Click here to learn about us
Click here to view the Officers and Board
Click here for Committees & Sections
Click here to view Past Presidents
Click here to view Community Programs
Click here to Join Us
Click here for Links
Click here for our Home Page
Worcester County Bar Association

WORCESTER COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
Monthly Bulletin

WCBA ANNUAL MEETING & DINNER


The Annual Dinner Meeting of the Worcester County Bar Association is scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., at Wachusett Country Club, 187 Prospect Street, West Boylston, MA.

Attendance: All members of the Worcester County Bar Association are invited to attend the Annual Dinner Meeting at no cost. However, you must return the registration form by the deadline of June 11th to the WCBA office indicating your dinner selection to be guaranteed a meal. Dinners cannot be reserved beyond this deadline. Any registrant who orders a dinner but does not attend will receive an invoice from the Bar Association for the cost of the meal. Membership is non-transferable. Your membership card is not required to be admitted to the meeting. Any person who is not a current member of the Association may attend the annual meeting by registering with the WCBA office, by the June 11th deadline; the cost for non-members is $50.00 per person. We will not be able to accommodate any non-members after the registration deadline or at the door. Please plan accordingly. Registration forms have been mailed to all of our members. If you did not receive one, please contact the WCBA office at 508-752-1311.
Your cooperation is very much appreciated


VOTING PROCEDURE

Voting for the offices of President-Elect and Secretary/Treasurer occur at the Annual Meeting of the Worcester County Bar Association. This year's Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at Wachusett Country Club, West Boylston. Attorney Anthony J. Vigliotti is seeking the office of Secretary/Treasurer for fiscal year 2009. Attorney Blaise P. Berthiaume is running for the office of President-Elect for fiscal year 2009.

Voting for members of the Executive Committee is by mail. Ballots have been mailed to all WCBA members and must be received by the WCBA office no later than June 2, 2008, to be valid. You may also vote in person on May 30, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Registry of Probate, 225 Main Street, Worcester. Traditionally only a small percentage of our members return their ballots. We hope you will take the time to review the ballot and vote. As in all elections, your vote does make a difference. If you did not receive a ballot, please contact the WCBA office immediately at 508-752-1311.
The results of the election are announced at the Annual Meeting.


.

The Equal Justice Reception is on June 25, 2008

Keynote Speaker:
The Honorable Nancy Gertner, United States District Court Judge, District of Massachusetts

On Wednesday, June 25th at 5:30 P.M., the Equal Justice Reception will be held at Tuckerman Hall in Worcester, MA. Co-hosted by the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts, the Volunteer Lawyers Service of the Massachusetts Justice Project, and the Worcester County Bar Association, this event honors those attorneys and advocates who provide pro bono legal assistance to low-income and elderly residents of Worcester County.

This year’s reception will feature keynote speaker the Honorable Nancy Gertner, United States District Court Judge, District of Massachusetts. Special recognition awards will be presented for the high level of volunteerism engaged in by members of the private bar. In May, the invitations will be mailed to all members of the WCBA and other members of the legal community. We hope you will be able to join us in acknowledging the outstanding efforts of your colleagues.


CONGRATULATIONS TO LAW DAY AWARD RECIPIENTS


Our Annual Law Day Breakfast was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on May 1, 2008. We had over 200 people in attendance enjoying our guest speaker’s remarks, the awards program, the fine food and good company. We are thankful to Lt. Governor Timothy P. Murray, our guest speaker, for his remarks on the law day theme of The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity.

The Massachusetts Bar Association’s Community Service Award was presented to Attorney Douglas Q. Meystre, of the law firm of Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, by Attorney David W. White, Jr., President of the Massachusetts Bar Association. This award is given to a local attorney who has performed acts of outstanding public service within their community.

The Worcester County Bar Association’s Liberty Bell award is presented each year to a non-lawyer or an organization that has contributed to the community and to the administration of justice. This year’s recipient was Jose Antonio Rivera, Court Officer with the Trial Court Department. The award was presented by the President of the WCBA, James G. Reardon, Jr.
The Worcester County Bar Association also presented an award to eight grade student Taylor Liljegren who attends Turkey Hill Middle School in Lunenburg, for writing the winning essay in the Law Day Essay contest. The award was presented by the Stephen R. Anderson, Chair of the Law Day Committee.
Congratulations to each of you!


SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENTS

May 21, 2008: “Understanding and Using Trusts for Real Estate Attorneys”, sponsored by the WCBA Real Estate Law Section , 4:30 p.m., at the Worcester County Registry of Deeds, 90 Front Street, Worcester. Guest Speaker is Attorney Janet W. Moore. Attorney Moore is a respected trust attorney in central Massachusetts. Her topics will include: nominee trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, liability issues for both trustees and beneficiaries; protection of trust assets from creditors; and tax treatment. Open and free of charge for members of the Worcester County Bar Association.

