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Mentoring programs
"Mentoring communities provide a lifeline for a lot
of new attorneys who are not invested in ethical and legal issues
as much as a seasoned attorney."
MBA Chief Legal Counsel Martin
W. Healy, Boston Globe, Jan. 9
The Massachusetts School of Law launched an alumni mentor
program in 2013, which matches students and recent graduates with
established professionals, and allows participants the opportunity
to job shadow and build relationships in the legal community. Healy
spoke to the Boston Globe about the benefits of a mentor
program given "the challenges facing over 2,000 new attorneys
admitted annually to practice law in Massachusetts." The
Massachusetts Bar Association provides both a mentoring program and
mentoring circles to attorney members.
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Tax-exempt status of conservation
lands
"Obviously, the towns are hungry for revenue and, if
they think there's a gray area, then they may start assessing
properties that have not been historically assessed, if there's not
enough public access. ... It's a judgment call."
MBA Taxation Law Section Vice
Chair David G. Saliba, Boston Globe, Jan. 6
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear a case this
month which will determine if conservation groups can be taxed on
land protected from development. The town of Hawley, Massachusetts,
claims that for conservation land to qualify for a charitable tax
exemption, it must be "broadly available" for public use. The city
sent a property tax bill to the New England Forestry Foundation for
a 120-acre parcel of land because the town feels the foundation has
not encouraged public access to the conservation area. Communities
looking for additional tax revenue could be impacted by this court
decision, which could make conservation land a possible source of
funding.
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