Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Starting Out Strong: New Lawyers Section Co-Sponsors CLE for Attorneys Seeking to Establish New Practices

Starting a new law firm is a daunting task for any attorney, whether that task is undertaken as a solo lawyer, or in partnership with colleagues. Regardless of your years of experience in practice for others, or a family history in the practice of law, or all that stuff that you thought you learned when you were in law school, the practical considerations for establishing a law firm can quickly become overwhelming if you are without guidance.

Four questions common to those attorneys seeking to establish their own law firms are as follows: (1) Yeah, But what’s it really like to practice, and to manage a business at the same time? (2) How can I afford all of the technology that I need for a modern practice? (3) How do I do this without transgressing ethics requirements? (4) What do I do about malpractice insurance?

If you’re considering those questions yourself, and have hesitated to start your own practice without the answers, the beginning of May brings with it, for you, not only flowers, but also a continuing legal education program that can get you started on the road to entrepreneurship.

On Monday, May 2, from 3-6 pm, at the Boston Bar Association’s downtown office, the New Lawyers and Solo & Small Firm Sections will present a program on practice start-up that will: offer the impressions of solo attorneys with varying degrees of experiences (a few decades versus a few years); run down essential technology inputs for new practices, including suggestions for saving on same; provide an overview of some chief ethics concerns; and, cover your malpractice insurance options--in answer to the all of the questions posited above.

For more information and to register, visit the BBA’s calendar page for the event.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

MAHA Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!

MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF HISPANIC ATTORNEYS
Invites You to Come Celebrate 5 de Mayo

DATE: May 4, 2011
TIME: 6:30 PM
PLACE: Jose McIntyres, 160 Milk Street, Boston

MAHA invites the New Lawyers Section to their annual Cinco de Mayo celebration! See old friends, make new friends, have some fun, and participate in a silent auction. Light fare will be provided. Cash bar.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

New Lawyers Represent the BBA at the 2011 Walk to the Hill

The New Lawyers Section proudly represented the BBA at the 12th Annual Walk to the Hill held on February 22, 2011. About a dozen members of the section joined over 500 other Massachusetts attorneys from several dozen firms and organizations, all to stand in support of continued funding for civil legal aid programs in the Commonwealth. In light of Massachusetts' ongoing tight fiscal budget and the sharp decrease in proceeds from the state's IOLTA program, participating in this year's Walk to the Hill was all the more crucial to inform legislators on Beacon Hill of the importance of maintaining civil legal aid programs.

Even during February's school vacation week, more than 500 attorneys showed up in support. Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ralph Gants addressed the crowd with a strong message mirroring the directive which closes our nation's Pledge of Allegiance: "With Justice for All." BBA President Don Federico also addressed the crowd in the Great Hall, marking the important role that civil legal aid programs carry in our communities, particularly for those most hard hit by the economic downturn.

The Equal Justice Coalition, which hosted the event in partnership with the BBA and MBA, greatly welcomed our group's participation. After the program, participants visited the offices of their State Senators and State Representatives to speak with legislators or their staffs about supporting continued funding. New Lawyers also joined President Don Federico for a photograph on the Great Stairs.


We thank all the New Lawyers and Solo & Small Firm attorneys who joined for this year's Walk to the Hill. If you weren't able to make it or didn't have another group to join, consider joining the New Lawyers Section for next year's Walk to the Hill. We look forward to seeing you in 2012.

New Lawyers Represent the BBA at the 2011 Walk to the Hill

The New Lawyers Section proudly represented the BBA at the 12th Annual Walk to the Hill held on February 22, 2011. About a dozen members of the section joined over 500 other Massachusetts attorneys from several dozen firms and organizations, all to stand in support of continued funding for civil legal aid programs in the Commonwealth. In light of Massachusetts' ongoing tight fiscal budget and the sharp decrease in proceeds from the state's IOLTA program, participating in this year's Walk to the Hill was all the more crucial to inform legislators on Beacon Hill of the importance of maintaining civil legal aid programs.

Even during February's school vacation week, more than 500 attorneys showed up in support. Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ralph Gants addressed the crowd with a strong message mirroring the directive which closes our nation's Pledge of Allegiance: "With Justice for All." BBA President Don Federico also addressed the crowd in the Great Hall, marking the important role that civil legal aid programs carry in our communities, particularly for those most hard hit by the economic downturn.

