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The VBA Nominating Committee is meeting on December 11 to select nominees for three 2-year seats on the VBA Board of Managers. Beth Novotny is the Chair of the Nominating Committee. If you would like to be considered for the slate, please contact Beth at elizabeth@mosaiclearningcenter.com before December 11. VBA Members will vote on the slate at the VBA Mid-Year Meeting scheduled for Friday, March 26. Here’s a LINK to a document detailing Board Member Expectations. Please contact VBA Executive Director Teri Corsones at tcorsones@vtbar.org if you have any question about the expectations. Thank you in advance for your interest!
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The VBA Diversity Section and Young Lawyers Division are co-sponsoring the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Poster-Essay Contest for Vermont Middle School Students, to celebrate the life and message of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Participating middle school students will create a poster and write a short essay interpreting Dr. King’s quote “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” Click the heading for more details.
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Act 120 required the Judiciary to meet with court users to examine alternatives to the per envelope e-filing fee, to listen to and respond to court users’ experience with the Odyssey File and Serve system, and to report its efforts and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee and to the Joint Fiscal Committee no later than October 30, 2020. Here’s a LINK to the State Court Administrator’s Report issued on October 30. Here’s a LINK to the VBA Response to the Report. The Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee took testimony on the report and response on November 12; here’s a LINK to the testimony, which starts at the 4:18 mark and ends at the 1:30:50 mark. During the hearing, Senator Sears agreed to introduce the proposed bill that’s included in the VBA response. The Joint Fiscal Committee took up the report on November 20. Here’s a LINK to the hearing. The start time is at the 1:31:20 mark, and the end time is at the 1:40:12 mark. The Committee members agreed that the House Ways & Means and the Senate Finance Committees will need to take up the e-filing fees issue as soon as possible in January. We will continue to keep you updated on any developments. Please click the heading for previous Bar News stories on the E-Filing topic.
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In response to COVID-19 concerns, the Judiciary will not be conducting any in-person hearings or proceedings or convene any in-person meetings during the four days after Thanksgiving, over the week after the Christmas break, or for the four days after New Year’s. Court staff will continue to work in their current work places on those days, and the courts will continue to conduct remote proceedings on those days.Click the heading for a Memo from CAO Pat Gabel with more details.
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The VBF and VBA are hosting a free panel of the past and present poverty law fellows, moderated by Justices Beth Robinson and Karen Carroll on December 1, 2020 at noon.This is a fundraising event for the Access to Justice Campaign Funding the Poverty Law Fellow. There will also be 1/2 hour of ethics CLE credit available for purchase as the panel explores the need and opportunities for pro bono work in Vermont. The eventbrite ticket is HERE. Questions should be directed to Josie Leavitt at the Vermont Bar Foundation.
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Please check out our new COVID-19 Resource Page for the latest resources regarding the Governor’s orders, Judiciary orders, emergency legislation, wellness, technology and employer resources and more, all in one place! A new VBA COVID-19 Committee has been created to ascertain what COVID-19 issues are impacting the legal community. The Committee will be providing guidance regarding those issues, including resources such as best practice guides and trainings, providing wellness resources for attorneys, and recommending how the VBA or its members can answer the Governor’s call to serve. Click HERE for more information about the Committee. If you have questions or suggestions for the Committee, please email info@vtbar.org with “COVID-19 Committee” in the subject line.