Following the success of its debut forum in Dartmouth on Jan.
26, the Massachusetts Bar Association will host its second Gateway
Cities forum in Worcester on Monday, April 30, beginning at 5 p.m.
in the Jury Room at the Worcester Trial Court.
"Like with the first forum, the focus of the Worcester event will
be to identify ways in which attorneys can lend their expertise
with issues affecting Gateway City communities across
Massachusetts," said MBA President Richard P. Campbell, who set
Gateway Cities as a prioritized initiative.
Massachusetts' Gateway Cities are those mid-sized cities whose
residents are experiencing significantly higher rates of
unemployment and a stalemate in social, economic and civic
innovation. Some examples are Brockton, Fall River, Lawrence,
Springfield and Worcester.
Margaret D. Xifaras and Francis A. Ford, who practices in
Worcester, have led the MBA's Gateway Cities initiative.
Ford will serve as moderator at the April 30 event. Area leaders
who have long worked with the issues impacting the state's Gateway
Cities will share their insight and be part of the conversation to
pinpoint ways in which the legal community can help address these
issues.
Confirmed speakers to date include:
- Massachusetts Secretary of Education S. Paul Reville;
- Massachusetts Sen. Harriette L. Chandler (D-Worcester);
- Craig Blais, executive vice president, Worcester Business
Development Corporation;
- Benjamin Forman, research director, MassINC; and
- Michael F. Collins, MD, University of Massachusetts senior vice
president for Health Sciences and Chancellor of UMass Medical
School.
Look for more specifics in e-Journal and in other
e-communication in the coming weeks.
Members interested in attending should visit www.MassBar.org
to R.S.V.P.