Lawyers Journal
By Jennifer Rosinski
State Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem believes her term as chair of the
Massachusetts Bar Association's Family Law Section in the late
1990s was the perfect training ground for a future legislative
career. In February, the former family law practitioner and current
six-term senator was appointed to succeed Robert S. Creedon as
Senate chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.
"I learned how to do policy work at the MBA. This is really full
circle for me," said Creem, a partner at Stone, Stone & Creem,
where she practices family law. "I'm excited about being the chair.
These are areas I've been interested in for so long."
As co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, Creem will
weigh in on legislation related to criminal law, the courts and
civil and equal rights. The MBA has recently argued before the
committee on a number of matters, including sentencing and Criminal
Offender Record Information (CORI) reform.
Creem, a Massachusetts Bar Foundation Fellow, is still a member of
the MBA's Family Law Section and is the sponsor of four bills on
behalf of the MBA. She is just one of several new legislative
leaders who have a longstanding history of collaboration with the
MBA. (See profiles of other new leaders.)
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the keynote speaker
at New England Law Boston’s centennial Law Day Dinner on March 13. She
spoke about collegiality on the Court, saying that despite “sharp
differences on certain issues … in recent terms, we have even managed
to agree, unanimously, 40 to 50 percent of the time. ... All of us
appreciate that the institution we serve is far more important than the
particular individuals who compose the Court’s bench at any given
time.”