Photo Credit: Mike Ritter
MBA President Robert W. Harnais (left) and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Publisher Susan A. Bocamazo (right) with Massachusetts Appeals Court Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza (ret.) (top) and Boston Herald reporter Bob McGovern (bottom).
The Massachusetts Bar Association renewed its partnership with
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on the annual Excellence in
the Law event. Held this year on May 4, at the Marriott Long Wharf
Hotel, the awards program and dinner celebrated excellence
throughout the legal community.
The evening's awards ceremony began with the MBA's presentation
of the Daniel F. Toomey Excellence in the Judiciary Award to former
Massachusetts Appeals Court Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza (ret.).
After an introduction by MBA President Robert W. Harnais, who
detailed Rapoza's accomplishments in Massachusetts and
internationally, Rapoza thanked the MBA and Lawyers Weekly for the
award named after Toomey, the late judge who was his friend and
colleague.
Harnais also presented the MBA's Excellence in Legal Journalism
Award to Boston Herald reporter and "Full Court Press"
columnist Bob McGovern. Harnais praised McGovern, who is also a
lawyer, for keeping an eye on legal stories that often go unnoticed
-- the "inside baseball of the Massachusetts legal system."
Following the MBA awards, Harnais remained on stage to hand out
Lawyers Weekly's awards for Excellence in Alternative
Dispute Resolution, Firm Administration/Operations, Marketing, and
Paralegal Work. The ceremony concluded after Lawyers
Weekly Publisher Susan Bocamazo and Advertising Director Scott
Ziegler honored the 2016 Pro Bono Award recipients and gave out
awards to more than two dozen Up & Coming Lawyers.
A portion of the proceeds from all Lawyers Weekly
events goes to a local charity. The Massachusetts Bar Institute
Public Service Fund served as the dedicated charity for the
Excellence in the Law event.