The Advocate | Spring 2018

THE

ADVOCATE VOLUME 33, NUMBER 1 - SPRING 2018

The Young Lawyers Section continues to lead the way Developing partnerships with our community and bringing innovative ideas to the forefront in Maryland and nationally.

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SPRING ISSUE! 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Message From the Chair by Michael Hudak, Esq. 4 YLS Committee Spotlight: Technology Committee 6 Young Lawyers Section (YLS) Committee Updates 6 ABA 6 Education 7 Pro Bono 9 Social Media 10 Riding the Circuits 10 Howard 10 Anne Arundel 11 Featured Article Member Spotlight: Vincent (Vince) Viruni A Young California Transplant Quickly Understands the Pro Bono Need in Maryland by Bonnie Sullivan, Esq.

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

BY MICHAEL HUDAK, SECTION CHAIR(mhudak007@gmail.com) Community: I am happy to announce that the YLS’s Annual Charity Event on April 20, 2018 at Gertrude’s Restaurant at the Baltimore Museum of Art was a huge success! More than 150 people attended the event and enjoyed a wonderful evening of food, dancing, and live music to raise money to support our community.

With the generous support of our sponsors and donors, the event raised more than $13,000 for the Oyster Recovery Partnership. The Oyster Recovery Partnership promotes public awareness of the environmental issues facing the Chesapeake Bay and educates elementary school children (along with us lawyers) through a program that collects and recycles oyster shells, which in turn, help to clean the Bay.

Innovation: As Chair of the YLS, I want you to know that we are always thinking of you: How can we do more for our members? What do our members need? What issues are our members facing? One area where we have seen great results is in technology. As you have likely noticed, technology has been a rapidly growing area of development for the YLS. The YLS Technology Committee, led by its Chair, Matthew Stubenberg, has created and hosted several programs focused on the growing intersection of technology and the law. Matthew is a coder as well as a lawyer, and has been more than willing to share his talents with anyone that crosses his path. We have put on programming such as the “Coding For Lawyers” educational series and recently presented a program at the National American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) conference entitled “Pro Bono in the 21st Century.”

This program demonstrated how Virtual Reality technology can help young lawyers quickly and efficiently develop the skills they need in the courtroom. See more information about the Technology Committee and its events below!

Please feel free to reach out to us and get more involved in bringing value to our members as well as to our community!

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YLS COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT: Technology Committee

“You don’t have to be a master coder to do coding that can benefit you and your clients.” YLS Chair, Michael Hudak Thinking of joining a YLS Committee next year? Each YLS Committee offers its members unique ways to become more involved in the Maryland legal community. This year, the Technology Committee hosted a variety of events that showcased the myriad ways that modern technology impacts the legal profession and how young lawyers are on the frontier of these developments.

YLS’s Technology Committee (chaired by Matthew Stubenberg, an ABA Legal Rebel, www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/ matthew_stubenberg_expungement) is working to grow the legal tech space and improve client representation.

The Technology Committee kicked off its Coding for Lawyers Series in January with an Intro to Coding class co-hosted by the Baltimore Legal Hackers. The event taught the basics of coding, including an introductory lesson in the computing language, Python, and an inside look at how software is made. Check out an overview of the Intro to Coding class at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjwjcY_3h-w. thedailyrecord.com/2018/01/28/mdlawyers-coding.

In March, the Technology Committee and the Baltimore Legal Hackers hosted the second Coding for Lawyers event, which focused on building websites.

The Technology Committee’s Website Workshop taught participants the basic code to create a website and helped each participant make a website.

More about the Website Workshop is available at www.youtube.com/watch? v=WS5S9f4WPQU&feature=youtu.be.

The Technology Committee has also been working to showcase Maryland’s tech innovations outside of the State. The 4

Coding for Lawyers classes were such a success that the DC Bar has asked the Technology Committee to offer Coding for Lawyers classes for its members.

Additionally, the Technology Committee has represented Maryland at several ABA Conferences around the country to present on cutting edge technology like the 360-degree virtual reality courtroom training experience. www.abajournal.com/ magazine/article/virtual_training_lawyers_ maryland_pro_bono.

