The Latest on the Law: Updates from the Boston Bar

Demystifying the Executive Director Position for Legal Services

Serving as the executive director for a legal services organization comes with many challenges and it is not a career path that many choose. Our panel of executive directors and board members hope to change that narrative and encourage you to consider leading a legal services organization. 

The panelists will discuss their roles during the selection process, their career paths, and the requisite qualification and skills to lead a non-profit organization that provides legal services. Attend this webinar and learn how you can be a successful executive director for a legal services organization that helps to ensure access to justice throughout the commonwealth!

 

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

Trust & Estates Fundamentals: Charitable Giving Basics for Estate Planners

This program will provide an introduction to charitable planning. We will discuss the reasons for charitable giving, the types of property that can be used to make a charitable gift, and the techniques that can be used to achieve clients’ charitable goals.

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

Divorce Fundamentals: Section 34: Income, Assets, Liabilities & Discovery

Chapter 208, Section 34 will be reviewed in detail with a focus on the factors the courts consider when assigning property and liabilities in a divorce.  Discussion will include an overview of the various types of assets and liabilities and the best means of discovering those assets and liabilities. Discussion on discovery will include the different types of discovery available and what discovery is mandatory. 

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

Leaving a Legacy to My Neighborhood: Estate Planning Property Transfers to Community Land Trusts

In the face of our current housing crisis, community land trusts (CLTs) are emerging as a tool to develop and preserve affordable housing and land, and to stabilize neighborhoods. CLTs stand out from other models with their commitment to preserving affordable housing and land in perpetuity, and with a governance structure that ensures residents, neighbors, and other community members hold central decision-making roles. While CLTs acquire property through a variety of methods, many CLTs are developing pathways for local homeowners to transfer property through estate planning. Bequeathing property to a CLT is one impactful way homeowners may leave a legacy to their neighborhoods.

This program will introduce CLTs as potential beneficiaries of estate plans, illustrate a Boston-based case study that offers some initial lessons-learned, and outline key considerations for working with homeowners who are interested in transferring property to CLTs. Panelists will include estate planning and elder law attorney Harry Margolis, who has worked with Dudley Neighbors, Inc. (DNI), one of the oldest and largest CLTs in the country; CLT practitioner and consultant Harry Smith, who has served as the executor of an estate that included a property transfer to DNI; and land use attorney David Linhart, who represents DNI. Participants can expect to leave the program with a deeper understanding of CLTs and why they matter, model documents for estate plans facilitating CLT property transfers, and crucial lessons and considerations for supporting homeowners who want to transfer their property to CLTs.

This program is hosted by the Trust and Estates Section of the Boston Bar Association, in partnership with the Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network.

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

Criminal Law Fundamentals: Discovery & Exculpatory Evidence

A primer on discovery for new lawyers or law students who are practicing or anticipate practicing in the District and Municipal Courts. The program will include both the prosecution and defense perspective on Rule 14 and Brady/exculpatory evidence. 

 

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

Navigating Unprecedented Challenges Addressing the Influx of Asylum Seekers and Migrants in Massachusetts

Join us for an essential conversation addressing the unprecedented surge of asylum seekers and migrants arriving to Massachusetts, posing. This surge has triggered sociopolitical and financial hurdles for cities like NYC, Chicago, and Boston, further complicated by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prolonged wait for migrants to acquire work permits, along with the arrival of individuals lacking established family connections, has strained resources and exacerbated existing housing market challenges. To meet housing needs Boston has innovatively repurposed spaces like hotels, motels, and uninhabited buildings. However, the absence of federal support intensifies this strain, amplifying difficulties in providing medical care, employment opportunities, and other essential services.

Our urgent discussion will delve deeply into the multifaceted responses of the state, municipalities, legal, and social service entities and emphasize the critical need for comprehensive solutions to address this pressing issue.

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

Tax-Exempt Fundamentals Series: Formation of Tax-Exempt Organizations - Virtual

Formation of Tax-Exempt Organizations is the second in our six-part Fundamentals Series on public charities and private foundations.  The series will provide a basic overview geared toward new attorneys and attorneys new to the practice area on forming, operating and dissolving a tax-exempt organization in Massachusetts.  The Formation program will describe how to form a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, choice of tax classification and state entity, state registration, and basics on advising clients.  

 

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

The Corporate Transparency Act Goes Into Effect January 1: Are You Ready?

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which goes into effect January 1, 2024, is estimated to affect more than 32 million pre-existing entities in its first year and approximately 5 million new entities in 2024 and each year thereafter. The sweeping new law requires businesses with qualifying entities to disclose certain personal information about their owners and control persons. Our panelists will cover the following topics:

 

· Overview of the Corporate Transparency Act and its reporting requirements

· Impact of the new rules on particular client types:

o Emerging companies/VCs

o Private funds

o Sovereign wealth funds

o Financial institutions

· Challenges and concerns facing law firms representing reporting company clients

 

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

White-Collar Crime Section Boot Camp – Wire Fraud 101

Learn the fundamentals of one of the most powerful tools available to federal prosecutors: 18 U.S.C. § 1343, the Wire Fraud statute. This statute prohibits using electronic communication systems to execute fraudulent schemes, including small-scale telemarketing scams, long-running billion-dollar Ponzi schemes, and everything in between. Panelists will provide a broad overview of the statute, offer case examples, and discuss recent Supreme Court decisions that narrow the scope of this historically broad statute. 

 

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org

 

Managing Superior Court Judicial Rotations

Join Superior Court judges and clerks for insights and practical guidance on managing cases through judicial rotations in Superior Court 

 

Questions? Inquiries about program materials? Contact Trenon Browne at tbrowne@bostonbar.org