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President’s Message |
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“IF NOT US, WHO? IF NOT NOW, WHEN?” With crises facing us from so many directions, it is time for the members of the Essex County Bar Association to step forward and help solve the problems we confront. Here are my thoughts on two ways we can help. As attorneys we have a keener insight into the impact of the current budget crisis. We know how drastically funding for the Judicial Branch and for CPCS has been cut and we know too well the consequences of these reductions. (As attorneys, do we not have a duty to advance what we know is crucial not only to our freedoms but also to a stable social fabric?) One obvious response is to advocate for fair funding for the judiciary, for CPCS and for related projects. Ours is a unique and informed perspective, one that needs to be heard now more than ever. We see the hardship caused to defendants denied effective representation, and we understand too well the consequences of an abandoned judiciary. As an initial step, I ask you to join me at the State House on March 31, 2009 to visit our legislators and educate them about the importance of funding for both the courts and the programs that deliver the promise of justice to those least able to afford them. Please visit our website for additional materials to be posted on this topic. Secondly, because of the long standing work we have done, we at the ECBA have some particular talents to share within the legal community. For years, our conciliation programs have produced dramatic results by resolving disputes and enhancing the delivery of justice. Our programs can serve as a model for other bar associations to implement. Toward that end, we have entered into discussions with the Bristol County Bar Association to provide them with the benefit of our experience. We will work with them and with other interested organizations to help spread this type of work at a time it is most needed. On a lighter note, we are in the process of finalizing the ECBA Annual Dinner Meeting on Thursday, May 21, 2009, at Spinelli’s in Lynnfield. We have a great event planned. David Yas from Lawyers Weekly will be our guest speaker and we will also welcome Chief Justice Barbara Rouse to speak on the occasion of the Superior Court’s 150th Anniversary. Please mark your calendar and please invite an extra guest. There is also an update to mention concerning the ECBA portraits currently hanging in the Essex Law Library in Salem. Following the written correspondence mentioned in my previous President’s Message (Bar Briefs; November, 2008), ECBA Secretary Joseph Dever, Larry McGuire and I met with Richard L’Huereux from DCAM, as well as the lead architect on the project. The purpose of this meeting was to work out a solution to the future of these portraits worthy of their history. The final outcome determined that the extraordinary Lemuel Shaw portrait by William Morris Hunt, currently hanging in Session I of the Superior Court, will be the central showpiece of the new law library with smaller portraits surrounding it. Those portraits that do not fit in the library will be disbursed throughout courthouses in Essex County. Finally I am pleased to announce that proceeds from the holiday party were donated to My Brother’s Table in Lynn, Pettengill House in Salisbury, and St. Joseph’s Food Pantry in Salem. Donald R. Bumiller |
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Donald R. Bumiller President |
