BOSTON BAR URGES JUDICIAL PAY RAISE

Testimony of the Boston Bar Association
Before the Governor's Compensation Advisory Board
In Support of Increased Judicial Compensation
Presented by Kathy B. Weinman, President-Elect, Boston Bar Association
January 30, 2008

• Good evening Co-Chairs Guzzi and Costa and members of the Advisory Board.  I am Kathy B. Weinman, President-Elect of the Boston Bar Association, and I appear before you today on behalf of the almost 9,500 members of the BBA to urge that you recommend a salary increase for all of our Massachusetts judges.
  
  
• Massachusetts judicial salaries have been losing ground for quite some time, to the detriment of the public, which relies heavily on the judiciary for the fair and increasingly efficient resolution of disputes.
  
  
• In 2000, a BBA committee studied the issue of judicial salaries and concluded that Massachusetts judges are under compensated.  Speaker DiMasi and Representative St. Fleur, Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means were members of that committee.  A copy of the report, “Judicial Salaries in Massachusetts,” has been included with a copy of my written testimony, submitted to you today.
  
  
• In its report, the BBA compared Massachusetts state judges’ salaries to those of state judges in comparable states, to those of federal judges sitting in Massachusetts, and to those of lawyers practicing in large firms in the Commonwealth.  By any of these measures, the salaries of our own state judges compared rather poorly.
  
  
• Why is this important? 
  
  
• As discussed in our report, “Massachusetts courts face the enormous challenge of providing prompt, fair resolution of increasingly complex disputes, in developing areas of the law, ranging from Family Law to Business Law.  Judges are also challenged by large numbers of demanding, non-complex cases, including pro se cases, that require fair and speedy resolution.  To meet these challenges, the courts must be able to attract and retain judges of great ability and broad experience.”
  
  
• The difficulty of attracting and retaining the best possible judges has been exacerbated by the extraordinary rise in lawyers’ salaries at Massachusetts law firms since 2000.  A recent survey revealed that the most junior associates at the larger law firms in Boston earn from $145,000.00 to $160,000.00 per year.
  
• I hope that you will agree that our corps of excellent, dedicated judges deserves to be compensated at levels reflecting the importance of their work in our daily lives. 
  
  
• By appropriately increasing judicial salaries, we strengthen the judiciary, convey our collective esteem for the women and men who serve the Commonwealth with their intellect and hard work, and build the public trust.
  
  
• The Boston Bar Association feels strongly that support for a highly qualified, well-respected judiciary is essential to the health of our democracy, and we urge you to recommend an increase in judicial salaries to the Governor.
  
• I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today.  Thank you.