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Issue April 2009

Sen. Creem brings MBA experience into role as new judiciary chair

State Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem believes her term as chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Family Law Section in the late 1990s was the perfect training ground for a future legislative career. In February, the former family law practitioner and current six-term senator was appointed to succeed Robert S. Creedon as Senate chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.

"I learned how to do policy work at the MBA. This is really full circle for me," said Creem, a partner at Stone, Stone & Creem, where she practices family law. "I'm excited about being the chair. These are areas I've been interested in for so long."

As co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, Creem will weigh in on legislation related to criminal law, the courts and civil and equal rights. The MBA has recently argued before the committee on a number of matters, including sentencing and Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reform.

Creem, a Massachusetts Bar Foundation Fellow, is still a member of the MBA's Family Law Section and is the sponsor of four bills on behalf of the MBA. She is just one of several new legislative leaders who have a longstanding history of collaboration with the MBA. (See profiles of other new leaders.)

Justice Ginsburg speaks at New England Law Boston

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the keynote speaker at New England Law Boston’s centennial Law Day Dinner on March 13. She spoke about collegiality on the Court, saying that despite “sharp differences on certain issues … in recent terms, we have even managed to agree, unanimously, 40 to 50 percent of the time. ... All of us appreciate that the institution we serve is far more important than the particular individuals who compose the Court’s bench at any given time.”