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SJC denies request for increased bar advocate compensation
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has declined to raise compensation rates for bar advocates beyond legislative levels amid ongoing indigent defense shortages.
Lawyers of the Year: Shira M. Diner
The tension had been simmering in the criminal justice system for years. Then, around Memorial Day last year, bar advocates turned up the heat, declining to accept new cases until their pay rates were brought more in line with their peers in other states.
Attorneys’ group forms to renew fight over bar advocate pay
The Massachusetts Association of Private Appointed Counsel forms to advocate for higher bar advocate pay and protect the right to counsel for indigent defendants.
SJC urged to raise rates to address indigent defense crisis
CPCS and allies ask the Supreme Judicial Court to raise pay for bar advocates amid an unprecedented shortage of indigent defense attorneys.
Applicants sought for term on CPCS
The Supreme Judicial Court is seeking applications for appointment to a four-year term on the Committee for Public Counsel Services. The court will be making one appointment.
CPCS hires 22 new attorneys in rapid expansion
The Committee for Public Counsel Services has reached out to 50 law schools and hired 22 new attorneys over a 17-day span in August as it moves forward with "the largest staffing expansion in the agency's history."
Mass. judges raise indigent defense pay amid shortage
Massachusetts judges boost indigent defense attorney pay as shortages persist, raising constitutional concerns over right to counsel.
Bar advocates: deal announced by legislators won’t end crisis
The plan the Legislature announced on July 30 to address the needs to the public defense system will not end the crisis, leaders of the grassroots effort among bar advocates tell Lawyers Weekly.
Retired judges demand fair pay for bar advocates
117 retired judges urge Massachusetts lawmakers to raise bar advocate pay, calling it essential for justice and constitutional rights.
Bar advocates dispute Beacon Hill’s forecast for labor crisis resolution
Bar advocates said on July 28 that they have not been involved in any conversations with legislative leadership about a resolution to the labor crisis that has resulted in more […]
Top lawmakers weighing bar advocate work stoppage
Calling it a "$100 million issue," top legislative Democrats say they are discussing the impacts of a work stoppage by attorneys who represent indigent defendants, but have yet to reach any consensus on private attorney pay.
Need for quick end to bar advocate work stoppage widely seen
Massachusetts faces a public defense crisis as bar advocates strike, triggering Lavallee hearings and the release of high-risk unrepresented defendants.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
