The Massachusetts Bar Association's (MBA) Annual Dinner is our
traditional celebration of our recent accomplishments. As we gather
together on May 15, we should never forget that this year has been
just one lap on the MBA's perennial race to better serve the
interests of attorneys and protect the
underrepresented.
For too long, our race has been run without the benefit of
supporters. Many of lawyers' good works have gone unnoticed. That
is why one of my goals at the start of my presidency was to improve
the image of lawyers by promoting all the positive work that we do
in and outside of the legal community. I have no doubt that this
year we have added spectators in droves along our race course due
to our initiatives and very public community-based activities that
helped so many deserving people and causes.
This year the MBA raised funds to support the Pine Street Inn
Project in the hope of creating a new facility there. We also
raised funds and helped distribute food to 2,000 hungry people just
before Thanksgiving. We were able to help those who otherwise would
have had very little to celebrate on a holiday so much of us take
for granted.
Our "Working Families" and "Justice for All" initiatives have
been particularly focused on creating safe and fair conditions for
workers. Last fall, our Workplace Safety Task Force, which has
become a model for virtually every other state in the country,
received a national award for innovation and community service by a
national nonprofit organization representing the interests of
millions of workers across the United States. Through that task
force, we are currently working to advance a bill which would raise
burial benefits for the families of deceased workers, as well as a
bill which protects domestic workers, often the victims of
abuse.
Our "Consumer Advocacy" initiative is a new and exciting
component of our work, and seeks to serve as a clearinghouse for
information and legal rights for those who are treated unfairly by
big business and powerful interests who would abuse those less
fortunate without the means to defend themselves. These efforts
include protecting the victims of predatory lending, defective
products and unscrupulous corporate behavior. We also seek to
acknowledge businesses that are responsible and supportive of
consumers.
When we talk about our perennial race to help others, there is
no better example than our work with the Boston Marathon bombing
survivors. One of our proudest achievements has been the pro bono
work we've spearheaded on behalf of these inspiring people, many of
whom have been running the "marathon between the marathons" on the
road to recovery. Our support for them will endure long after the
cheering has stopped.
We know many survivors are still struggling. These include
victims of traumatic brain injury and others with injuries that are
not visible and difficult to diagnose. The MBA is now active in the
process of establishing a Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force,
educating the public and attorneys as to this silent epidemic, as
well as seeking to collaborate with others in an attempt to
facilitate assistance to those in need who are victims of TBI.
The MBA's journey on this race started 103 years ago with our
founding by Oliver Wendell Holmes and Louis Brandeis. Since then,
we have maintained a proud tradition as the preeminent statewide
voice for justice. We have always been and continue to be committed
to protecting the disadvantaged and those most vulnerable.
As president, I have been just one runner in this never ending
relay. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish so far
this year, and I still have more to do. It is my hope, and my
promise, that when the time comes for me to pass that baton to our
next worthy leader, my friend Marsha V. Kazarosian, I will have
done my very best to extend the MBA's lead in the race.