As the courts prepare their staff for the new MUPC, going into effect
in 2012, the Massachusetts Bar Association has been working hard to prepare
the bar. As practitioners, we now have the opportunity to assist
the Probate and Family Court through this important transition.
The MBA
was committed to the passage of the MUPC and that commitment continues with its
implementation. Members of the MBA, Boston Bar Association and attorneys from
the Probate Court have collaborated to develop programs in which volunteer
members of the bar can be most helpful to the court, attorneys and pro
se petitioners. One program is the “MUPC Resource Desks” that will be
located in the Probate Court registries throughout the
commonwealth.
Ideally, the resource desks will be staffed one to two days
a week for at least two hours each day. Volunteer attorneys will answer
questions from peer attorneys, as well as pro se petitioners, and
walk them through the new substantive rules and Probate Court
forms.
Attorneys interested in volunteering their time for this important
resource are encouraged to attend an April 5 Resource Desk Volunteer Training at
the MBA Boston offices from noon to 1:30 p.m. Interested attorneys have the
choice to participate in person, remotely via real-time webcast, or at a later
date and time, through MBA On Demand.
Faculty:
Janice C. Nigro, Esq., Program Chair
Nigro, Pettepit & Lucas LLP, Newburyport
Cameron Casey, Esq., Panelist
Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, Boston
Michael Christy, Esq., Panelist
Evelyn Patsos, Esq., Panelist
Probate & Family Court Department, Boston
Jennifer Rivera-Ulwick, Esq., Panelist
Essex County Probate & Family Court, Salem
Peter Shapland, Esq., Panelist
Day Pitney LLP, Boston
Karen Witherell, Esq., Panelist
McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, Woburn