The BBA values its relationship with the Massachusetts Legislature. Lawyer legislators, in particular, understand the issues important to the private bar. A quick look at the bills that the BBA filed this past session shows that almost all of them were filed by the chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. The two chairs of that committee, by no coincidence, are lawyers. Senator Cynthia Creem is a practicing domestic relations lawyer and Representative Eugene O’Flaherty is a criminal defense attorney.
In general, lawyer legislators are the exception to the rule. It may surprise you to know that only 62 of the 200 legislators in the Massachusetts Legislature are attorneys. That breaks down to 50 of the 160 House members and 12 of the 40 Senate members. Law school, which was once a popular educational path to Beacon Hill, is no longer quite as common. Today lawyer legislators are a minority among their colleagues. This makes it increasingly more important to foster our relationships with those in the Legislature who understand the BBA’s issues like access to justice, criminal justice reform and even our complicated trusts & estates issues. More and more we rely on lawyer legislators to educate and convince their non-lawyer colleagues that issues critical to the practice of law and the administration of justice demand action by Commonwealth. It’s safe to say that the lawyer legislators we do have are overwhelmed at times with this task.
Recent events have shifted the political winds. An independent political movement has shaken up some of the legislative races in Massachusetts this election season. The next few weeks will be interesting. Promising some turnover, there are 26 House seats and 8 Senate seats in which the incumbent is not running for reelection. Of the 26 House members not seeking reelection, 10 are lawyers. Half of those races don’t even feature a lawyer as a candidate. On the Senate side, half of the 8 Senators not seeking reelection are lawyers and one of those races does not include a lawyer candidate.
Next Tuesday the 14th is the state primary and the general election is November 2nd.
-Kathleen M. Joyce
Government Relations Director
Boston Bar Association
