June
Download Issue PDFHeadlines
- Balancing the interests of the public, press and clients
- U.S. attorney, Suffolk Law dean praise mentors’ role
- Court reform bill advances in House and Senate
- Justice Breyer lauds lawyers’ public service, wishes MBA ‘happy birthday
- Public interest law finding new degree of respect
- Underage drinking and sexual assaults
- News from the Courts
- MBA supports SJC decision on REBA v. NREIS
- MBA leaders urge passage of Alimony Reform Act
- Member Spotlight
- Law Day program brings students from all over Mass
- Appeals Court holds session for Law Day
- A night of ‘excellence’ honors Justice Cowin, SHNS
- CCRAA in a nutshell
- MBA honors leaders in public service, legal aid, at Access to Justice Awards Luncheon
- State’s chief justices give overview of budget constraints and new developments in their courts
- In remembrance: Richard G. Mintz
- MBA honors Judge Gertner, Keating, Mintz at Centennial Ball
- MBA Centennial
- Section Spotlight
- HOD discusses cameras in courtroom, social host law
- Transforming your practice through e-learning
- Two birds with one stone: Using class action residual funds to support access to justice
- Stimulants can help with focus, but beware
- Mortgage brokers file suit against Federal Reserve
- Protecting consumers: The elimination of lifetime and annual limits on health insurance benefits
- Redefining just cause in the health care setting
- Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provisions: What employees need to know (1)
Lawyers Journal
By Jennifer Rosinski
The 10 principles that U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz lives by,
and the mentors that guided her, are what she credits with her
successful rise to become Massachusetts' first Hispanic -- and
first woman -- U.S. attorney.
"Dare to dream," Ortiz said, sharing the first of the 10
principles with participants of the Massachusetts Bar Association's
Tiered Community Mentoring program at its April 28 final event at
the John J. Moakley U.S. District Courthouse.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted on May 11 to
pass legislation that seeks to professionalize Trial Court
operations and management by adding additional business expertise
throughout the court system. Further, the bill would clarify lines
of authority and reaffirm the Supreme Judicial Court's
superintendency powers.
By Bill Archambeault
In his keynote speech at the Massachusetts Bar Association's
Centennial Ball, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer
celebrated the crucial role that lawyers play in shaping laws,
fighting for the judiciary and educating and mentoring
students.
MBA President Denise Squillante welcomed an audience of nearly
1,000 people in the Sheraton Boston ballroom for the Centennial
Ball. Breyer's keynote address on May 19 was the highlight of the
two-day Centennial Conference.
By Christina P. O'Neill
Back in economically flush times, public interest law careers
were regarded as the vocational redoubt for those who didn't make
the cut at a law firm. David Stern, CEO for the nonprofit Equal
Justice Works told The National Jurist in May 2009 that he
noted a change in attitude, with a newfound respect for the
accomplishments of public interest lawyers, and increased
competition among students for positions leading to careers in
public interest law.
It's not because there are more jobs on the public side. The poor
economy cut job opportunities in the public and nonprofit sectors
as much if not more than in the private sector. Instead, it's
students' perception of what constitutes the real value of a law
degree, and the realization that training in public service careers
broadens their experience, making them more employable when the
market picks up.