May 28, 2008: “Presenting Evidence in the Electronic Courtroom”, presented by the Law Office Technology Section, the Superior Court Committee and the Bench/Bar Committee, Worcester Superior Court, 225 Main Street, Room 19, Worcester. The presenters for the program are the Honorable James R. Lemire, Roy A. Bourgeois, James J. Reardon, Jr., Robert S. White, Jeffrey Raphaelson and Wayne Martin. This program will educate attendees on the presentation of common proffers of evidence, such as videotaped depositions, statements, animations, documents and photographs, using the electronic tools that are available in the electronic courtroom, Room 19, of the Worcester Superior Court. Open and free of charge for members of the WCBA.

June 5, 2008: “Trust Account Training”, sponsored by the Family Law Section, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Worcester Probate & Family Court, Courtroom 8, 225 Main Street, Worcester. This program will provide guidance for attorneys, paralegals, bookkeepers, or other law office support staff interested in receiving training on the requirements of Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.15, as revised effective July 1, 2004. This program will provide participants with a detailed review of the records that are required to be maintained for IOLTA accounts and other trust accounts. The program will look at record-keeping “traps for the unwary”. Open and free of charge for WCBA members and their staff.

June 12, 2008: “Title Insurance Explained”, sponsored by the Real Estate Law Section and hosted by the Registry of Deeds, 12:00 noon, Worcester Registry of Deeds, 90 Front Street, Worcester. The guest speaker for this program is Bill Wagner. This one hour seminar will cover the basic treatment of jacket coverages, schedules and endorsements. Open and free of charge for members of the WCBA.


BAR ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP AND PROFESSIONALISM

The Mentor Program


Recently, a colleague received a bill for membership in a bar association and he wondered why he should continue his membership. I am so old now that it doesn’t cost me very much to join anything. However, there was a time when I paid full freight. I felt then, and I still do, that it was worth my while to hold myself out as a member of a profession and, as such, I want to support organizations that help maintain the professionalism of our bar and that act in the best interests of our profession. If we as lawyers don’t support our own profession, who will?

Our membership and active participation in our Worcester County Bar Association helps to identify us as members of a profession and shows that we are truly colleagues, rather than simply members of a business association. The lawyers that practice here usually learn about our collegiality early in their careers. The way we hold ourselves out to the public, whether it be the manner in which we dress, advertise our practice, or our active participation in bar association activities, tells the public how we view ourselves.

One indicator of the collegiality and professionalism associated with active membership in our bar association is participation in the mentor program, where lawyers are willing to help each other, either formally or informally, to ensure that our clients are well served and that they retain a positive image of our legal profession.

The Worcester County Bar Association has established a mentor program, and 23 lawyers have already indicated a willingness to serve as mentors to other lawyers. This means that any lawyer, young or old, new or experienced, can call upon a colleague with special experience in an area of law with which the lawyer may not be familiar, and get a solution to a difficult problem. It often enables us to render services to our clients in an efficient manner and based upon expert knowledge, which results in the saving of time and money.
Lawyers who have been recently admitted to the bar and have not yet built a practice that will generate a stream of income may find it difficult to expend funds on dues for membership in professional organizations. However, I believe it to be money well spent, because it will afford a young lawyer an opportunity to join his or her colleagues in the profession, to enroll in continuing legal education programs, to purchase insurance coverage at group rates, and to call on fellow colleagues for expert advice.

For the members of the Worcester County Bar Association who have the advantage of years of experience, I encourage you to lend your support to the mentor program and enlist in the effort to provide advice to lawyers who are less familiar with the area of law in which you have been practicing.

Submitted by,
Edward D. Simsarian.


COURT ANNOUNCEMENTS

NOTICE FROM THE HONORABLE JOHN S. McCANN,
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE WORCESTER SUPERIOR COURT


Commencing April 8, 2008, regularly scheduled motions in all Superior Court Sessions will be heard on either Tuesday or Thursday at 2:00 p.m. and will no longer be held on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. This applies to regularly scheduled motions and not to ex parte matters or applications for a short order of notice.

The Honorable Joseph L. Hart, Jr., First Justice of the Probate & Family Court Department has provided the WCBA Probate Court Committee with the current pre-trial conference procedures used by the six justices of the Worcester Probate and Family Court. These procedures are printed below:


PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE PROCEDURE – JUDGE JOSEPH L. HART, JR.


