The Massachusetts Bar Association’s House of Delegates (HOD) unanimously approved amendments to the MBA’s bylaws to make them more inclusive at its Jan. 25 meeting, which was held over Zoom.
Updates to the MBA’s bylaws began in 2021 when then-MBA President Denise I. Murphy appointed a Governance Committee to review the MBA’s bylaws following recommendations from the MBA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC). At January’s HOD meeting, Governance Committee Chair Marc A. Moccia introduced the bylaws, which had also been reviewed and approved by the Executive Management Board. Following the HOD’s unanimous vote of approval, Moccia explained that the MBA will next send the amended bylaws to the full MBA membership for a final vote.
Earlier in the meeting, MBA President Damian J. Turco recapped the 25th Annual Walk to the Hill, which had taken place a few hours before at the State House. Organized by the Equal Justice Coalition and co-sponsored by the MBA, Boston Bar Association and Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the event attracted over 600 members of the legal community to advocate for $55 million in funding for civil legal aid in the state’s FY 2025 budget. Turco, who was one of the featured speakers at the event, said it felt great to have the event back in person for the first time since 2020. He urged everyone to talk to their elected officials about the critical need for legal aid funding.
Looking ahead, Turco touted other important MBA events, including the 50th Annual Robert Fuchs Labor Law Conference, which will be held at Suffolk University Law School on Thursday, Feb. 15. He also encouraged members to check out the MBA’s Restorative Justice Series, a new volunteer program offering support to innocence programs in Massachusetts, and upcoming programming related to practice management. “Take advantage as they come out and share them with your colleagues,” Turco said.
MBA President-elect Victoria Santoro then provided updates on several MBA initiatives, including the MBA’s Law Day program, which she and MBA Treasurer Samuel Segal are working to expand to Massachusetts high schools that haven’t previously participated. Santoro also announced that the MBA’s Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Scholarship Committee, which she co-chairs with MBA Secretary Shayla Mombeleur, will be meeting soon and reaching out to law schools about the application process. Santoro added that the third session of the MBA’s Leadership Academy will take place on Feb. 4, led by Mombeleur.
Mombeleur, who serves both as MBA secretary and co-chair of the DEIC, spoke next and gave a report about recent DEIC activities, including the Jan. 11 program at City Wintery Boston on affirmative action. She thanked the affinity bar associations and law firms that sponsored the well-attended event. Mombeleur said that the DEIC is looking to hold another Juneteenth event, and she has also spoken with Charu Verma, who is also a member of the MBA’s Lawyer Well-Being Committee, about putting together a program about the NORC Report on Lawyer Well-Being, which was commissioned by Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and published in February 2023.
During his report, MBA Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Operating Officer Martin W. Healy celebrated the recent SJC decisions in Commonwealth v. Mattis on emerging adults and Commonwealth v. Marrero on exculpatory evidence, where the MBA had filed amici in support of both outcomes. He thanked members of the MBA’s Amicus Curiae Committee, including chair Thomas Carey and Donna Patalano, who filed the brief in Marrero. Turning to the work of the Joint Bar Committee, which is chaired by Jane Eden this year, Healy said the committee has been busy under Gov. Maura Healey’s administration, noting in particular the recent nomination and confirmation of Bessie Dewar to the Supreme Judicial Court. Healy also reminded anyone looking to become an officer or delegate of the MBA to apply by Feb. 23.
HOD members approved the meeting minutes from the November 2023 HOD meeting. The next House of Delegates meeting will be held on March 21.