BCBA MEMBERS & JUDGES GATHER IN OCEAN CITY FOR THE MSBA JOINT BENCH/BAR CONFERENCE by Alexander C. Steeves Hundreds of members of the Baltimore County Bar Association joined with lawyers and judges from across the State of Maryland for the 2016 Maryland Joint Bench/Bar Conference in Ocean City from Wednesday, June 15, 2016 through Saturday, June 18, 2016. Members participated in everything from educational seminars to networking events to fun-filled activities such as Yoga on the Beach, Zumba, and the Young Lawyers Section 10k and 5k runs. Many Baltimore County judges and attorneys attended and moderated numerous Continuing Legal Education programs throughout the four days of the event. On Solo Day (Friday), the Negligence, Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Section presented 60 Tips in 60 Minutes, which included The Honorable Vicki Ballou-Watts, The Honorable Mark Scurti, Matt Paavola, Patrick Roberson and Danny Seidman on the panel, moderated by Rhonda Framm and Wally Kleid. The Honorable Alexander Wright, Jr., served as a speaker for a program that taught attorneys how to respond to Judicial Disability Complaints. The Honorable Dorothy Wilson spoke on a panel that discussed the ways in which Alternative Dispute Resolution can be effective.
Perhaps the highlight of the conference came on Thursday evening when all participants gathered at the Clarion Hotel Crystal Ballroom for the President’s Reception to honor outgoing MSBA President Judge Pamila J. Brown, and the new, incoming MSBA President, Judge Harry C. Storm. Judge Brown and Judge Storm joined former MSBA President Debra G. Schubert in a receiving line to welcome guests, and then everyone headed inside the ballroom to enjoy all types of food from oysters to salmon to bacon-wrapped scallops to sliced tenderloin. When the party was over, hundreds of attendees headed to the area around the indoor pool at The Clarion where the Baltimore County Bar Association, and many bar associations throughout Maryland, had hospitality suites that featured even more food and a wide array of beverages. The conference was a tremendous success in 2016, and it actually sold out for the first time in recent memory. Everyone who is interested in attending next June should register early and avoid being shut out at the last minute.
Baltimore County was very well represented at the Family and Juvenile Section program on Friday, June 17, 2016 when Christopher Nicholson received the 2016 MSBA Beverly Groner Award, and BCBA Member Craig Little passed the chairperson reins of the committee to BCBA Member Kristine Howanski. County Administrative Judge Kathleen Gallogy Cox served on a panel that provided family law practitioners with advice on how best to deal with self-represented litigants.
THE ADVOCATE
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July 2016