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Upcoming Meetings & Events |
1.Time Management: Tips for Powering up Productivity and Powering Down Stress Sponsored by the Solo & Small Firm, New Lawyers and Environmental Law Section Click here to RSVP for this program. Anne Braudy, Braudy Legal Consulting, and Dr. Jeffery Fortang, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Inc., will offer specific recommendations on how to run your practice more efficiently. Goals are to:
In addition to time management tips, strategies will be provided to help combat the internal obstacles that get in the way of applying these time-tested methods in your practice. |
2. The Future of the Commonwealth’s Division of Administrative Law Appeals Sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Public Law Section Thursday, February 7, 2008 - 5:30 p.m. Shelly Taylor, who was recently appointed to the position of Chief Administrative Magistrate of the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, will address the MBA’s Public Law Section to introduce herself, discuss what is on DALA’s current and future agenda, and seek input from members of the bar in establishing both short-term and long-range priorities for the agency. Both the meeting and its agenda are open and one need not be a member of the MBA to attend. In addition to a general Q & A session, moving the docket of older cases at DALA, whether and how the bar should participate in evaluating magistrates and overall agency performance, and the impact that feedback from the bar is having at DALA today are all topics on the table for discussion. If time permits, Magistrate Taylor will also relate the latest on the newest class of DALA cases: expedited local permit appeals under G.L. c. 43D. |
3. Detoxifying Toxic Tort Claims Environmental Litigation Committee Click here to RSVP for this program. Thursday, February 7, 2008 - 12:30 pm Join us as Jan R. Schlichtmann discusses the new creative model he has developed for putting together classes of plaintiffs to pursue toxic tort and environmental damages claims through a trust vehicle. Mr. Schlichtmann will explain his trust model and how he is putting it into action in cases such as the Danvers Explosion. He will also talk about a legislative proposal he is working on to codify the trust form. Mr. Schlichtmann is a plaintiff's attorneys specializing in the area of consumer, environmental, product, toxic, and mass tort litigation. He has most notably received recognition for his work in the 1980's case against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods for the contamination of the Woburn City water supply, subject of the national bestseller and movie “A Civil Action.” |
4. USDOT/PHMSA: Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations Hazardous & Solid Waste and Environmental Litigation Committee Click here to RSVP for this program. Thursday, February 28, 2008 - 12:30 pm Mike Hilder and Margaret Carson, U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”), will present an introduction on the applicability of Federal regulations to the transportation of all types of hazardous materials by air, rail, highway, and water, and the measures of Federal, State, and local officials to promote compliance with those regulations. Mr. Hilder, an attorney with PHMSA’s Office of Chief Counsel, will summarize the Federal statutory and regulatory scheme and the relationship of DOT’s authority with that of OSHA, EPA, and the U.S. Postal Service. He will also explain PHMSA’s procedures for conducting civil penalty enforcement cases when investigators discover noncompliance. Ms. Carson, an investigator with PHMSA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Enforcement, will discuss PHMSA’s procedures for conducting inspections and observations to investigate whether shipments are being made in compliance with the Federal regulations. They hope to provide insight into measures you can take to help clients achieve compliance and deal with PHMSA in the event that noncompliance is discovered. |
5. The Biolab Case and MEPA: the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Allen v. BRA Environmental Law Section Click here to RSVP for this program. Friday, February 29, 2008 - 12:30 pm We will discuss the recent SJC decision in Allen v. BRA, which overturned the Secretary of Environmental Affairs certificate on an environmental impact report for the Biolab development in Boston's South End. Ken Kimmell, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Douglas H. Wilkins, Anderson & Kreiger LLP, and Ronald W. Ruth, Sherin & Lodgen LLP, will be with us to provide their perspectives on the SJC's opinion and its implications for future MEPA administration and litigation. |
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Please RSVP to Ham Hackney at hackneyha@gtlaw.com. Friday, March 7, 2008 - ALL DAY A group of Boston area environmental lawyers active in the Environmental Law Section are planning a ski day at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH, which will hopefully become an annual tradition. Tentative plans call for arranging bus transportation, a ski day at Loon and food and drink thereafter at the base of the mountain. Skiers of all abilities and nonskiers are welcome for a day of outdoor fun and fellowship. Non-skiers can participate in tubing, snowshoeing, climbing and cross-country skiing - or even a massage. The planning committee consists of Chris Davis, Ham Hackney, Ralph Child, Carl Dierker, Steve Leonard and Ken Whittaker. |
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ABA Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law & Policy Call for Nominations
The American Bar Association is seeking nominations for the Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law & Policy for 2008. The award will be presented at the ABA Annual Meeting in August 2008. To nominate an individual or an organization, please contact Lisa Goodheart at goodheart@srbc.com. |