Delegates support improved civility, fee for ad hoc
vice cases; legislation setting different parole rules for state,
HOC inmates
Next HOD Jan.
19
The next House of Delegates meeting will take place at UMass
Medical School in Worcester on Thursday, Jan. 19, beginning at 1:30
p.m. UMMS Vice Chancellor for Government and Community Relations
James B. Leary will provide some remarks at the beginning of the
meeting.
UMMS is the commonwealth's first and only public academic health
sciences center. It was founded in 1962 to provide affordable,
high-quality medical education to state residents and to increase
the number of primary care physicians practicing in underserved
areas of the state. The three UMMS graduate schools are the School
of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the
Graduate School of Nursing.
Consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the
leading medical schools in the nation for primary care education,
it is also a world-class research institute, receiving more than
$250 million of funding in fiscal year 2010. UMMS professor Craig
C. Mello, PhD, was recognized in 2006 with the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine for his collaboration on discoveries related
to a cellular process that offers significant potential for
understanding and, ultimately treating, human disease.
Keeping with MBA President Richard P. Campbell's goal to have
delegate meetings at the University of Massachusetts' various
campuses across the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Bar Association
House of Delegate gathered at UMass Amherst for its November
meeting.
Following an introduction from Campbell, Dr. Robert C. Holub,
chancellor of UMass Amherst, welcomed the group to the campus on
Nov. 10. See his remarks on page 4.
As part of his president's report, Campbell provided updates on
his three key initiatives - public awareness on underfunded courts;
engagement in initiatives and analysis pertaining to the state's
gateway cities; and the evaluation of the ongoing relevancy of law
schools - as well as other important association updates.
Specifically, Campbell explained that work continues on a video
series to highlight the negative impact of underfunded courts. The
MBA series, when complete, will be showcased on massbar.org later
this calendar year and marketed in part by billboards across the
state. In addition, Campbell informed the group that the MBA has
reached out to MassINC, UMass Boston and UMass Dartmouth to discuss
opportunities to collaborate on issues pertaining to Massachusetts'
gateway cities. He also shared that Eric Parker and Radha Natarajan
have convened a task force to carefully analyze the issues that
have led to a troubled law economy for newly minted law school
graduates.
He also told the MBA delegation that Christopher Kenney and Marsha
Kazarosian were assigned to lead a task force on mandatory
continuing legal education, following a lively discussion on the
topic at the September HOD meeting. Campbell then pointed to the
MBA's two high-profile fall events - the 2011 Bench Bar Symposium
featuring Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland,
and the 2011 Family Law Conference - mentioning that he was pleased
with the success of both. "Social and educational programs are
still of interest," he said.
Following the other officer reports, MBA Chief Operating Officer
and Chief Legal Counsel Martin W. Healy provided his report. Healy
reported that ?a Supreme Judicial Court-appointed committee has
issued a report in opposition to client-initiated mandatory fee
arbitration in Massachusetts. The SJC has received the report and
accepted the committee's recommendation that Rule 1.5 of the Rules
of Professional Conduct be amended to require a written fee
agreement before or within a reasonable amount of time after
commencing representation.
Healy mentioned that the MBA was vociferously opposed to this
mandatory fee arbitration and recognized the capable leadership of
J. Gavin Reardon and MBA Past President in delivering the MBA's
opposition.
Healy also reported that Gov. Deval Patrick had recently signed a
$480 million supplemental appropriation budget, with $20 million
being directed to the court system. As a result, Ireland withdrew
the SJC's request for a moratorium on judicial appointments,
explained Healy.
He also mentioned the habitual offender legislation that the
Senate was expected to vote on that day. Among other measures, the
bill would eliminate parole eligibility for those convicted of
their third violent felony. Healy explained that the House was
expected to debate the legislation during the following week. Since
the Nov. 10 meeting, both versions of the bill have been sent to
conference committee to reconcile the differences. As Healy
explained, the MBA's continued advocacy on smart criminal justice
reform has resulted in some positive changes.
Delegates' discussion and debate led to the following votes at the
Nov. 10 meeting:
- Approving a resolution regarding civility and reciprocal
treatment for attorneys admitted pro hac vice, among New England
states. The resolution sets the expectation of equal treatment from
the bar and judiciary of all attorneys practicing within the New
England states no matter what the state of licensure or location of
practice is.
- Endorsement of the proposal from the MBA's Access to Justice
Section requesting that the SJC establish a pro hac vice admission
fee for lawyers from other states who seek to appear in cases
before Massachusetts' courts. Currently, Massachusetts is one of
only nine states that do not impose this fee, according to Access
to Justice Section Chair Charles E. Vander Linden.
- Supporting in principle and filing legislation that would set
distinct statutory criteria for parole consideration for prisoners
serving county house of correction sentences versus those serving
state prison sentences.