U.S. APPEALS COURT SEEKS COMMENTS ON ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE
RULE CHANGE
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has proposed an
amendment to Rule VII of the Rules of Attorney Disciplinary
Enforcement for the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
The rule is being modified so that reinstatement is not automatic
after a suspension period has run, but rather, a petition for
reinstatement is required.
The proposed amendment can be found under the "What's New" section
at www.ca1.uscourts.gov/. Deletions are indicated
in strike-out print and additions are indicated in italic
print."
The Court of Appeals invites public comments on the proposed
amendment, which should be submitted by Jan. 14 to:
Office of the Clerk
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
United States Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 2500
Boston, MA 02210
For more information, visit www.ca1.uscourts.gov/files/rules/Proposed_AD_VII.pdf.
TASK FORCE TO REVIEW JUDICIAL HIRING, PROMOTION
PRACTICES
The Supreme Judicial Court has appointed members of a task force
established to undertake a comprehensive review of the hiring and
promotion procedures in the judicial branch. The task force was
created in the wake of the findings of corruption and systemic
abuse in the hiring and promotion practices of the Probation
Department, which were documented recently in independent counsel
Paul Ware's report.
The SJC justices had previously announced, in a Nov. 18 statement
that accompanied the public release of Ware's report, that they had
appointed former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, senior counsel
in the law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP, to lead the task
force.
To enhance public confidence in the integrity of the court system,
the task force is charged with reviewing the hiring and promotion
policies, practices and procedures of the Probation Department and
other court departments within the judicial branch.
In addition to Harshbarger, the initial members of the task force
are as follows (additional members may be named at a later
time):
- Stephen P. Crosby, the founding and current dean of the John W.
McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at
UMass/Boston.
- Kathleen M. Donovan, managing director of Manpower Business
Solutions. She also directs Manpower's Global RPO Center of
Excellence to promote innovation and sharing of best practices in
recruitment process outsourcing.
- Ruth Ellen Fitch, president of the Dimock Community Health
Center and a current member of the Court Management Advisory
Board.
- Michael B. Keating, a partner and chair of the Litigation
Department at Foley Hoag LLP. He also served as chair of the Court
Management Advisory Board from 2004-10.
- William J. Leahy, former chief counsel for the Committee for
Public Counsel Services.
- Hon. James F. McHugh, associate justice of the Massachusetts
Appeals Court since 2001 and a former Superior Court justice.
- Susan M. Prosnitz, executive director of the Rappaport Center
for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School.
- Harry Spence, a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and a
former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Social
Services. He is also a current member of the Court Management
Advisory Board.
- Steven H. Wright, executive partner for the Boston office of
Holland and Knight LLP.
JUDGES CONFERENCE ELECTS HON. JAMES COLLINS
PRESIDENT
Juvenile Court Judge James Collins has been elected the new
president of the Massachusetts Judges Conference, which represents
more than 80 percent of the commonwealth's 410 trial court and
appellate judges. Collins has served as a Western Massachusetts
circuit judge since 2001 and will be the first Western
Massachusetts Juvenile Court judge to serve as president of the
MJC. His two-year term begins this month.