MSBA: YOUR VOICE IN ANNAPOLIS

The Maryland State Bar Association’s Committee on Laws, chaired by Paul Ethridge, is gearing up for the Maryland Legislative Session which begins January 11, 2012.  You can follow updates from Richard Montgomery on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MdBarLegislate.

In addition,  each Section appoints one person to be its Legislative Liaison and during the Legislative Session that one person will receive a weekly email profile of proposed legislation relevant to the Section. The liaison is responsible for distributing the email to the Section Council for discussion. 

If you want to keep up to date with legislation related to your practice area, it is critical that you belong to a section and communicate with your council members. 

List of Sections and Section Chairs, or join a Section.

As an FYI, Sections may take a position to monitor, support or oppose a particular bill after it has communicated its position to Richard Montgomery, Director of Legislative Relations, or Carol Tuohey, Legislative Assistant.   It is vitally important that the MSBA have feedback from Sections on proposed legislation as the Sections are the experts in their subject areas.

YES, WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION

We receive many requests for information and much of it is already available on the MSBA website under Member Resources, LOMA. 

Some of the information packets available for MSBA Members include (all pdf documents) Accepting Credit Cards, Avoiding Problems, Choosing an Entity, Of Counsel Relationships, Document Retention and many more.  Also included is information on How to Start a Solo Practice and How to Close a Practice. 

Also on the LOMA (Law Office Management Assistance) Page are articles on many office management issues, weekly tech tips, tech sites, an Economic Resource guide and other assistance with office management issues.

SECTION SPOTLIGHT

The Senior Lawyer Section has been having some outstanding speakers over the past few months including Attorney General Doug Gansler and former Maryland governor Marvin Mandel.  On January 18, 2012, the speaker will be Fraser Smith, Sr Analyst/Sr Editor-News at WYPR in Baltimore, Daily Record columnist, former Baltimore Sunpaper columnist and biographer of the Hon. William Donald Shaffer.

The Section invites all members to attend the event and luncheon on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, Bar Headquarters, 1st Floor Conference Room, at 12 noon - Lunch provided.

Future speakers include:
Guest Speaker: Chief Judge Robert M. Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 – 12 noon - MSBA Headquarters
Guest Speaker: Former United States Senator Paul S. Sarbanes on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 12 noon – MSBA Headquarters

RSVP to Theresa Michael

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET:  INFORMATION ON COA AND COSA OPINIONS

For many years, the MSBA in conjunction with the Daily Record has been sending synopses of opinions of the Court of Appeals and Special Appeals to member emails.   The staff at the Daily Record receives each court opinion the day it is issued. The reporter generates a short description of the case and the holding. The synopsis is then broadcast to your e-mail box. Every morning, the synopsis of each decision from the prior day, in the subject areas you choose, will be waiting in your e-mail box.

The service is FREE to MSBA members.  There is no reason not to sign up.

MSBA ANNUAL MEETING

This annual event offers MSBA members outstanding social activities and professional networking opportunities, valuable CLE programs presented by MSBA Sections and Committees and an impressive vendor exhibit hall, showcasing the latest legal products and technologies.  We also offer our solo and small firm practitioners a one-day “Solo Day” program on Friday, with programs and information geared toward the needs of their particular practices.

The Annual Meeting is MSBA's biggest event of the year and is a tradition for many MSBA members, many of whom bring their families.  This 4 day conference is held in June of each year in Ocean City, Maryland.  The 2012 Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, June 13 – Saturday, June 16, 2012.  Watch for more details on the MSBA Annual Meeting Website.  Hotel information will be available this week.

MSBA MID-YEAR MEETING

The mid-year meeting is usually held in January or February in a warm tropical location.  The mid-year meeting also provides many members with an opportunity to enjoy vacation with family, friends and MSBA members, while attending daily educational programs.  Some past destinations include Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The 2012 mid-year Meeting will be held at the Westin Playa Bonita Resort in Panama
February 18-25, 2012.  More details.

REMINDER ABOUT YOUR MSBA BENEFITS

Because we all need some reminders sometimes, here is just a short quick list of some of your MSBA Benefits

- FASTCASE-Free Legal Research
- Section E-Discussion Lists (You must be a section member to participate in lists)
- Maryland Lawyers' Manual (The 2012 Lawyer’s Manual is in the mail)
- Online LOMA Information (see above listing)
- Bar Brief E-Newsletters every Tuesday
- MSBA members-only discounts on CLE and CLE Publications
- Discounts on benefits/services to help members
- Access to Ethics Opinions

Save Time with Batch Printing

Did you know that you can print up to 20 cases at a time? Here's how:

1. Add documents to your print queue.  Add documents to your print queue one of two ways.
• From the results page:  Each case on your results list has a Print Queue icon to the left of the screen.  The Print Queue icon looks like a printer with a plus sign on it.  Click on the Print Queue icon to add a case to your queue.  When the case has been added, the plus sign on the icon will turn into a minus sign. 
• While browsing a case:  Click on the Add to My Print Queue link at the top right of the screen.
2. Review your queue.  To review your print queue, select View Print Queue from the Print menu.  To remove the case from your print queue, click on the icon again.
3. Print.  Once you have made your formatting selections, click the Print/Save button.  The cases listed on your print queue will begin downloading as a single document on your computer.

2012 Offer to MSBA members:
30 day FREE trials, 10% Lifetime Discount and FREE DATA MIGRATIONS!

Start 2012 off with a bang with Clio practice management web-based software! Clio is North America's largest web-based practice management software solution that does everything from client intake to client invoicing. It has a robust set of tools to manage your practice effectively, enabling you to spend more time working with your clients than working on your back office.

At $44.10 per attorney per month and $22.50 for non-attorneys per month it is the most economical way to run your legal practice. No Contracts,No start up costs, No maintenance agreements, just amazing  FREE lifetime technical support and training. Clio has bi-directional synchronization with MS Outlook and Google Mail so all your contacts, calendars and tasks can be bi-directionally synched with your Clio software. Plus integrations with DropBox, Box.net and QuickBooks for ease of use.

Work from home, from your iPhone/Blackberry/Android or pull up a file from your iPad while in court! Using military grade security, Calendaring, Contact Management, Matter Management, Document Management and Secure Sharing, Invoicing/Bills, Firm Reports/Productivity Reports, Client Communication, Secure Chat, Credit Card payments, Communication Management & Time Keeping have never been this easy!

Leverage technology to the fullest and make it your resolution to get in the Cloud in 2012! Free trial Information