BBA WEEK November 17, 2008
1. Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP Makes Its Debut
2. BBA Keeps Watchful Eye on Legal Aid Funding
3. Sponsor Firm News
4. Voices of the Bar: What book or books, unrelated to your professional work, have you re-read and why?
5. New MA Information Security Regs
6. BBA Green Office Tip of the Week
7. Pro Bono Training for Boston Housing Court
8. Sentencing, Revocation and Supervision in the Post Gall/Kimbrough Era
9. Attention Officers, Directors, Board Members & Senior Management
10. Seventh Annual New Lawyers Section Holiday Pro Bono Reception
11. Stay Up to Date on Legal Issues in Same Sex Relationships
12. Chief Justice Marshall on Domestic Violence
13. Judges Needed for Harvard's Mock Trial Tournament
14. Lawyers Needed for Fenway High Career Fair
15. The BBA Online

 

The BBA Privacy Law Committee attracted over 100 people at its recent panel discussion about the new Massachusetts information security regulations, which take effect January 1, 2009.
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Monday, November 17, 2008
12:00p Leasing Committee - at BBA; RSVP
What to Do When Your Commercial Tenant Stops Paying Rent: Landlord/Tenant Strategies and Bankruptcy Considerations
Robert Foster of Rackemann, Saywer & Brewster, Tyler Chapman of Todd & Weld LLP and Chad Dale of K&L Gates will lead a presentation on summary process and landlord and tenant strategies when a tenant defaults on payment obligations under a commercial lease. The presentation will focus on three areas: Landlord strategies for declaring defaults and regaining possession of the premises; tenant strategies for terminating leases, mitigating damages and negotiating early surrender agreements; and a general overview of bankruptcy considerations both parties should be aware of. Question and answer period to follow.
12:00p Senior Lawyers Section Steering Committee - at BBA
12:30p Senior Lawyers Section - at BBA; RSVP
Supplemental Careers – Options for Experienced Lawyers
James J. Marcellino
Each panelist will speak for 10 minutes on the following topics: Strengthening the BBA Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) Program; establishing Speakers Bureau to explain reform of CORI, Minimum Mandatory and Pre-and Post-Release Training; advising first year law school students in connection with Social Justice Projects and other law school mentoring programs; advising lawyers considering move from large firm to smaller firm; and volunteering on cases, investigations, policy analysis and training/mentorship projects at the Attorney General's Office. There will be time for questions and one-to-one discussions with the panelists at the conclusion of the presentations. Panelists: Alexis Hill, Boston Bar Association; Christina Miller, Suffolk County District Attorney's Office; Susan Maze-Rothstein, Northeastern University Law School; James J. Marcellino, Hanify & King PC; Rosalyn Garbose, Office of the Attorney General; and Heather Leary, Boston Bar Association.
12:30p Environmental Law Section - at Goodwin Procter LLP - 53 State Street, Boston; RSVP
Post-Election Prospects on National and International Environmental and Health Issues
Kevin Knobloch
Please join us for a post-election discussion of prospects for environmental initiatives on the national and international level with Kevin Knobloch, Union of Concerned Scientists. Cambridge-based UCS is perhaps the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices. What began as a collaboration between students and faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969 is now an alliance of more than 250,000 citizens and scientists.
12:30p Mergers & Acquisitions Committee - at Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP - 28 State Street, Boston; RSVP
New Standards Under FAS 141r
John Ferro, Grant Thornton LLP's Valuation Services Group, will discuss the new accounting standards under FAS 141r, Business Combinations, that are set to take effect in fiscal year 2009. Fair Value has recently received a lot of press given the current economic crisis and turmoil in the capital markets. The Financial Accounting Standards Board continues to enact fair value reporting standards that will continue its overall efforts toward broader financial disclosures and transparency on how assets and liabilities are recorded and reported on financial statements. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Board issued 141r Business Combinations that change the way companies allocate purchase price between acquired tangible and intangible assets and the fair value of liabilities assumed. The new requirements may alter how transactions are negotiated and structured and every transaction advisor should understand these requirements.