When there are two (2) pro-se litigants, or one (1) pro-se litigant and one (1) lawyer, the case is automatically referred to the Probation Department for mediation. If the case settles in mediation, a Judgment will enter based upon the agreement. If the case is not settled at mediation through Probation, the case will be called in the Courtroom where Judge Hart will review the Probation Dispute Intervention Memorandum, attempt to settle the case with the litigants and/or the attorney, and, if successful, enter a Judgment. If the case is not settled Judge Hart will then prepare a Pre-Trial Order setting forth a further discovery deadline, a trial date, and, usually, a Status Conference date three to five weeks in advance of the trial.
Where all parties at the Pre-Trial Conference are represented by counsel, Judge Hart generally reviews the Pre-Trial Memorandums and the financial statements prior to the case being called, if they are available. He will then usually, but nor always, see the lawyers in his lobby and discuss the parameters of settlement, asking each counsel what he or she recommends for a Judgment. Counsel will then confer with their clients to ascertain whether or not the case can be settled that date, and if so, a Judgment will be entered on that day. If the case is not settled, Judge Hart will prepare Pre-Trial Order with a further Discovery deadline, a Trial date or dates, and a Status Conference date.
On other cases where all parties are represented, and where Judge Hart does not have a lobby conference, the Pre-Trial Conference will be conducted in the Courtroom with the parties present. Again, if the case is settled, a Judgment will enter that day and, if not, a Pre-Trial Order will be issued.

********

PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE PROCEDURE – JUDGE LUCILLE A. DiLEO


1. When there is at least one pro-se litigant on a case (both pro-se or one pro-se and one attorney), the case will be automatically referred to the Probation Department for mediation.

  1. If the case settles in mediation, a Judgment will enter based on the agreement
  2. If the case does not settle in mediation, then the case will be called into the Courtroom. Judge DiLeo will:
  1. review the Probation Dispute Intervention Memorandum,
  2. attempt to settle the case
  1. if successful in settling the case, enter a Judgment
  2. if unsuccessful in settling the case, prepare a Pre-Trial Order setting forth discovery deadline, trial date, and if requested, a Status Conference date

2. When all parties are represented by counsel, Judge DiLeo will:
  1. Prior to calling the case, review the Pre-Trial Memorandums and Financial Statements, if available
  2. If requested, meet with counsel in her lobby to discuss the parameters of settlement and request recommendations for Judgment. Counsel will then confer with their clients to attempt to settle the case
  1. if successful in settling the case, enter a Judgment based on the agreement
  2. if unsuccessful in settling the case, prepare a Pre-Trial Order setting forth discovery deadline, trial date, and if requested, a Status Conference date
  1. If a lobby conference is not requested, conduct the Pre-Trial Conference in the Courtroom with parties present
  1. if successful in settling the case, enter a Judgment based on the agreement
  2. if unsuccessful in settling the case, issue a Pre-Trial Order setting forth discovery deadline, trial date, and if requested, a Status Conference date

********


PRE-TRIAL PROCEDURE – JUDGE RONALD W. KING


  1. All Pre-Trials begin at Probation.
  2. Probation understands that disagreeable pro-se litigants are sent directly to the Courtroom after instructions are given about financial statements.
  3. If a lawyer or lawyers convince an Assistant Chief Probation Officer that the case should be sent to the Courtroom without intervention, the Assistant Chief has such discretion without further mediation by Probation.


PRE-TRIAL PROTOCOL - JUDGE GREGORY V. ROACH


  1. If both parties are represented by counsel, the pre-trial conference will be held in the courtroom. The courtroom will be closed in order to provide counsel and parties the
opportunity for a hearing without interruption.

  1. If one party is represented by counsel and the other party is appearing pro se, the party represented by counsel will have the option of proceeding with the pre-trial conference before Judge Roach or proceeding first with mediation, either conducted by the Probation Department or before Charles Patronas.

  1. If both parties are appearing pro se, the case will automatically, at the call of the list, be sent to the Probation Department for mediation in the first instance. If mediation is not successful, then Judge Roach will conduct the pre-trial conference in the courtroom.

  1. The pre-trial conferences are held in the courtroom so that there is a record of the proceedings. If counsel wishes to have a lobby conference, the court will accommodate them.

  1. Pre-Trial conferences are held on Tuesdays and a limited amount of pre-trial conferences are held on Friday mornings. Pre-trial conferences held on Tuesdays are scheduled at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and if requested by the parties, at 2:00 PM. Trial days are Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Judge Roach does not schedule pre-trial conferences on those days to ensure that trials start promptly at 9:00 AM and proceed to conclusion without interference or interruption.

********

PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE PROCEDURE - JUDGE DENISE L. MEAGHER


  1. When pro-se litigants are involved all cases are sent to Probation for dispute resolution. If an agreement is not reached Judge Meagher will conference the case. Depending on the complexity of the case a judgment may enter that date or a future trial date will be assigned.

