MassBar Beat

New Massachusetts Trial Court Administrator Jonathan S. Williams talks with host Jordan Rich about the latest court technology and infrastructure improvements, self-represented litigants, and how he's working with other court leaders and the bar to advance the Trial Court's strategic mission to deliver "justice with dignity and speed."

Mediation, Arbitration, Collaborative Law, Ombuds ... what kind of dispute resolution (DR) option is right for you? Guest host Jordan Rich talks with DR professionals Brian Jerome and Michael Zeytoonian about the benefits of DR and about the FREE programs offered throughout Massachusetts during Conflict Resolution Week, Oct. 16-20. Be a #peacemaker and join us. Visit www.massbar.org/CRWeek for event info.

From New York City cab driver to complex civil litigator, attorney Christopher P. Sullivan of Robins Kaplan LLP in Boston brings a variety of life experiences to his new role as president of the Massachusetts Bar Association. In this interview with guest host Jordan Rich, hear about Sullivan's initiatives for the coming year and why he believes attorneys are needed in the community more than ever.

The Massachusetts Trial Court issued new Child Support Guidelines for the Massachusetts, which became effective on Sept. 15, 2017. In this episode, Attorney Fern Frolin of Mirick O'Connell, a member of the Trial Court's 2016-2017 Child Support Guidelines Task Force, talks with MassBar Beat host Jordan Rich about some of the major revisions that attorneys and families should be familiar with.

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Rising Star Award Winner Claire Valentin, a staff attorney at the Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts. inspired by her family's immigrant experience, Valentin advocates for unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America who flee their home countries seeking humanitarian protections in the U.S.

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Rising Star Award winner Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies of Community Legal Aid in Worcester. She oversees Community Legal Aid’s medical-legal partnership with UMass Memorial Health Care, working with clinical partners and medical providers to help represent low-income clients seeking pro bono assistance with special education needs, disability and public benefits, guardianship, and housing.

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Pro Bono Award for Law Firms winner K&L Gates. Firm partners Andrew Glass and Sean Higgins discuss the firm's work with the Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) program, where attorneys represent unaccompanied minors who have fled violent situations in their home countries. They also discuss their firm's work with the International Refugee Assistance Project to provide legal services on behalf of individuals from Iraq and Afghanistan. K&L Gates also partners with Veterans Legal Services to provide pro bono representation to veterans in need within the greater Boston area.

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Legal Services Award honoree Brian Flynn, an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services who has dedicated his career to advocating for low-income workers with disabilities and recipients of public benefits. Flynn believes it’s important to do "systemic advocacy," because the work he does for one client can potentially affect positive change on dozens more people in the same situation.

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Pro Bono Publico winners Andrew Troop of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and his former colleague Christopher Mirick, who is now at Harvest Power Inc. While colleagues at Pillsbury Winthrop, Troop and Mirick worked together with Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) to achieve successful outcomes in two notable pro bono cases. In one case, the pair helped 15 Chinese immigrant workers recoup earned wages from a Boston daycare facility that tried to discharge its obligations in a failed bankruptcy claim. On a different matter, the lawyers earned a groundbreaking victory in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which paved the way for a Chapter 11 sale of apartment buildings to a nonprofit organization, which will provide affordable housing for the next 50 years.

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Defender Award winner Rebecca Jacobstein, a staff attorney in the Appeals Unit of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Jacobstein has been relentless in the pursuit of justice for both her clients and thousands of others affected by the Sonja Farak drug lab scandal. While she will be the first to tell you that she’s not alone in this effort, Jacobstein says it’s situations like this that show the importance of having public defenders who act as a check and balance on the state.