The Massachusetts Bar Association’s House of Delegates adopted a position statement on reproductive rights and approved the publication of two new MBA Ethics Opinions at its meeting on Thursday, Nov. 14.
MBA President Victoria M. Santoro introduced the reproductive-rights statement, titled, “A Reflection on the Dobbs Ruling and Women’s Reproductive Rights,” during her opening report. Noting that public support for women’s reproductive rights was at nearly 70 percent, Santoro said: “I just want to really underscore that it is vitally important that women have access to appropriate, honest and oftentimes life-saving health care during the reproductive years to ensure the continued representation, advancement, and participation of women — not only in law, but also in society.”
MBA Treasurer Shayla Mombeleur, who worked on the statement with assistance from John Lozada of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, added that the MBA statement on reproductive rights also addresses “historically, what that has meant for Black women in particular, and other women of color.”
The statement’s closing paragraph reads: “As advocates, the Dobbs decision and legislative efforts across the country to compromise the rights to choose is not a moment for silence or inaction. Rather, there is a call for us to recognize and advance the idea that failing to recognize and respect the rights of people facing reproductive decisions and their doctors to make informed health decisions is ignorant and verging on criminality, given the risk of bodily harm. We urge the Massachusetts Bar to recognize the importance of this issue and for members to use your voice, vote and advocacy toward universal respect that preserves and advances protection for the personal decisions women and [transgender and gender nonbinary people] must ultimately make to control their reproductive rights.”
HOD members voted to approve the statement.
In other new business, Timothy Dacey, the chair of the MBA’s Committee on Professional Ethics, introduced two new opinions for HOD approval (2024-3 and 2024-4) and explained the procedure for publishing the non-binding advisory opinions that interpret the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys who have specific ethical inquiries. (Note: This service is free to all members of the Massachusetts bar. Learn more on the MBA’s Ethical Inquiries page.)
The summary of Opinion 2024-3 reads: It is not permissible for a lawyer to allow a client to send form letters on the lawyer’s letterhead to customers who have delinquent invoices. Similarly, it is not permissible for a lawyer to send letters to the client’s delinquent customers without performing a conflicts check and other due diligence customary when opening a new matter.
The summary of Opinion 2024-4 reads: A lawyer may not accept a payment for referring a client to a non-lawyer service provider unless the lawyer obtains the client’s informed consent in writing. The Committee believes that in some cases the lawyer will not be able to satisfy this requirement and must refuse to accept the payment.
With no opposition from HOD members, the new Ethics Opinions will soon be published on the MBA website and will appear in the Dec. 5 issue of eJournal. They will also appear in an upcoming issue of the Massachusetts Law Review and will be submitted to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
Leadership Reports Highlight MBA Activities
In addition to new business, several officers shared updates on recent and upcoming MBA events and initiatives.
Santoro noted that she and other MBA officers have been speaking to new admittees at the new lawyer swearing-in ceremonies, held this year at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, located near the University of Massachusetts Boston campus. She wished Maura Doyle, the outgoing clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the County of Suffolk, well on her upcoming retirement.
The MBA president also mentioned that she spoke at kickoff events for the MBA’s Tiered Community Mentoring program in Boston and Worcester and attended
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Top Women of Law event, where the MBA again served as the Scholarship Sponsor. Looking ahead, she highlighted the MBF’s Groovy Gala on Nov. 15, the MBA’s Probate Law Conference on Nov. 22, and CPCS’ 40th Anniversary celebration on Nov. 22.
Santoro also provided an update on the MBA’s Superior Court Lawyer for the Day program, which has been running each Thursday over Zoom. She noted that Jessica Landry from Ivy Law PC has gotten involved and helped secure a grant for the program from the Massachusetts Bar Foundation. As a result, the program is implementing new technology where self-represented litigants will be able to upload documents about their case ahead of time so the lawyers they speak with will have at least some information about their case.
During his report, MBA President-elect Michael H. Hayden spoke about the MBA’s recent sponsorship of recent affinity bar events, including events from the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston, Women’s Bar Association and the Asian American Lawyers Association. He also highlighted the MBA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee’s Emerging Lawyers Series, noting that Mombeleur had recently moderated the first of three programs planned for the series.
Hayden previewed a new event called “Older, Wiser Lawyers,” nicknamed OWL, which will be held on Dec. 3. The brainchild of MBA past President Kay Hodge, the OWL program will encourage collaboration with older lawyers. Hayden also encouraged members to attend the MBA’s Holiday Party: Casino Royale on Dec. 5, and the Virtual Holiday Sweater Musical Bingo on Dec. 11.
MBA Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Operating Officer Martin W. Healy gave a brief update on the MBA’s legislative priorities, noting that the MBA’s multi-year effort to increase the age of jurisdiction for the Juvenile Court to include 18-year-olds did not pass during the past session, which ended earlier in July. Healy explained that many legislative proposals are left on the table due to the election and legislative sessions ending earlier than normal this year. He said he will continue to keep the MBA updated as the new legislative year begins in January.
The next HOD meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.