RCBA Annual Law Day Mock Trial

The Rutland County Bar Association continued its 30+ year annual tradition of a Law Day Mock Trial hosting over 200 area 5th graders from seven different schools on May 8, 2019.  The program featured a morning and an afternoon performance at the Rutland County Courthouse. The Avengers-themed case of “Thanos v. Shuri of Wakanda” featured Thanos suing Shuri for damages suffered after she allegedly damaged Thanos’ infinity gauntlet.

Rutland lawyer Shannon Lamb (Pratt Vreeland Kennelly Martin & White) represented the archvillain Thanos, played convincingly by Rutland lawyer Tom Bixby (Law Office of Thomas Bixby) in full Masters of the Universe garb. Rutland Probate Judge Karl Anderson wrote the script and represented Shuri, Princess of Wakanda, played enthusiastically by Vermont Assistant Attorney General Phyllisa Jones Prescott.  Rutland lawyer Elijah LaChance (Ryan Smith & Carbine) dressed the part of Rocket, the snarky raccoon, who testified as a fact witness and also as a translator for Groot, the talking tree. Groot was played quietly by Rutland lawyer Jim Levins (Tepper Dardeck Levins & Fitzsimons), as Groot is only capable of repeating “I am Groot,” thereby the need for a creative translator.

RCBA President Stephanie Lorentz (Lorentz & Associates) welcomed the students at each performance, after which students were randomly selected to serve as jurors. After each trial, Presiding Judge David Barra fielded many insightful questions from the students in attendance while the jurors deliberated. At least one student was flabbergasted that the cast and crew were real lawyers! Rutland Unit Law Clerk Kathy Zhou served as bailiff, including assisting the jurors in their deliberations.

The morning’s trial ended in a hung jury and the afternoon’s trial resulted in a defendant’s verdict. The annual Law Day Mock Trial in Rutland has been a great way to introduce thousands of students to our system of justice in an entertaining and educational way. Each student received a program that included a glossary of legal terms, the listing of parties and a schematic of the courtroom. The Rutland Herald published a story about the production that you can view HERE.

Please feel free to share any other Law Day activities that you would like the VBA to publicize.  Enjoy the pictures below.

Something for Everyone!

Last week the VBA went back to the basics with our biannual Basic Skills program.  Being that it is CLE season, we had a varied selection of new and established attorneys at our program.  Why should a seasoned attorney attend Basic Skills, you ask?  Well, I asked a few and they replied that the program was fantastic and they were glad they attended! One attendee spoke of how the program fed their intellectual curiosity. Each took away something for their practices, even if they didn't concentrate in the fields of real estate, family law, trial practice or administrative law. 

The note-taking was fast and furious and questions flew. One presenter dared to end nearly nine minutes early (a huge no-no under my CLE watchdog eye), but instead ended up engaging in an 11-minute Q&A session that had to be cut short to keep on schedule! Attendees got to mix and mingle over the full hot breakfast and lunch and during the delicious healthy afternoon snack. Success all around!

Still need CLE credits? Don't forget our 2-day Solo & Small Firm Conference (aka the "Smolo") on 5/23 & 524 at the beautiful and relaxing Basin Harbor Resort.  8.5 hours of CLE, including 1.5 of ethics, time to network and relax, and tons of law practice management (and wellness) CLEs to enhance your practices and make them more profitable! Check out the flyer at www.vba.myevent.com !

We've also got Family Law Day on May 10th, Procrastinators' Day on June 13th (with 2.0 Ethics credits) and a 3.0 hour CLE on public student digital speech on June 21st!  Curious about the new notary statute? We will have a webinar on June 19th. Get all the info you need on our website at www.vtbar.org or call us any time. 

Enjoy pictures from Basic Skills below.  We hope to see you soon!

Have You Registered for the Smolo Yet?

VBA’s biennial Solo & Small Firm Conference is back and better than ever.  Join us May 23-24^th at the beautiful Basin Harbor Resort for our law practice management conference designed especially for YOU!

