Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012
Top left: Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland delivers his Annual Address to the Legal Community.
Top right: MBA President Robert L. Holloway Jr. at the MBA's Annual Bench-Bar Symposium on Oct. 17.
Bottom (from left to right): Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop) and MBA Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Counsel Martin W. Healy.
Photos by Jeff Thiebauth.
Ireland expresses optimism in second Annual Address to the Legal Community
"Optimism" was a frequent byword of the Massachusetts Bar
Association's Annual Bench-Bar Symposium on Wednesday, Oct. 17. In
his second Annual Address to the Legal Community, Supreme Judicial
Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland began by noting that while
the judiciary's budget is still tight, the branch is starting to
recover from its multi-year hiring freeze.
"We are hopeful that the worst is behind us," said Ireland to
the crowd of nearly 150 assembled in the Great Hall of the John
Adams Courthouse.
Ireland gave updates on his top three priorities: Building
bridges with key court constituencies; broadening access to justice
by making courts more responsive; and educating the public,
particularly youth, about the role of the judicial system. He
lauded the progress of each initiative, and described how the
judiciary would build on its efforts moving forward.
The symposium also heard updates from Lewis H. "Harry" Spence,
Trial Court administrator. In his first six months on the job,
Spence reported causes for optimism but also outlined some of the
many challenges that face the judiciary.
Leo V. Boyle, an MBA past president (1990-91) and former Court
Management Advisory Board member, elaborated on historical efforts
to reform judiciary administration. And in a personal account, the
Hon. Kenia Seoane Lopez, newly appointed magistrate judge of the
District of Columbia Superior Court, described how involvement in
the Judicial Youth Corps program in Boston dramatically changed her
life.
MBA President Robert L. Holloway Jr. moderated the late
afternoon program that gave way to a networking reception in the
courthouse conference room.
Look for full coverage of the Oct. 17 Bench-Bar Symposium in
the November issue of Lawyers Journal.