Underscoring its commitment to help new lawyers develop essential professional skills, the Boston Bar Association’s (BBA) New Lawyers Section recently launched the Practical Skills Series — an initiative that introduces new lawyers to topics that are not often taught in law school.
“Being competitive in the marketplace requires that new lawyers build skills and stay informed about practical issues facing attorneys,” said New Lawyers Practical Skills Committee Co-Chair Meredith Ainbinder of Sunstein Kann Murphy & Timbers. “We wanted this series to offer programs that we would have found helpful when we began practicing law. It is truly a ‘by new lawyers, for new lawyers’ type of program.”
The development of the BBA Practical Skills Series comes in response to the rapid growth of the BBA New Lawyers Section over the past few years. Section membership increased from 866 lawyers to 1,010 in the program year ending in 2010.
The Practical Skills Series will present valuable information on specific topics in concise 1 and 2 hour sessions. Among the most popular programs last fall were Drafting Complaints and Answers (10/20), The Anatomy of a Purchase Agreement (10/27) Drafting and Responding to Civil Written Discovery Requests (11/18), and Best Practices in Criminal Discovery (11/30).
Upcoming programs in the New Lawyers Practical Skills Series include:
– Beginners Guide to Document Collection, Review and Production – February 16th
– The Unwritten Rules of Engagement: Tips for the New Employment Lawyer – February 23rd
– Forming a Limited Liability Company – February 24th
– Save the Date: Anatomy of a Search Warrant – February 24th
“Our goal is to develop high quality programs that are limited in scope, providing practical information tailored to the needs of new lawyers” said New Lawyers Practical Skills Committee Co-Chair Nicholas Walsh, Assistant District Attorney at the Suffolk County DA’s Office. “Too often programs attempt to cover too broad a topic in too short a period of time. The idea is to pick narrow topics so that they can be addressed in depth and provide a variety of points of view and approaches to common legal issues.”
Keep an eye out for other New Lawyers Section events:
– Commercial Office Leasing Basics – February 10th
– Employment Law Basics – March 15th
– 4th Annual Young Bar Meets Bench Program – March 29th
For more information contact Anna Frank at afrank@bostonbar.org.
