MassBar Beat

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Prosecutor Award Winner Kevin Curtin, a 22-year veteran of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, whose strong moral compass led him to stand up for global issues of justice through his work with the Massachusetts Bar Association and American Bar Association.

Learn about "Defamation," an interactive courtroom drama that encourages its audience to examine stereotypes and perceptions of bias in the play, the legal system and beyond. Hear from Boston-area high school students and lawyers who watched the play last fall during the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association's annual presentation of "Defamation." The Massachusetts Bar Association was a sponsor of the MBLA's program, and more recently has begun presenting a series of CLEs on eliminating bias in the legal system. Learn more about "Defamation" at www.defamationtheplay.com.

Homeless Court is a specialty court in Massachusetts that gives homeless individuals with minor infractions a chance to clear their records and get a new start. Leaders from the Massachusetts Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division had an opportunity to visit this "court of second chances" at the Pine Street Inn shelter in Boston. Listen in as they share observations, interviews and stories of hope from the presiding judge, the Pine Street Inn's Homeless Court coordinator, Homeless Court participants and the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Trial lawyer Richard P. Campbell, one of the co-authors of the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal's Privilege to Practice ethics column, relates the tale of a once-prominent attorney's fall from grace as a cautionary reminder about lawyers' ethical obligations to their clients AND their law firm colleagues -- and how you do need to sweat the small stuff.

Listen to highlights and excerpts from the 2016 State of the Judiciary Address, hosted by the Massachusetts Bar Association at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston on Oct. 20. This year's installment of this annual event featured remarks from Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants, Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey, Trial Court Administrator Harry Spence and MBA President Jeffrey Catalano. The speakers touched upon recent advances in the judicial branch, improved bench-bar relations and what's next for the courts in Massachusetts. Full remarks from the court speakers are available at http://www.mass.gov/courts/news-pubs/sjc/sjc-chief-justice-gants-delivers-annual-state-of-judiciary-address-2016.html. (Photo by Eric Haynes)

Veteran trial lawyer Christopher Kenney of Kenney & Sams PC in Boston, discusses how your attire, body language, tone of voice and other nonverbal cues can impact a judge or jury at trial. Kenney, who is also MBA Treasurer for 2015-16, shares practical tips from his own experience and from author Sonya Hamlin's book, "Now What Makes Juries Listen."

In this inaugural broadcast of the MassBar Beat, Massachusetts Bar Association President Jeffrey Catalano talks about his time in the theater, and how it has informed his vision of leadership.