The future is NOW, well, by next week…

As promised, the VBA will be releasing our latest and most valuable new benefit: VBA Connect.   This new phase of member communications brings listserves to a higher level, allowing our members to engage, connect and share like never before. 

Within a week, all of our members will be receiving an email from us, welcoming them to the new online communities.  Please read this email!  There will be a lot of useful information in the email about how to personalize your account and maximize your benefits from the service.  The two most important items will be (1) to create or verify your profile and (2) to check your settings in terms of how you want to receive notices and conversations.  You can get daily, weekly or real time emails when your colleagues post questions, answers and documents OR you can choose to just go online yourself and receive no notices. You will have a single sign-on, meaning VBA Connect uses your same username and password that you use for vtbar.org.  

We know the listserves have been extremely active lately.  The real property folks are still struggling with the Pearl Harbor Day release of myVTax and its aftermath of glitches and confusion.  Folks have had to hand-copy responses and create a petition separately, just to make sense of the countless comments and questions.  We at the VBA are listening.  Those comments have been cut and pasted into a word document, which is not pretty, but which will save those comments for review and assembly after the change.  Because the old listserve service was neither archiveable nor searchable, the process became very cumbersome.  VBA Connect will allow Section members and other VBA members to view and search all conversation threads for the information they need.  Forgot the answer to a post about a condo permit from 6 months ago? This problem will be a thing of the past!

The Family Law Section has been actively requesting members’ positions for the upcoming House Judiciary Committee hearings on alimony reform.  Members had difficulty sharing the Family Division Oversight Committee Report due to limitations of the listserve service.  Also, like the Real Property Section issues, responses were difficult to find or categorize, and were certainly not searchable.  The Section also had some intense discussions about whether Vermont should have a presumption that joint responsibility is best for the child, codified like New Hampshire.  Arguments for either side appeared strong, given the potential for pressure in abuse situations.  Members had difficulty sharing the 50-State report on the issue.  The Section Members expressed their gratitude to Section Chair, Penny Benelli, who has had to hand-assemble the responses.  These responses and documents have been saved by us to post to the new system.

The online communities work much like other social media platforms.  You can have a profile that is as extensive or as minimal as you wish.  You can add other members to your contacts for ease in communication or you can have no contacts on your list at all.  Either way, VBA Connect does contain a full membership directory.  VBA Connect is extremely user-friendly and the folks at VBA will be your guide for any questions you may have.  We will be posting documents to the library and questions to the Sections to get you started but will place the system initially in “full moderation” mode so that we do not bombard or overwhelm the membership with superfluous information.  The site has been in Beta Testing but when it goes live, we will be calling on all Section Chairs to post at least one discussion for further testing.  Posts will have buttons clearly marked as “Reply to Discussion” or “Reply to Sender” so that the formerly prevalent and often embarrassing listserve posting errors will never recur.

Check out the screen shot below and be on the lookout for this incredible benefit.  Like winter, VBA Connect is coming!

Welcome Legislators!

Time for another “a picture is worth 1,000 words” blog!  The VBA hosted a Legislators’ Reception on January 18^th in the Cedar Creek Room at the Statehouse.  The event was very well attended as the pictures demonstrate.  Hopefully the pictures also show the perfect mix of food, drink, smiles and meaningful conversations among the attendees.  Scroll down for a gallery glimpse into this successful event.

We at the VBA strive to be a valuable resource to our representatives and their constituents. As a backdrop to the event, in one corner there was a slideshow loop of pictures from the Legislators’ Days held in each County, and information about our resources such as our VBA Section Chairs, the Bar Ambassadors, our lawyer referral service and legal assistance business cards and our public education initiatives, such as our “Basics of the US Constitution” presentations.  If legislators have any question about proposed legislation, they can take comfort in knowing that the VBA Section Chairs are there to assist with understanding or to reach out to other members in that substantive area of law for issue spotting, testimony and discussion.  The Bar Ambassadors in each county are also a great resource.  Most importantly, we got an opportunity to interact with our legislators at a lively social event!

One picture that may not be self-explanatory is the close up of the large battle painting in the Cedar Creek Room.  The bearded injured man being carried is Thomas Kennedy, a direct relative of our own VBA President, Mike Kennedy.  Not only did this Kennedy survive his injury, but he later became a state official with stints as Sheriff of Franklin County, Town selectman and constable, superintendent and a two-term representative in the State legislature.  His prominent position as a young star in the legislature, and perhaps his potential influence over future artist commissions, may explain his front and center position in the painting!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success!