  1. In cases where both parties are represented by counsel, the matter is not sent to Probation. The Pre-trial Conference is held by Judge Meagher in an open courtroom. The parties and counsel are to report directly to Courtroom 1. At the request of counsel, Judge Meagher will hold the Pre-trial Conference in her lobby if both lawyers agree that it would benefit settlement.

If the case is not settled that date it will be assigned for a further pre-trial conference and/or be given a trial date.

The only time cases with counsel are sent to Probation is if a trial is in progress that demands the court's time.

  1. Pre-trial Memos are required. Proposed Judgments are not; however, in the Pre-trial Memo include specifically the relief the client is seeking.


CONTEMPT HEARINGS


  1. Judge Meagher requests a Proposed Judgment at the time of all Contempt hearings. The Proposed Judgment should specifically set forth the relief the client is seeking. (i.e. exact arrears amounts, exact uninsured medicals due, attorney fees, dates and times for make-up visits, terms of payment on arrears, proposed review date, penalties for non- compliance, etc.)

********


PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE PROCEDURE – JUDGE SUSAN D. RICCI

When all parties are represented by counsel, counsel can choose to see the judge without reporting to Probation. Each party must file a Pre-Trial Memorandum, a Proposed Judgment, Financial Statement and Child Support Guidelines Worksheet. Counsel must exchange copies with opposing counsel, prior to appearing in the courtroom. Counsel may request a closed courtroom with or without parties present, and the Pre-Trial will be recorded.

Counsel may elect to go first to Probation for mediation and must, prior to mediation, exchange Pre-Trial Memorandums, Proposed Judgments, Financial Statements and Child Support Guidelines Worksheets. If the parties and counsel reach an agreement, the file will be brought to the courtroom for judgment to enter. If no agreement is reached, counsel shall report to the courtroom for Pre-Trial hearing, which will generally be heard in closed session, and will be recorded.

At the conclusion of the Pre-Trial hearing, the Court shall set deadlines for discovery, witnesses and exhibit lists and final hearing dates. Usually a Status hearing will be scheduled when discovery is completed or close to trial. Conciliation with an Assistant Judicial Case Manager may be offered to counsel and ordered by the Court.

When there are two pro-se litigants, or one pro-se litigant and one lawyer, the case is automatically referred to the Probation Department for mediation. Parties must file Pre-Trial Memorandums, Proposed Judgments, Financial Statements and Child Support Guidelines Worksheet. If the case does not settle in Probation, the case will be called in the courtroom where Judge Ricci will review the Probation Dispute Intervention Memo, Pre-Trial Memorandums, Proposed Judgments, Financial Statements and Child Support Guidelines Worksheets and attempt to settle the case, and, if successful, enter a judgment. If the case is not settled, Judge Ricci will then prepare a Pre-Trial Order setting forth deadlines for discovery, witnesses, exhibits and a trial date will be assigned. If time permits, the case may be called to final hearing. If the case settles in Probation, a judgment shall issue.


WCBA LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE JOIN NOW !!!


The Lawyer Referral Service of the Worcester County Bar Association is a very successful program for both clients in need of legal representation and for attorneys trying to build or add to their client base.

The program has the dual purpose of serving both the public and our attorney members. We assist the public in locating a private attorney to represent them. Those callers not looking for the assistance of a private attorney are referred to the appropriate social service organization.

The WCBA advertises our LRS program in every Nynex Yellow Page book throughout Worcester County. We receive well over 1000 calls per month originating throughout all of Worcester County. The program is a service for individuals who are looking to hire private attorneys in Worcester County in all areas of law. We are not a pro bono service.

Membership dues to participate in the program are $75.00 per fiscal year for attorneys practicing for six years or more and $50.00 for attorneys practicing five years or less. Why not give us a try? We can sign up attorneys in all areas of law. Join now and receive the last three months of fiscal year 2007 for free!!

Please call the WCBA office at 508-752-1311 or e-mail lrsinfo@worcestercountybar.org for an application.

 Thank you for your consideration.

Volunteer Opportunities

WCBA REDUCED FEE PROGRAM NEEDS PANEL ATTORNEYS


The Reduced Fee Program of the Worcester County Bar Association is looking for attorneys to serve on its panel of attorneys willing to represent marginally indigent clients at a reduced rate. Through the Reduced Fee Program, attorneys agree to charge no more than $75.00 per hour to the client. To receive information on the program, please contact Candice Staples at 508-752-1311. Thank you for your consideration.

About Us | Officers & Board | Committees & Sections | Past Presidents
Community Programs | Join Us | Links | Home