To find out more about how to become involved with the Technology Committee and YLS, contact Matthew Stubenberg at mstubenberg@mvlslaw.org or Michael Hudak at mhudak@stattorney.org.

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YLS COMMITTEE UPDATES ABA

Christopher Jennison (chris.s.jennison@gmail.com), MSBA Representative to the ABA House of Delegates Launching of MSBA YLS ABA Committee •

Interested in getting more involved in the ABA and representing the MSBA? Michael Hudak and Christopher Jennison are forming an ABA Involvement Committee to identify future leadership opportunities in the ABA for MSBA members. If you are interested, email Christopher at Chris.s.jennison@gmail.com.

Save the Dates • • •

YLD Events at the ABA Annual Meeting, August 2 - 4, 2018, Chicago, IL YLD Fall Conference- October 25 – 27, 2018, Charleston, SC YLD Spring Conference 2019- April 2-4, 2019, Washington, D.C.

Louisville ABA YLD Spring Leadership Conference • •

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May 10 – 12, 2018, Louisville, KY Maryland Delegation: Divya Potdar, Kerri Smith, Alicia Shelton, Matthew Stubenberg, Detric Kemp, Lauren Lake, Brooke O’Connell, Michael Hudak, Christopher Jennison, and Josephine Bahn On May 11, 2018 Matthew Stubenberg and Alicia Shelton led a program on the MVLS/MSBA YLS virtual reality trainings.

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EDUCATION COMMITTEE The Education committee co-sponsored an event with the Montgomery County Bar Tax Section in February, and an event in March with the YLS Technology Committee and Baltimore Legal Hackers.

The February event prepared attorneys for the upcoming tax seasons, covering

basic information related to taxes and pitfalls related to individual tax returns and pass through entities for lawyers who own their own firms. The March event covered the basics of coding and website development. Read below for details of our next event:

Alternative Dispute Resolution Tactics: Utilizing ADR from the First Interview Through the Appeal: Sharpen and develop practical skills for integrating alternative dispute resolution tools into your practice. Join your colleagues in this informative workshop and explore a variety of helpful ADR concepts. Discuss best practices for appellate mediation. Learn tips for counsel as they navigate through the process at differing stages of litigation. This event is co-sponsored by the Anne Arundel Bar Association.

Speakers:

Honorable Steven I. Platt, Rignal Baldwin, Esq, Jeffrey Bowman, Esq., and Heather Clark, Esq.

When:

June 25, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Where:

Room 100, Center for Applied Learning and Technology (CALT) Bldg., 101 College Parkway Arnold, MD 21012

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PRO BONO COMMITTEE On January 13, 2018, the Pro Bono Committee of the Young Lawyers Section of the MSBA participated in an Estate Planning Clinic at Baltimore Western District Police Station. The event brought together approximately 20 young lawyers over the Dr. Martin Luther King public service weekend.

Thanks to our great volunteers, 17 low income senior clients received a total of 38 fully executed legal documents.

The event was co-sponsored with the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, Senior Legal Services, and the Baltimore Police Department.

Western District Police Station

MSBA YLS Attorneys helping low income senior clients.

On Saturday March 3, 2018, the Pro Bono Committee of the Young Lawyers Section of the MSBA participated and co-sponsored Catholic Charities – Esperanza Center’s first U visa Clinic in Baltimore. During this clinic, volunteer attorneys received training on U Visas and helped immigrant crime victims assess, prepare, and review their paperwork for their U visa.

Esperanza Center

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This was Esperanza Center’s largest form-filling on-site ever, which was a great success. This clinic helped 13 clients prepare their U visa paperwork, whose applications were finalized and mailed out, and a total of 26 attorneys and non-attorneys participated in this U visa clinic. This clinic was co-sponsored with the Esperanza Center, and the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association.

Thank you to all our volunteer attorneys!

For more information on how to get involved with the MSBA YLS Pro Bono Committee, contact Maya Zegarra at maya.zegarraz@gmail.com

U visa training for volunteers

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMITTEE The Social Media Committee has been hard at work advertising YLS events and updating social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Keep track of all YLS events through

our social media handles @MSBA Young Lawyers Section on Facebook; @MarylandBarYLS on Twitter; and @MarylandBarYLS on Instagram.

