Superior Court announces statewide conciliation program for civil cases
The Superior Court has announced a new statewide conciliation program for civil cases that began Jan. 19 in Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester counties. The Superior Court plans to expand the program to other counties later in 2021.
The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) Statewide Superior Court Conciliation Program is a collaboration between ACTL and the Essex County Bar Association, which has provided conciliation training, and will administer the program. Members of the ACTL will serve as volunteer conciliators.
Participation in the conciliation program is voluntary and without cost to litigants. Interested parties with a civil case pending in Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk or Worcester county may request a referral to the program from the session clerk or the judge, or may file a “Request for Referral to American College of Trial Lawyers Statewide Superior Court Conciliation Program” form that is available on the Superior Court forms webpage.
To learn more about this and other alternative options for resolving civil cases in the Superior Court during the COVID-19 pandemic, attorneys and self-represented litigants are invited to visit Superior Court Resources on the “Court system response to COVID-19” page on the Massachusetts Court System website.
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USDC order regarding protection of sensitive documents
In response to recent disclosures of widespread breaches of both private-sector and
government computer systems, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (USDC) is adding new security procedures to protect highly sensitive documents filed with the courts.
Click here to read General Order 21-1, which was issued on Jan. 15 by USDC Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV.
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Job Opening
Assistant agency counsel at State Ethics Commission
The State Ethics Commission, an independent state agency that administers and civilly enforces the state conflict of interest and financial disclosure laws, seeks an assistant agency counsel to support its Legal, Enforcement, and Public Education/Communications divisions by advising public employees about state conflict of interest and financial disclosure laws, investigating alleged violations of those laws, civilly prosecuting violations in commission adjudicatory proceedings, and contributing to educational materials and other commission website content.
Click here to view a detailed job posting. To apply, submit a cover letter and resume to
resume@mass.gov by Feb. 19.