We’ve got all the bases covered from offering more networking and relaxing opportunities to offering more hands-on seminars.  You asked for it, we’ve got it! 

Thursday we will have back to back Rule 12/15 Vermont Practice & Procedure seminars for all you new admitees, but also for everyone as low bono, family law, guardianships and office tech are discussed. By request, it doesn’t start until 10am. We’ll also have a simultaneous CLE on managing stress that afternoon.  At 3:30pm, there will be an encore performance of the super-popular Basin Harbor Lake Cruise (or a Sip-n-Paint option for you land lovers) followed by our Speed Networking Reception at 5:30pm.  Like speed dating, we will have tables and discussion cards set up for people to rotate among established practitioners to meet, mingle and learn from each other.  A delicious full dinner will follow.

On Friday, after yoga and breakfast, we will head into our law practice management and smolo practice seminars including:  communication strategies, growth strategies, spring cleaning, mindfulness, an interactive law office set-up workshop, tips from those who have “Gone Smolo,” Casemaker training, Microsoft Suite training by professional trainers (parts one and two), client intake strategies, Ethics in the Movies and law practice management trends.  How’s that for a lineup?!

Thanks to our generous sponsors: Casemaker, Clio, Law Pay, Pinnacle, Financial Red Cave Consulting, Smith, ai, TCI, Paydata and VATC, we’ll have plenty of food and tons of hands-on assistance for your practices.  View our flyer HERE or register right HERE.

Hope to see you all there!

Check out this happy group from last Smolo:

Successful Third Annual Vermont High School Moot Court Competition

The Vermont Bar Association was pleased to collaborate with the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, the Office of the Federal Public Defender, the Office of the Attorney General and Vermont Law School to organize the Third Annual Vermont High School Moot Court Competition this year. Nine high schools (Brattleboro Union High School, Burr & Burton Academy, Harwood Union High School, Milton High School, Mt. Mansfield High School, Randolph Technical Career Center, Rutland High School, Southwest Vermont Career Development Center and Twinfield Union School) and Vermont Law School fielded teams of students who spent the Spring preparing for the state-wide competition held last Saturday at the Vermont Law School.

Lawyer volunteers Orland Campbell, George Anthes, Tom Bixby, Michael Benvenuto, Beth Novotny, Erick Titrud, John Lacey, Carolyn Dube, Suzanne Brown, John Lamson, Josh Martin, and Barry Kade, Esqs. worked with the students and teacher coaches at each of the high schools. Teams of judges and practitioners (Judge Geoffrey Crawford and Jordana Levine, Esq.; Justice Harold Eaton and Phil Back, Esq.; Judge Cort Corsones and Josh Diamond, Esq.; Judge Mary Miles Teachout and Michael Kennedy, Esq.; Judge Mary Morrissey and Elizabeth Quinn, Esq.; Justice Karen Carroll and Dave McLean, Esq.; and Judge Robert Mello and Ted Kramer, Esq.) judged the competition, consisting of two rounds of a mock attempted murder trial, pitting prosecution teams against defense teams in seven mock trial courtrooms at Vermont Law School.

Rutland High School was judged the best overall team, and awards were also given to the Best Prosecution Attorney, Best Defense Attorney, Best Prosecution Witness and Best Defense Witness. All involved were very complimentary of the skill and professionalism that the teams exhibited, and the participants were grateful for the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of criminal law and courtroom procedures. 

Other objectives of the competition included furthering students’ understanding of the law and legal system, improving proficiency in speaking and reasoning skills and increasing students’ appreciation for law-related careers. Watch for more details from the VBA in the Fall, when we gear up for the Fourth Annual Vermont High School Moot Court Competition!

Check out these photos from the event!

Best Team Overall

Best Defense Attorney

Best Defense Witness

Best Prosecution Attorney

Best Prosecution Witness