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RIDING THE CIRCUITS HOWARD COUNTY

Circuit Representative: Ryan J. Dymek (dymeklaw@gmail.com) UPCOMING EVENT June 8, 2018 - Bowling with Badges Come out for a fun-filled Friday night at the Brunswick Lanes in Columbia. Bowling with Badges will be held from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Sign up forms will be forthcoming.

We are currently looking for sponsors for this upcoming event.

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

Circuit Representative: Jessica S. Praley, Esq. (jessica@arthurlaw.net) UPCOMING EVENT SAVE THE DATE for the Annual AABA Crab Feast 2018 Friday, September 28, from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Sandy Point State Park.

Unlimited crabs, beverages, corn on the cob, hamburgers, hot dogs, music and much, much more.

Guests of members may attend for $65 per person. There is a $4/person entrance fee for Sandy Point State Park.

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: VINCENT (VINCE) VIRUNI

A Young California Transplant Quickly Understands The Pro Bono Need In Maryland BY: BONNIE SULLIVAN (bsullivan@mvlslaw.org), Executive Director, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) Bonnie Sullivan.

Photo credit: Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.

We live in a metropolitan region connected to the hubs of Washington and Virginia that provides one of the highest concentrations of attorney jobs and ranks as a top paying area for lawyers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2017 Occupation Employment Statistics for Lawyers.

What’s more, Maryland experienced an 84 percent increase in active attorneys in the last decade, according to the ABA’s National Lawyer Population Survey’s Lawyer Population by State. Our region is ripe for law graduates, but this also translates to competition – competition to land that elusive first job.

Civil legal services in Maryland depend on the generous support of attorneys willing to give their time and expertise to those who are less fortunate. As the Executive Director of Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS), I have the privilege of meeting new attorneys and law students every year who are anxious about finding employment. They come to

MVLS to gain valuable experience while helping their communities.

Recently, I learned about Vincent (Vince) Viruni, a new attorney who was admitted to the bar in Maryland last year after moving from sunny California. Mr. Viruni is 28 years old and secured his first job as a junior associate at Towson-based Kallina & Associates, LLC. He works in the fields of charitable giving, trust and estates, and taxation.

Mr. Viruni did not waste time seeking out opportunities that could help him grow in his career, and his commitment stands out among his peers. Notably, he was sworn in on a Tuesday and

by Wednesday, he was attending MVLS’ Low Income Taxpayer Clinic tax controversy training. Mr. Viruni quickly became a dedicated MVLS volunteer attorney who is helping encourage other newly admitted attorneys to share their talents with Marylanders in need.

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Mr. Viruni is a member of MVLS’ new attorney engagement initiative – Community Advocate Network or CAN. I asked him what advice he would give to other attorneys just starting out to help them be successful in their careers. This is what he shared, “From one attorney who is just starting out (and a recent law student) to another – try to learn more about pro bono programs designed specifically for new attorneys, like CAN. Incubators like CAN provide a wealth of opportunities by: • Giving newly-admitted attorneys access to more than 2,000 mentors in the local area • Providing tools to thrive inside and outside the courtroom • Allowing attorneys to establish their own professional network • Promoting themselves among applicant pools • Having the chance to participate in impactful interviews with prospective employers • Teaching and inspiring others to follow suit • Impacting their community • Building meaningful and lasting relationships

From my own personal experience, CAN provides options to build on my own career as I see fit while teaching me how the legal field can be a positive-sum game, not a zero-sum game.”

Vince Viruni. Photo credit: Vince Viruni

In my work, Mr. Viruni is an unsung hero.

MVLS has the honor of working with him now – early in his career – so together we can make a lasting, positive, contribution to less fortunate Marylanders who may not otherwise have a voice.

To learn more about MVLS and its CAN program, please visit www.mvlslaw.org/ mvls-can.

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PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE For questions or comments about The Advocate please contact any member of the Publications Committee: Letam Duson Chelsea Crawford Chaz Ball Paul Farmer

LDuson@stattorney.org CCrawford@browngold.com cball@sbwlaw.com pfarmer@gjblawfirm.com