Section Chair Reports

• Publication year: 2023
• Citation: Vol. 49 No. 3

Section Chair Reports Vol. 49 No. 3 Pg. 20 Vermont Bar Journal October 2023

WHAT'S NEW

2023 Section Reports

Appellate Law Section

Co-Chairs Bridget Asay and Ben Battles

The Appellate Section organized a well-attended and very interesting CLE program in September 2022, "Appellate practice in state and federal court: A Q&A with Judge Beth Robinson, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit." Many thanks again to Judge Robinson for participating in the program. Co-chair Bridget Asay was appointed to the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure in 2022 and is assisting the Committee with its review of appellate rules.

Arbitration of Fee Complaints Section

Chair: Jeffrey Messina

The VBA Arbitration of Fee Complaints Committee has been hard at work. In addition to actively working with members of the Bar and community to resolve fee disputes, the Committee is currently reviewing and updating the processes and procedures for a complainant to commence and parties to participate in fee dispute resolution. These developments generally include: proposed Committee name change; proposed revised process to institute resolution proceedings; proposed draft agreements to participate in resolution proceedings; proposed rules; and, proposed revised adjudicative system. A comprehensive announcement will follow formal adoption of the changes.

Questions can be directed to Jeffrey Messina at jmessina@flynnmessinalaw.com

Bankruptcy Law Section

Chair: Alexandra Edelman

The Bankruptcy Section met again in person for the first-time post pandemic for the popular Holiday Luncheon and CLE day on Dec. 2, 2022. Everyone was happy to be back together for a full day (6.75 CLE credits, including an hour of ethics). Save the date for the next Annual Bankruptcy Section Holiday CLE, which will be held on December 1, 2023 at the Windjammer in South Burlington.

The Bankruptcy Section also kept busy this year with the creation of a Local Rules Revision Advisory Group, the Bankruptcy Court's issuance of a new Standing Order concerning the location of hearings, a revised Pro Se Guide on the Bankruptcy Court's website, a discussion and presentation regarding the SCOTUS decision in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, a continuing discussion on guidance concerning discharge of student loan obligations in bankruptcy, and regular Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Meetings with Judge Cooper.

The next Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Meeting will be held on Friday, September 22, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. in Rutland. Special guests, William Harrington, Lisa Penpraze and Olga Allen, from the United States Trustee's Office will be at the meeting to give a presentation on the rollout of the Zoom 341 Meeting Platform.

Collaborative Law

Chair: Nanci Smith

The Collaborative Law Section continues to support its family law members with ongoing trainings, best practices, and collegial support about this exciting and developing interdisciplinary, out-of-court family practice area. This year we participated in the national Annual Divorce with Respect Week, where Collaborative professionals from each discipline across the country (legal, financial and emotion) offer free 30-minute consultations about Collaborative Divorce and other peaceful, non-adversarial divorce processes. As a group, we recently curated and attended a presentation from the foremost expert in the area of the use of a Child Specialist in complex divorces involving minor children. This year, the IACP (International Academy of Collaborative Professionals) is hosting its 24th Annual Networking and Educational Forum in Toronto, Canada. If you miss this event and are interested in how to include Collaborative divorce as part of your practice, please reach out. The two-day introductory training is the first step, and they are offered throughout the year. Our interdisciplinary practice group CPVT continues to meet monthly on the first Thursday of each month at 12 PM via Zoom. If you are interested in learning more about our interdisciplinary divorce practice, please feel free to contact me at nanci@nancismithlaw.com or Corey Wood cwood@bpflegal.com to receive a link to our practice group meeting to join us and meet the rest of the team.

Conflict Resolution

Chairs: Neil Groberg, Richard Hecht, Erik Wheeler

"In a world filled with conflict, the importance of those valiantly seeking alternatives is more critical than ever." With co-chairs, Neil Groberg, Rick Hecht, and Erik Wheeler continuing at the helm, the Dispute Resolution Section maintained its efforts in this regard by extending the mission of the Section- advancing non litigious conflict resolution.

The Section continued its well-regarded and well-attended Zoomed "Chewing On Conflict" CLEs. Matt Duss, a Visiting Scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, appeared in a session and discussed conflict resolution in the context of foreign policy and in particular the war...