The Guild Shines in 2009

We are proud to report on the past year’s activities in this issue.  The Massachusetts Chapter continued to assist communities in need while also strengthening its infrastructure in order to better meet members’ needs. We also paused to celebrate our 40^th anniversary and to salute our founding members.

In March, Nancy Kelly and John Willshire-Carrera again hosted our Mentorship Brunch for law students. The event was well-attended and participants were well-fed.  In a brilliant scheduling ploy, we combined our St. Patrick’s Day festivities with our Annual Meeting, where we elected new board members and heard the insightful Steve Schnapp, United for a Fair Economy, give a leftist analysis of the economic crisis.  In April we honored the chapter’s founders at a 40^th Anniversary Founders Party, hosted by the debonair David Kelston.  Mixing business with pleasure, we pieced together our founders’ recollections to create a more complete chapter history.  Also in April, internationalista Judy Somberg hosted a dinner party for visiting Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Fernando Vegas, a long-time friend of the Guild.  In May, we gathered to honor students, legal workers and lawyers at our annual Testimonial Dinner. You’ll be glad to know that the 2010 dinner committee is already hard at work, looking for ways to pump up the volume at next year’s dinner.  Our annual retreat was held in August, giving us the opportunity to do long-term planning, as was our first ever Staff Appreciation Reception, which will certainly become a regular event.  In October, the Guild made its second appearance at my favorite, the Honk! Fest, a raucous and entertaining assembly of street bands, where we marched proudly with the Red Bandana Brigade.  Fair warning: we’ll be recruiting more marchers and baton twirlers for next year.  Later that month, a Massachusetts contingent attended the National Convention in Seattle.  Law students Cecilia Candia and Liz Dedrick give us their impressions on page 10.

In terms of our substantive work, we continue to offer a national model for effective representation of the thousands of homeowners and tenants affected by the foreclosure crisis. Jeff Feurer describes the accomplishments of the Foreclosure Prevention Task Force.  In a separate article, Jeff also brings us up to date on the Mass. Defense Committee, which trains and organizes the NLG Legal Observers who respond to requests from community groups (see page 7).  The battle for an effective Civilian Review Board in Boston grinds on, but we’re prepared for the long haul. See page 6.  And as always, there is a growing demand for Street Law Clinics (page 8), which involve both Guild students and lawyers and provide invaluable assistance on an increasing range of subjects.

Other activities were intended to build solidarity within the Guild.  Bonnie Tenneriello describes the more serious version, our Brown Bag Lunch Series, while Ku Yoo reveals his adventures at Happy Hours.   To better serve our members, Laura Alfring and Carl Williams were the tech-heads behind our website upgrade.  Coordinator Sara DeConde reports on the Lawyer Referral Service .

We hope these reports will inspire more of our members to join Guild campaigns, chapter programs and social events.
Barb Dougan, Chapter Co-Chair