News and Noteworthy

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  Supreme Judicial Court’s Judicial Performance Evaluation Program to Resume with Evaluations of Judges in Essex County, Middlesex County District Courts, the Boston Municipal Court, and the Chelsea District Court

  The Supreme Judicial Court will resume its program of soliciting judicial performance evaluations from attorneys, court employees, and jurors in October 2024. Judges who sat in any Essex County Court, Middlesex County District Court, the Boston Municipal Court, or the Chelsea District Court in the last two years will be evaluated. The program was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Full Article
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  Supreme Judicial Court Justices Appoint Clerk for the Commonwealth (8/28)

  The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court have appointed Maura A. Looney as the next Clerk for the Commonwealth. Ms. Looney was sworn in today by Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd. This appointment fills a vacancy resulting from the departure of Clerk Francis V. Kenneally, who was sworn in as a District Court judge. Ms. Looney has served as Acting Clerk for the Commonwealth since April 1. Read Full Article
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  New to the LexisNexis Digital Library

  The Library is very excited to announce some new features that have been added to the LexisNexis Digital Library! You can now subscribe to certain titles and get an alert when that title is updated. You will get a notification in the Digital Library that a specific title has been updated, and clicking the notification will take you right to the update. Read Full Article
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  Supreme Judicial Court Repeals Rule 3:16 Requiring Newly Admitted Lawyers to Complete Practicing with Professionalism Course (Press Release 8/19)

  BOSTON, MA -- The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has issued an order repealing SJC Rule 3:16, effective August 14, 2024, thereby removing the requirement that all persons admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth complete a mandatory Practicing with Professionalism Course within eighteen months of admission. Read Full Article
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  Supreme Judicial Court Announces Access to Justice Commission Appointments (8/14)

  The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) today announced the appointment of the Honorable Valerie Yarashus, Associate Justice of the Superior Court, and Marijane Benner Browne, Director of Global Lateral Partner Recruiting at Ropes & Gray LLP, as co-chairs of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. Judge Yarashus has been appointed for a three-year term to succeed the Honorable Serge Georges, Jr., Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, who is stepping down after completing his three-year term as Commission co-chair. Marijane Benner Browne, who has served as Commission co-chair with Justice Georges since 2021, has been reappointed to that position for an additional year. Read Full Article
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  Wolters Kluwer’s VitalLaw Access On Site ​

  Social Law Library members have access to Wolters Kluwer’s VitalLaw database while visiting the library. A wide-range of titles are available on this platform. Now you can keyword search major resources like the CCH reporters when it comes to Tax, Securities, and Employment issues . . . Read Full Article