
Hopefully you enjoyed part I of our Year in Review, discussing our efforts on amicus briefs and criminal justice reforms. Part II will discuss our comments on proposed rules changes, efforts at increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, civil legal aid funding advocacy, and legislative victory! 2016 was a great and productive year and we’re looking forward to doing even more in 2017!
BBA Rules Comments
One component of the BBA’s policy function that sometimes goes overlooked is the work of our Sections in reviewing and commenting on proposed amendments to rule changes. This is a great benefit to our members as it empowers them to be involved in making positive changes that directly impact their practice areas. This is especially true because the courts do a great job of listening to the concerns of practitioners and frequently make changes based on our comments. Here are links to some of our coverage:
- August 9: BBA Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Section comments on proposed amendments to SJC Rule 3:10 regarding indigency requirements for the assignment of counsel in criminal cases
- August 23: Criminal Law, Delivery of Legal Services, and Family Law Section comments on proposed amendments to SJC Rule 1:24 result in removing attorney sanctions and protecting identities in criminal cases
Diversity, Civil Legal Aid, Legislation and more!
Given space and time constraints (we’ve got to get going on all our 2017 work!!), I’m going to lump together everything else including our posts on the courts, diversity and inclusion, civil legal aid funding, and more. Here are a few highlights:
- December 1: BBA, Law Firms, and Corporations Coming Together on Diversity – Advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession has long been a core element of the BBA’s mission, and we are proud to have been the first metropolitan bar association to support both the ABA’s Resolution 113 and a commitment letter from a number of general counsel. Both items, approved by a unanimous vote at our November 15 Council meeting, call for law firms and in-house counsel to work together in order to promote diversity in the legal profession. Our endorsement letter goes a step further: we will assemble a group of Boston leaders to develop next steps for this initiative, both locally and through other metropolitan bar associations nationally.
- For more of our diversity work check out:
- December 15: ‘Tis the Season to Focus on Civil Legal Aid – Advocating for civil legal aid funding is one of the BBA’s main priorities every year. We work on the issue year round, but the campaign really starts moving in earnest with the kickoff event, Walk to the Hill, held this year on January 26. The event brings together hundreds of lawyers who hear speeches from bar leaders including our President and the Chief Justice of the SJC and then encourages them to spread throughout the building to visit their elected officials and spread the word about the importance of legal aid funding.
As explained in this year’s fact sheet, the needs are still massive (around 1 million people qualify for civil legal aid by receiving incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, meaning about $30,000 for a family of four), the turn-away rates are still too high (roughly 64%, due to under-funding), and civil legal aid remains a smart investment for the state (it returns $2 to $5 for every $1 invested). In FY16, MLAC-funded programs closed over 23,000 cases, assisting 88,000 low-income individuals across the state. And this is only part of the picture as they provided limited advice, information, and training to countless others. More funding will enable them to take on more cases, represent more people, shrink the justice gap, and return more money to the state. It will also ease a massive burden on the courts which are bogged down by pro se litigants as illustrated in this video from Housing Court.
We hope to see you on January 26 at the Walk and that you will stay engaged throughout the budget cycle, which stretches to the spring. For more on that, check out our latest podcast! We will keep you updated here with all the latest developments and may ask that you reach out to your elected officials at key times to again voice your support. Last year we shared six posts throughout the budget, updating you on all of our priorities, including legal aid, the Trial Court, and statewide expansion of the Housing Court. Our final budget post from August 4 shows where everything wrapped up. For anyone interested in the process, check out our older budget posts from April 14, April 21, May 5, May 19, and June 30 as well.
- August 9: BBA Clarifies Zoning Law and Promotes Real Estate Development – More traditionally, the BBA is known for its work on legislation. We support a number of bills of interest to our practice-specific Sections as well as the organization as a whole. On August 5, the Governor signed into law H3611, An Act relative to non-conforming structures. The BBA has supported this bill in various forms since 1995, behind the leadership of its Real Estate Law Section, as a means of improving the clarity of Massachusetts zoning laws and thereby promoting economic and real estate development. During the current legislative session we were pleased to receive help and support from Council member Michael Fee, who testified on the bill at a legislative hearing in May 2015. We look forward to more legislative successes this session!
As you can see it’s been quite a year. This doesn’t even touch on dozens of other posts on things we were or are involved with. We hope you’ll keep reading through the new year for all the latest news from the BBA’s Government Relations team and give us a follow on twitter for even more late breaking news!
I want to end on a personal note to say that this will be my final Issue Spot post. I have drafted hundreds over the last 3.5 years at the BBA and loved being able to be part of all the incredible work of the Association and its members. I am excited to be moving to a new position, but will certainly miss the BBA and hope to stay involved. Thank you for reading!
– Jonathan Schreiber
Legislative and Public Policy Manager
Boston Bar Association