For BBO, 2018 proves to be productive year.

Byline: Vincent J. Pisegna

The Board of Bar Overseers has been busy this past year, working on many things of direct relevance to the dues-paying members of the Massachusetts bar.

Last December, after years of concerted work by many people, the BBO published a treatise on the substance and procedure of the Massachusetts disciplinary system.

The treatise can be accessed for free via a link from the BBO's website (massbbo.org) and will soon be available for purchase in soft cover. The principal authors of the work are Michael Fredrickson, the longtime former general counsel to the BBO, and professor Paul Tremblay of Boston College Law School.

The work was reviewed and edited by stakeholders in the Massachusetts disciplinary system, including former BBO board members, staff of both the BBO general counsel's office and bar counsel's office, experienced practitioners who regularly appear before the board, and others.

The treatise is an excellent and comprehensive resource for both the bar and the public and is invaluable for anyone involved in the Massachusetts disciplinary process.

***

This year, the board created an in-house commissioner program. When, for whatever reason, a lawyer's clients are not being attended to (whether due to the lawyer's death, suspension or disappearance), ordinarily bar counsel petitions the court for the appointment of a commissioner. Historically, the commissioner has been a local lawyer, participating out of a sense of duty to the bar at-large.

The in-house commissioner program basically brings that process in-house, so that on petition of bar counsel or another interested party, a member of the general counsel's staff will be appointed as commissioner.

The commissioner's role will be standardized and professionalized. We expect that, with regular in-house BBO oversight, the commissioner program will become more efficient and will be used more often. The result, we think, will be a terrific...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT