From the President
Well, it’s almost the first day of spring. Since it has been winter since October in Northeast Ohio, I am getting a bit anxious to get outside. I am fortunate that our family was able to have only one tire become a victim of the ever-growing pothole menace. Unfortunately, when you need one, you need to replace the other three as well. While potholes do occur with our weather, the condition of the roads here in Akron were sad prior to winter.
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YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
TO
THE JUDICIAL SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF
AKRON MUNICIPAL COURT
JUDGE ANN MARIE O’BRIEN
Monday, March 25
4:30 pm
The University of Akron School of Law’s Beatrice K. McDowell Common
150 University Avenue
A reception with refreshments provided by the Akron Bar Association will follow.
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Dramatic Changes, Including Online Notarizations, Part of Notary Public Modernization Act
On Dec. 19, 2018, then-Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 263, the “Enact Notary Public Modernization Act,” which at its core permits online notarizations beginning on or about Sept. 20, 2019. This is a dramatic change from current law where electronic or remote notarization of documents is not permitted. An analysis from the National Notary Association states,
“With the enactment of Senate Bill 263, Ohio becomes the 10th state to authorize online notarizations. But SB 263 is more than an online notarization bill. It reforms Ohio’s antiquated and sparse notary statutes with provisions related to paper notarizations as well. It requires notaries to take a course and pass an exam, includes many new standards of practice, and requires applicants to submit to a criminal records check. Notably, SB 263 transfers the commissioning of notaries from the county courts of common pleas to the Ohio Secretary of State. As for the online notarization provisions, the scope of the new law is quite extensive.”
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Thursday, March 28
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
University of Akron School of Law
In partnership with the University of Akron Center for
Family Studies
Friday, March 29
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
The Hartville Kitchen
Hosted by the Akron Bar and Stark County Bar Associations
Registration fees include CLE, electronic materials, continental breakfast & lunch.
Register prior to 11:59pm on 3/22/19 to avoid $25 late registration fee
Yes, there will be pie - It's the Hartville Kitchen, after all!
Friday & Saturday, May 17 & 18
We're on the Strip again this year! (Bally's Hotel & Casino)
Seminar Moderator & Program Planner Extraordinaire: Richard L. Williger, Esq., Brennan Manna Diamond LLC. (Who says, as he has any number of times in the past, that this is the honest-to-goodness LAST Vegas seminar.)
CLICK ON THE HIGHLIGHTED LINKS ABOVE TO REGISTER. VIEW THE FULL CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
HERE....
Don't forget that we also offer online CLE 24/7/365!
Click here
to view the catalog and to register.
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From Community Legal Aid
Steven McGarrity, Esq.
Executive Director
Community Legal Aid
Three years...two kids...one mission
I recently celebrated three years of being Community Legal Aid’s Executive Director, and it’s been starting to feel like the third year of marriage. You’re over the honeymoon phase, the surprise is gone, and those quirky traits about your partner are becoming less and less cute.
And just like marriage, it’s been a fun, crazy, rewarding ride - and one I wouldn’t trade for anything.
We’ve made great progress as an organization in just a few short years of opening up our doors to the community, becoming a dependable partner for other nonprofit agencies, collaborating with the private bar on pro bono and access to justice issues, and digging deeper into the problems our clients face, and what they need from us to resolve those problems.
And as I look ahead to what’s next for us, I find myself reflecting on how we - how I - got here.
It all started in 1997, on my first day at Legal Aid, when I met my first client. At just 19-years-old, he had guardianship over his two young nephews. This was stunning to me. He had just recently graduated high school and was still a kid himself. How could this be?
But this was no ordinary family.
Several years earlier, my client’s sister and mother of the two little boys was killed while serving on active duty in the military. At that time, my client’s mother, the boys’ grandmother, got custody of the kids. And like most families that have faced such a terrible loss, they somehow found a way to carry on. The kids received survivor benefits, the grandmother had a good job, and my client was finishing high school.
But then one day, after finishing her shift at work, the grandmother said goodbye to her co-workers, walked out the door, and vanished, her car still in the parking lot, and was never seen or heard from again.
My client was beside himself. He had only recently graduated high school and had no means to support himself or the two children he now found himself responsible for. While the boys’ survivor benefit checks kept coming, he had no way to cash them. He couldn’t pay their bills - and that included their rent.
One day, their landlord showed up to find out why the rent was late. After hearing his story, the landlord told him to go to Legal Aid, because they could help. And we did. We helped with the survivor benefits checks, the guardianship paperwork and obligations with the court, and eventually even connecting with other family members who would go on to care for them.
Legal Aid changed the lives of those boys. And they changed me, too. They breathed life and meaning into the word
justice
, and helped pave the way for what would become my life’s calling.
Now, more than 20 years later, the same things that ignited my passion for poverty law in that case still hold true -- the importance of community in rallying around those in need, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the unparalleled ability of the law to give people the chance they need in life.
It’s been an honor and privilege to be a part of the Legal Aid team for more than two decades, and to serve as Executive Director for the past two years. I look forward to the coming years and all the changes that will come with them -- remaining firmly grounded in the foundation built by that first client and case.
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Scanlon/Bell Inn of Court accepting applications for 2019-2020 Term
The Charles F. Scanlon and Judge Samuel H. Bell Inn of Court is accepting applications for membership for the 2019-2020 term, which begins in September 2019. The Inn, which was founded over 30 years ago by leading members of the Bar, including Federal District Judge Sam Bell, in collaboration with the Akron Bar Association and the University of Akron School of Law, provides members of the judiciary and bar an opportunity to learn from one another, both through CLE presentations and by sharing dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. It has maintained its vigor by annually enrolling new members who want to learn and share information about ethics, public issues, and advocacy through the programs offered by the Inn. We currently have openings in all three of our classes: (1) the bencher class, which is made up of judges and lawyers with fifteen or more years of experience; (2) the barrister class, which is made up of lawyers with between four and fifteen years of experience; and (3) the pupils class, which is made up of law students and lawyers with less than four years of experience.
If you are interested in associating with judges and senior lawyers, or mentoring newer lawyers and students, please consider applying. To do so, send your resume and a letter or email to Peter T. Cahoon, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, 3800 Embassy Parkway, Suite 300, Akron, OH 44333,
pcahoon@bdblaw.com, by May 1, 2019.
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The Akron Bar exists to serve our members and to help them achieve excellence in the legal profession, a profession dedicated to justice for all. I was happy to discover recently that our Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) has provided an opportunity for two of the newer members of the LRIS panel to grow their practice.
These two dynamic young lawyers, licensed in the last five years and members of the LRIS for less than three years, have provided excellent legal services to the clients referred to them through the LRIS, primarily in probate, criminal, and family law. They are skilled at converting referrals into clients and earned a combined $23,000 in the last year from cases referred by the LRIS.
Their success could one day be YOURS!
The LRIS staff receives around 4,000 calls per year, of which an average of 60% are referred to our panelists. We do our best, while being careful not to give legal advice, to redirect callers who do not have a genuine legal issue or who cannot afford legal services to another agency that would be more helpful to them.
Our panels are sufficiently narrow and specific that, after listening to their story and asking targeted questions, we can refer a caller to the right lawyer.
We provide the attorney’s contact information to the client and stress the importance of contacting the lawyer for the consultation, or, where the attorney prefers, we can transfer the client directly to the attorney’s office.
It is our hope that this process, which we are continually honing and improving, provides a pleasant customer experience for our callers and a smooth handoff to the best attorney for their situation.
After that, the success of our referral service rests with the attorney. Sometimes there is some up-learning required to tackle a nuanced case. Not every client will be ideal but there will always be opportunities to use the unique set of skills you have developed to enrich others’ lives and grow your practice by connecting with potential clients and increasing recognition of your firm’s unique brand.
If this sounds like a winning strategy to you, call LRIS Director Matthew Albright at 330.436.0117 and let’s explore how you can become part of the Akron Bar LRIS panel.
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Never Take a Bad Work Day Home Again, Using These 3 Steps
A number of years ago, we had the opportunity to interview retired Judge Carla Moore. During the course of the interview, she was asked how she decompresses after a difficult day in court. Her reply could have been the basis for this article from Ideas.TED.com: create a mental "third place" in which to make the transition from work life to home life. This can be done while commuting or making a quick stop at the gym. How do you mentally leave your work at work at the end of the day?
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Don't Forget the "Clothing for Indigent Defendants" Service
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Thanks to all who have been cleaning out their closets and contributing to the "Fill the Closet" Drive! We're almost ready to send another van full of clothing to Goodwill. Please donate today!
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Akron Bar Association
57 South Broadway, Akron, OH 44308
Phone: (330) 253-5007
Fax: (330) 253-2140
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