wednesday, May 16, 4:30-6
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Civil Litigation Section Council is
scheduled for Wednesday, May 16 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All section
members are invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judicial Administration Section
Council meeting
Wednesday, May 16, 4:30-6
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Judicial Administration Section Council is
scheduled for Wednesday, May 16 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All section
members are invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Probate Law Section Council
meeting
Wednesday, May 16, 5-6:30
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Probate Law Section Council is scheduled
for Wednesday, May 16 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. All section members are
invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxation Law Section Council
meeting
Wedensday, May 16, 5-6:30
p.m.
MBA, 20 West St., Boston
The next meeting of the Taxation Law Section Council is scheduled
for Wednesday, May 16 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. All section members are
invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------