12:30p Insurance Law Committee and Securities Law Committee - at BBA; RSVP
State of the Management Liability Market: D&O, EPL, Fiduciary, Cyber and Crime Insurance in the Wake of the Wall Street Crisis and Federal Bailout
Nancy Adams
Please join Nancy Adams, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C., and David Goldstein, Willis North America, as they lead a discussion of current policy terms and conditions, insurer appetite, protection of boards, shareholder suits, and recent caselaw.
1:00p BMC/ADR Task Force - at BBA
4:00p Real Estate Pro Bono Committee - at BBA
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
8:30a Ethics Committee - at BBA
12:00p Consumer Bankruptcy Committee- at BBA; RSVP
Foreclosure Avoidance Schemes and Bankruptcy: Examining the Interplay Created by Recent Regulations
Phoebe D. Morse, U.S. Trustee Program, and Christopher K. Barry-Smith, Office of the Attorney General will lead a discussion on how the recent increase in foreclosures, both in Massachusetts as well as nationwide, has also given rise to various schemes aimed at defrauding homeowners facing foreclosure. We will review recent regulatory changes aimed at both foreclosure avoidance schemes, as well as schemes involving foreclosure related services. Throughout our discussion, we will be paying particular attention to how these recent regulatory changes may affect not only homeowners, but also licensed attorneys practicing in the field of bankruptcy.
12:30p Computer & Internet Law Committee - at BBA; RSVP
The Google Book Search Settlement
Bradley E. Abruzzi
Bradley E. Abruzzi, Harvard University, will present a brown-bag lunch discussion on Google Book Search. Google recently agreed to pay a total of $125 million to settle copyright infringement claims brought by authors and publishers as a result of its Google Book Search project.  The settlement promises to make millions of books available online while compensating copyright owners for the use of their work. This discussion will cover the history of the Google Book Search litigation, the legal arguments made by both sides, and what the settlement is likely to mean for authors, libraries, and the public.
12:30p Air Quality & Climate Change Committee - at BBA; RSVP
Update on MassDEP's Air Priorities and Initiatives
Jim Colman, MassDEP, will discuss the agency’s current priorities and initiatives in the air field. Please join us for what will be a lively, interesting and informative discussion.
4:00p Criminal Law Section - at Federal Courthouse - 1 Courthouse Way, Boston; RSVP
Allison D. Burroughs
Sentencing and Revocation Advocacy and Alternatives Post Gall and Kimbrough: What Works and What Does Not
The program will focus on sentencing, revocation and supervision in the post Gall/Kimbrough era.  Topics will include new models of supervision including the intensive drug program CARE (Court Assisted Recovery Effort); innovative approaches in light of the developing case law; judicial, prosecution and defense perspectives on the new world of sentencing; and discussion on how to be an effective advocate in post sentencing proceedings. Panelists include: Judge Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court; Judge Leo Sorokin, Magistrate Judge (w/ participants from the CARE Program), U.S. District Court; Joseph F. Savage, Goodwin Proctor LLP; Heidi Brieger, U.S. Attorney's Office; Paul Levenson, U.S. Attorney's Office; and Stellio Sinnis, Asst. Federal Defender, Law Office of Stellio Sinnis. Moderators: Allison D. Burroughs, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP and Patrick Hamilton,
Day Pitney LLP.
4:00p Commercial Finance Committee - at Choate, Hall & Stewart - 34th Floor, Two International Place, Boston; Please RSVP to Chris Haggerty at chaggerty@choate.com (or 617-248-2115) as soon as possible, so that we can have an accurate head count
Credit Crisis and Escalating Counterparty Risk: What You Need to Know to Help Your Clients
Mark T. Williams, Boston University School of Management, Jeffrey Smith, OmniCap Group LLC, and Ripley Hastings, Global Finance Group of Nixon Peabody LLP will share their practical experience in light of the recent defaults like the Lehman bankruptcy filing to help you understand the broad implications of counterparty defaults in the $44 Trillion Credit Default Swap Market and the $230 Trillion Interest Rate Swap Market.
