What's New

• Jurisdiction: Vermont,United States
• Citation: Vol. 45 No. 3 Pg. 28
• Publication year: 2019
• Pages: 28
• topic: Criminal Law,Consumer Law

WHAT'S NEW Vol. 45 No. 3 Pg. 28 Vermont Bar Journal Fall, 2019

2018-2019 Sections and Divisions Annual Report

APPELLATE LAW SECTION

Chairs: Benjamin Battles and Bridget Asay, Esqs.

The Appellate Section has had a busy year! At this year's Mid-Winter Thaw in Montreal, Section co-chair Bridget Asay moderated a lively conversation with Judge Peter Hall and Justice Marilyn Skoglund that touched on briefing, preparing the record, and arguing appeals at the Second Circuit and Vermont Supreme Court. The Section also hosted a well-attended CLE program on state constitutional law at this year's Mid-Year Meeting at the Lake Morey Resort. The panel for that program featured Bridget and her Section co-chair Ben Battles, as well as retired Vermont Supreme Court Justice John Dooley, Rebecca Turner of the Defender General's Office, and Lia Ernst of the ACLU. And speaking of state constitutional law, Ben published a review of Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton's book 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law in the Winter 2018 edition of the Vermont Bar Journal. In other appellate news, the Vermont Supreme Court hosted an "Appellate Bench-Bar Meeting" at its courthouse in December, where the justices and attorneys discussed a number of topics including forthcoming rule changes, plans for electronic filing, renovations to the Supreme Court building, and the importance of civility among advocates. And has been discussed on the Appellate Section's VBA Connect page, the Vermont Law School is in the process of launching an appellate advocacy project where VLS students will provide pro bono representation to self-represented litigants at the Vermont Supreme Court who meet certain financial eligibility criteria. The project has also begun providing moot courts for private attorneys who have arguments scheduled at the Court. (Interested advocates should contact VLS Professor Catherine Fregosi).

BANKRUPTCY LAW SECTION

Chairs: Nancy Geise and Donald Hayes, Esqs.

The bankruptcy bar section held its annual Holiday CLE on December 7, 2018 at Trader Duke's in South Burlington. There were seminars on topics specific to debtor and creditor bankruptcy practice, such as student loan debt, lease assumption and reaffirmation agreements, along with a session on the use of bankruptcy petitions as an estate planning tool. The bar brought in elder law and estate planning attorneys to speak on that topic that was less familiar but nonetheless very valuable to bankruptcy practitioners. This year's Holiday CLE on December 6, 2019 will be held in Killington and address issues in the emerging field of cannabis law and bankruptcy. Chapter 12 and the family farmer, along with continued discussion on student loans in bankruptcy.

Several bills were introduced in the House and are now in committee regarding student debt dischargeability. The bankruptcy bar will be monitoring the progress of those bills through the legislative process.

We congratulate Jan Sensenich, Esq, Vermont's sole Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 standing trustee, on his being elected President of the Association of Chapter 12 Trustees at that organization's annual conference in July 2019 in Indianapolis. And, congratulations as well to Ray Obuchowski, Esq., who was elected President of National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees at its annual meeting last August. Vermont can be proud to have two of its trustees in the top positions in these national organizations. Congratulations Jan and Ray!

BUSINESS ASSOCIATION LAW SECTION

Chair: Tom Moody, Esq.

It was an unusually quiet year for the Business Associations Section. After several years of active involvement with the Vermont Legislature, there were no business-law related bills that required the attention of the Business Associations Section. We anticipate we will be back in the legislature next session. Also, for the first time in at least a decade, we did not give a business law presentation at the annual meeting. Likewise, we will be back next year. In 2020, we also plan on putting on a free-standing live half or full day seminar on business law basics to be recorded and added to the VBA digital library.

COLLABORATIVE LAW SECTION

Chair: Nanci Smith, Esq.

The Collaborative Law Section invites members from the larger VBA membership who are interested in Collaborative Practice to reach out and create your own local practice group or join an existing practice group, such as CPVT (Collaborative Practice Vermont). This past year, we rolled out our Divorce Options program, modeled on the successful California platform, and offered 4 free community service forums to talk to the public about their divorce options-litigation, mediation and Collaborative Divorce. We continue to meet monthly with our interdisciplinary partners in mental health and financial planning. One member traveled to the CP CAL 15^th Anniversary training in San Diego. Next year will be in Redwood City. All are welcome to attend. The IACP (International Academy of Collaborative Professionals) Forum is in Chicago this year, October 25-27. This is a great place to network and expand your skills. We now incorporate zoom as our meeting platform as our membership expands. Attorney members who are interested in joining the CPVT practice group are encouraged to contact Nanci at nanci®nancismithlaw.com.

CONSUMER LAW SECTION

Chair: Jean Murray

The Section has been relatively quiet, but continues to work on debt collection reform legislation throughout the legislative session.

CRIMINAL LAW SECTION

Chair: Katelyn Atwood, Esq.

There will be a criminal law update presentation at this year's VBA Annual Meeting on September 27, 2019 with presenters from both the prosecutorial and defense sides.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION SECTION

Chairs: Neil Groberg and Richard Hecht, Esqs.

With over 135 members strong, the members of the Dispute Resolution Section continue to strive to make mediation, arbitration and facilitation more utilized, accepted and publicized in Vermont's legal community. This year, the section solicited a few bar journal articles, the Improv program and the VBA Annual Meeting and have actively pursued conversations on VBA Connect. We'd like to see more activity from this diverse group and more discussion about the various mediation strategies. The Section anticipates becoming even...