First, thanks to all of you who shared suggestions for CLE topics, this year's Annual Meeting is full of those ideas! From a family law track with 4 sessions, to appellate/trial advocacy, intellectual property, cloud security/storage, mindfulness, e-discovery, elder law, health law, not to mention all the Year in Review sessions your legal hearts desire.

And that's just on Friday!

Thursday? Oh, just get ready - Judge Mello and Judge Martin are ready to roll with a first ever Book Club seminar discussing their fascinating books  Moses Robinson and the Founding of Vermont (Mello) , and Orville's Revenge: The Anatomy of a Suicide (Martin)** . Here's a quick synopsis of each: 

Moses Robinson was one of the earliest settlers in Bennington and was not a lawyer, but went on to serve as the first Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, as well as Governor, U.S. Senator, and one of the chief negotiators for Vermont’s statehood in Congress. In recounting Moses Robinson’s fascinating life story, Judge Mello also details what has been described as “the best account of early Vermont history” written to date.

Orville’s Revenge is based on two Orange County murder trials that took place shortly after Judge Martin began working in 1959 as a young lawyer in Attorney Dick Davis’s office in Barre. Two men were charged in the murder of dairy farmer Orville Gibson, whose frozen body had been found bound and gagged in the Connecticut River in March, 1958.  Judge Martin details how Attorney Davis was able to convince a jury that the cause of death was not murder, but suicide.

**SPOILER ALERT (not to mention serious props!):  Judge Martin’s wife, Nancy Martin, will demonstrate how one can tie oneself up before hurling one’s self off a bridge!       R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Each book will be available for purchase on Thursday, or you can order them in advance through the Vermont Historical Society, or Amazon (sign up for Amazon Smile and they'll make a donation to your favorite non-profit or charity...ahem...Vermont Bar Foundation...ahem!)

And, as if that wasn't enough, we've arranged for a cocktail reception featuring a Gubernatorial Dialogue with the three top contenders:

Bill Lee, Vermont Liberty Union Party
Sue Minter, Vermont Democratic Party
Phil Scott, Vermont Republican Party 

Yes indeed. A social hour with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will begin at 5pm, with the Gubernatorial Dialogue starting at 6pm and wrapping up at 7pm. 

Here are links to: the flyer , Lake Morey , and VBA registration

Be aware of deadlines (these are next week, folks!): 
                 VBA room rate guaranteed through October 3rd 
                 Annual Meeting Earl Bird Rates are in effect through October 7th!