Reporter's notes for amendments to Mass. R. Civ. P. 84
now available
The Reporter's Notes that accompany the amendments to Mass. R.
Civ. P. 84 have been posted at www.mass.gov/courts/.
2017 Superior Court Judicial Assignments
Visit www.massbar.org/judicialassignments to view the 2017
Superior Court Judicial Assignments for each Massachusetts county,
now available on the Massachusetts Bar Association's website.*
*These assignments are subject to change at any time based on
the needs of the court or other circumstances. "TBA" meaning "to be
announced," indicates sessions that, as of now, have no judge
assigned. Cases in those sessions will not be neglected; the clerks
and regional administrative justices will work together to ensure
that scheduled trials proceed in other sessions and that motions
needing hearings are scheduled and heard before an available
judge.
Elizabeth D. Katz selected for U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Springfield
Chief Judge Jeffrey R. Howard of the United States Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit has announced that Elizabeth D. Katz
has been selected to fill the vacancy in the United States
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts in Springfield,
created by Judge Henry J. Boroff's retirement. Attorney Katz will
be appointed to the bankruptcy bench in early 2017, upon FBI
clearance.
Katz has practiced law in the Springfield and Northampton areas
for more than two decades. Currently a partner at Rescia, Katz
& Shear LLP, Katz focuses her practice on consumer and business
bankruptcy matters, as well as criminal defense. In addition to
representing debtors and creditors in bankruptcy cases, attorney
Katz serves as counsel to the Chapter 7 Trustee in adversary
proceedings in the Districts of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Katz's expansive legal career began at the Office of the Attorney
General in Boston upon her graduation from law school. In 1995,
Katz became an assistant district attorney at the Northwestern
District Attorney's Office in Northampton, where she worked until
2007. Upon her departure, Katz was the Chief of the Hampshire
County and Franklin County District Courts Divisions. In 2007, she
entered private practice and represented clients in a wide-range of
matters including bankruptcy cases, criminal cases, civil
litigation, family law matters and landlord-tenant disputes. Since
2008, Katz has concentrated her practice in all aspects of
bankruptcy law.
Katz served as president of the Hampshire County Bar Association
from 2012 to 2014 and is currently a member of its executive
committee. Katz is a member of the Local Rules Committee for the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts
and since 2011, has served as co-chair of the M. Ellen Carpenter
Financial Literacy Program for western Massachusetts, a financial
literacy program for high school students.
Massachusetts awarded grant to improve access to
justice
Massachusetts has been awarded a $100,000 grant to develop a
strategic action plan for improving access to justice throughout
the commonwealth. The grant will assist the Massachusetts Access to
Justice Commission, the Massachusetts courts, legal aid providers,
bar associations, law schools, social service organizations,
litigants, community groups and other stakeholders in collaborating
to assess the resources currently available to assist Massachusetts
residents who cannot afford a lawyer for their essential legal
needs - such as matters involving housing, consumer debt, and
family law - and to develop a statewide plan for addressing gaps in
those services.
"So many Massachusetts residents cannot afford a lawyer and must
wrestle with complex legal issues involving their families, their
housing, and their finances without adequate guidance and support,"
said Supreme Judicial Court Justice Geraldine Hines, co-chair of
the Access to Justice Commission. "This collaborative strategic
planning process will help us identify the gaps in services and
design programs and processes to address residents' unmet legal
needs."
The grant is being provided through the Justice for All project,
which is generously supported by the Public Welfare Foundation and
housed at the National Center for State Courts. The Justice for All
project was established to implement a 2015 resolution by the
Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court
Administrators endorsing the aspirational goal of providing 100
percent access to effective assistance for essential civil legal
needs.
Massachusetts is one of seven states to receive a Justice for
All grant, selected from a pool of 25 applicants. The state will be
eligible to apply for additional funding next year to begin
implementation of its strategic action plan.
Recently, the National Center for Access to Justice released its
2016 Justice Index, measuring how all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico ensure justice for all. Massachusetts
ranked second in the nation, behind the District of Columbia.
Massachusetts ranked eighth when the first Justice Index came out
in 2014. Massachusetts ranks second in services for people without
lawyers, third in language access services, and sixth nationwide in
services for people with disabilities.