4:15p BBA Council - at BBA
4:30p Labor & Employment Law Section - at BBA; RSVP
Massachusetts Wage Act Amendment
John F. Tocci , Tocci, Goss & Lee, P.C., and Daniel S. Field, Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP will lead this roundtable brown bag. The seminar will focus on whether the legislative amendments apply retroactively, and will include a discussion of the history of the law, evolving authority regarding mandatory costs and attorneys’ fees under Massachusetts state wage laws, and recent wage and hour litigation trends. In early 2008, the Massachusetts legislature amended Massachusetts’ Wage and Hour Laws, including the Massachusetts Wage Act, to make triple or “treble” damages automatically available to prevailing plaintiffs in wage and hour cases.  The issue of whether treble damages were automatically recoverable had long been the subject of debate until the watershed 2005 Supreme Judicial Court decision in Wiedmann v. Bradford Group, Inc, which held that the award of treble damages required evidence of a willful violation.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
12:00p Corporate Counsel Committee - at BBA; RSVP
Being Prepared for Unsolicited Takeover Proposals
Jim Matarese, partner in Goodwin Procter LLP's Mergers & Acquisitions/Corporate Governance Group, will discuss takeover preparedness in view of current trends in shareholder activism and hostile activity.
12:00p International Law Section Steering Committee - at BBA
12:30p Health Law Section Steering Committee - at BBA
6:00p Boston Bar Orchestra - at BBA
Thursday, November 20, 2008
12:00p New Lawyers Section and Criminal Law Section - at BBA; RSVP
Criminal Law for Civil Attorneys
Jen Ryan
All of us receive questions and comments from the typical cocktail hour - Questions of "If I get pulled over for a OUI, should I take a breathalyzer?" to a call from a client indicating that a FBI agent is at the office with a search warrant. Our panel will walk through these and other questions that a civil attorney may have with respect to criminal law. Panelists: Bill Lovett, Dwyer & Collora, LLP; Nick Walsh, Suffolk County District Attorney's Office; Andrea McGeehan, Murphy & Associates. Moderator: Jen Ryan, Dwyer & Collora, LLP.
12:00p Title & Conveyancing Committee - at BBA; RSVP
Title Examiners Pet Peeves: Registry Traps for the Unwary
Arch Acton, Marsh, Moriarty, Ontell and Golder, P.C., and Tom Ryan, Suffolk Registry of Deeds, will lead a discussion of some registry procedures related to recording documents and plans, registry requirements, registry indexing and other considerations. Concentration will be on the Suffolk, Middlesex South, and Norfolk Registries of Deeds.
4:30p Family Law Planning Session - at BBA
6:00p Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Section - at BBA; RSVP
Election 2008:   How did the Voting Process Perform?
Please join us for a panel discussion about how the voting process performed in Massachusetts and nationwide, given the historic turnout in the 2008 election.  Our panelists will include the legal counsel and director of the Secretary of the Commonweath’s Elections Division, as well as lawyers for the McCain and Obama campaigns that led the voter turnout and protection efforts in several states.  Panelists to be announced.
Friday, November 21, 2008
12:00p Estate Planning Committee - at BBA; RSVP
Overview of the new Form 990
Maura Murphy,  Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster, P.C. will provide an overview of the new Form 990, the annual information return filed by publicly supported charitable organizations which has undergone its first major revision in almost thirty years and raises a number of issues for charities regarding governance, compensation, related organizations and more.
12:30p Federal Practice & Procedure Committee and New Lawyers Section - at BBA; RSVP
Jonathan I. Handler
The Local Rules of the U.S. District Court: Helpful Hints and Traps for the (Un)wary
The local rules of the U.S. District Court present a myriad of challenges for those not familiar with them. They also offer a number of mechanisms to assist the savvy practitioner in advancing his or her case through the federal court. Jonathan I. Handler, Day Pitney LLP, will focus on providing practical, everyday advice on how the key rules work and how they affect one's practice.
12:30p Consumer Finance Work Group - at BBA
1:00p BBJ Board of Editors - at BBA




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