Congratulations to Beth Mann and Dave Fenster!

Governor Shumlin swore in, as Superior Court judges, both former VBA President and Addison County State’s Attorney, David Fenster and VBA Member and Rutland practitioner, Elizabeth Mann at the Statehouse in Montpelier today.  Shumlin remarked that Mann and Fenster were chosen because of their grace, dignity, compassion, commitment to the law and good judgment.  He noted that dispensing justice is “more than just being a really, really good lawyer” but that other qualities are shown in how these two attorneys live their lives. 

Governor Shumlin said that both Fenster and Mann “get the rest of it,” that people come into court facing real struggles and that the lives of the litigants matter.  The Governor said: “Dispensing justice doesn’t mean that you are powerful; it means that you care.”   His speech was followed by brief and touching expressions of gratitude by both Mann and Fenster, the official administration of oath and signing by the new judges.  Photos were taken and a brief opportunity for questions was given to the press by the Governor. 

The ceremony was attended by many judges and court staff as well as family, colleagues and friends of both Mann and Fenster.  Beth Mann’s parents, husband and two sons attended, all appearing emotional, as were we all, during her beautiful speech.  Dave Fenster’s parents, step-parents, wife and daughter and son were also all in attendance and were thanked profusely.  Some levity was added when Dave’s wife’s shoe became lodged in the ventilation grate, which she handled with grace, and when the Governor’s pen (from “the bottom of the box” due to the end of his tenure) failed to operate properly, and several replacements were offered. 

Read on for pictures of the event, the guests, and the shoe and pen incidents!

Judges Toor, Teachout and Hoar awaiting the ceremony.

Governor Shumlin greets Fenster's son with Mann's son in the background.

Coworkers and family of Fenster and Mann watching the ceremony, with VBA President Mike Kennedy in attendance.

Beth Mann giving her touching speech.

Dave Fenster giving his thank you speech.

Beth Mann being sworn in with her family behind her.

Dave Fenster being sworn in with his family behind him.

Just prior to the swearing in, the Governor reacts to the shoe-eating grate!

The point where the pen ran out...

The Governor posed for pictures with both families (after noting that the room was "not iphone friendly"), with reporters blocking, we only obtained this fine iphone photo of the Judge Fenster contingent.

All smiles as judges gather, presumably planning "new guy" responsibilities, post-ceremony!

Session's Greetings!

What do this week’s snowy Vermont capitol scenes remind you of?  The holidays? Shoveling? The joy and privilege of being able to call beautiful Vermont home?

For Bob Paolini, we’d venture to say they remind him that January 4, 2017 is just around the corner! As most of our members are probably aware, we’ve contracted with Bob Paolini, former Executive Director of the VBA, to be our Governmental Relations guru for the next two years.  We are extremely fortunate to have Bob as our eyes, ears and voice at the capitol during the upcoming legislative session.

Why is his presence so important? During the legislative session, Bob is certainly active at the state house, either testifying, putting people in touch with each other to find common ground, finding lawyers to testify or merely being the proverbial fly on the wall.  If there is proposed legislation that has even a whiff of a potential effect on the practice of law, Bob is quick to alert concerned members, whichever ‘side’ they may be on.  Some issues are major, like the proposal to tax legal services or proposed cuts to the funding of the judiciary.  Some may seem minor, like choosing individuals to serve on study or rules committees, assessing incremental fee hikes or reviewing form changes.  No matter the issue, if it affects a member’s practice of law, Bob is there to make sure the VBA member’s voice is heard.  Having a seat at the table is a crucial and often silent benefit that the VBA provides to its members.  And as everyone knows, if you aren’t given a seat at the table, you just might be on the menu!

In anticipation of January 4, 2017, Bob has already reached out to the VBA Section Chairs to ask whether there are Sections working on or ready to propose any legislation in the next two years.  He is already aware of a few bills with respect to decedents’ estates, the nonprofit statute and alimony.  His letter was a reminder that if any proposals need VBA Board of Managers’ approval or if any proposals needs sponsors, the process needs to start NOW! 

We at the VBA, in conjunction with the courts and county bars, have already convened legislator days in nearly every county, to give the legislators a chance to see court hearings and to meet with local attorneys to get acquainted and share stories. Please feel free to contact Bob directly or the VBA with your proposed legislation, concerns or proposals.

Bob will continue to blog the happenings at the State house on his VBA Legislative Blawg, linked on our website (as www.vbalegislativeblawg.blogspot.com) and can be reached at bob at bobpaolini dot com.