Lawyers Journal

When Marsha V. Kazarosian's term as MBA president comes to a close at the end of August, she jokes that she will finally be able to get back to running a law practice after serving as an officer since 2008.  Kazarosian, who will hand over the reins to President-elect Robert W. Harnais on Sept. 1, enjoyed both a successful and historic association year as president in 2014-15.

Highlights included free CLE courses, the passage of legislation allowing for attorney-conducted voir dire and increased court funding for civil legal aid.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed the state's final fiscal year 2016 budget on July 17, which included vetoes of some of the funding allocated by the Legislature to the courts. Baker's budget provided the Trial Court with an approximately $628 million allocation, which court officials said would "preserves basic court operations," but could restrict other programs. On July 30, the House of Representatives and Senate voted to override the governor's trial court vetoes restoring funding of the trial court to $631.5 million for fiscal year 2016.

"Is possible to do both?"

That's the question I am frequently asked when people hear that I serve as the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, in addition to practicing law full time. It is not an unfair question, and I think the answer is important for everyone to hear if you are considering volunteering for a leadership position at a bar association. I am familiar with this question because during the time I was raising my three children, practicing law and volunteering in the legal community, many fellow attorneys asked: "How do you juggle it all?"