The Equal Justice Coalition, which hosted the event in partnership with the BBA and MBA, greatly welcomed our group's participation. After the program, participants visited the offices of their State Senators and State Representatives to speak with legislators or their staffs about supporting continued funding. New Lawyers also joined President Don Federico for a photograph on the Great Stairs.

We thank all the New Lawyers and Solo & Small Firm attorneys who joined for this year's Walk to the Hill. If you weren't able to make it or didn't have another group to join, consider joining the New Lawyers Section for next year's Walk to the Hill. We look forward to seeing you in 2012.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Come to Casino Night!

Just a reminder that Casino Night is tonight starting at 5:30 pm at the Boston Bar Association. For full event details, see http://www.bostonbar.org/ebusiness/Meetings/EventDetail.aspx?ID=7322 or contact Christine Cheung at ccheung@bostonbar.org or 617-778-1930. A limited number of tickets are still available. Hope to see everyone there!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Walk to Hill for Civil Legal Aid Rescheduled to 2-22-11 because of snow

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2011
Contact: Bonnie Sashin, APR
Communications Director
(617) 778-1902
Walk to Hill for Civil Legal Aid Rescheduled to 2-22-11

Because of an impending snow storm, Walk to the Hill for Civil Legal Aid will NOT be held Wednesday, February 2. It has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the State House.
We will send more details closer to the new date. Thank you for your continued support!

Recap of "Establishing a Healthy Pro Bono Practice"

Guest blog post by Alexis Kaplan.

Last week I attended “Establishing a Healthy Pro Bono Practice,” a
brown bag event held at the BBA to discuss ideas and opportunities for
new lawyers to become active in pro bono and public service.
Alexandra Gorman of Skadden, Arps and Edward Zacharias of McDermott
Will & Emery spoke about a variety of opportunities to get involved,
as well as ways to take advantage of being at a supportive firm.

Among their suggestions:

-       Find out if your firm allows associates to count pro bono hours
towards billable hours

-       If your firm has an active pro bono program, it can be a great way
to work with partners as mentors for these projects

-       As a senior associate you can assist junior associates as a mentor
in pro bono projects

They also discussed the Boston Bar Association’s Public Interest
Leadership Program (PILP), a one-year program for new attorneys to get
trained in becoming involved in public service activities.  Along with
that is the idea that even if you are having trouble finding pro bono
opportunities that you are able to do, whether due to conflicts or
lack of opportunities in the area of law you practice, serving on a
non-profit board for an organization that you support is an excellent
way to contribute to public service (not to mention great non-legal
networking!).

Other organizations discussed include Volunteer Lawyers Project
http://www.vlpnet.org/ and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
http://www.vlama.org/.  Both of these organizations offer great ways
to get involved with clients in a large variety of legal fields.  Also
useful for many new lawyers is that each organization’s panel
attorneys are covered by insurance for their pro bono cases.  They
both offer training sessions for their volunteer lawyers, and VLP also
offers vouchers for CLE courses.  Other great opportunities to get
involved with through the BBA include VITA, which offers tax
assistance, and the Yellow Ribbon Project  to provide legal advice to
deploying military personnel in areas such as Family Law, Trusts &
Estates and Bankruptcy,
http://www.bostonbar.org/ebusiness/Meetings/EventDetail.aspx?ID=5710.

Looking for something to get involved in right away, without being
much of a time commitment?  Join the BBA New Lawyers Section this
Tuesday, February 22 for the Walk to the Hill for Legal Aid:
http://www.bostonbar.org/ebusiness/Meetings/EventDetail.aspx?ID=7433.
The New Lawyers section will be meeting first at the BBA at 10:30am
for a brief reception before making our way to the State House
together for this important opportunity to advocate for MA civil legal
aid programs.  See you there!

Alexis B. Kaplan is a family law associate at McCaig Law Offices,
www.mlo-lawfirm.com, a member of the BBA New Lawyers Pro Bono
Subcommittee, and an active panel attorney with the Volunteer Lawyers
Project.