Having been successful in my private life, I am going to reapply the lesson learned to my professional life, that is, if you want something done, just “put it out there.” So today’s topic is My Wildest (Professional) Dream (that you renew your MSBA membership) a/k/a The Top 10 Reasons I am Writing a Blog Post on the Top 10 Reasons to Renew your MSBA Membership.

10I won’t have to think about another topic to blog about.

9The marketing person who asked me to write it is nice to me; the entire Marketing staff are great to work with, professional, hard working.

8 It beats the heck out of calling members to ask them to renew. The last time I called to ask for money was as part of a capital campaign for our church. The lists were old.  My first call?  To someone in home hospice.

7I can think less about how my program will do more with less. At age 52 (as of this week), anything that promises less cogent thought is attractive.

6My journalistic ethics are under-developed; after all, I am a lawyer-by-trade. I am not above being a shill for my employer.

5I said I’d do it and can’t back out now.

4Member renewal dollars pay my salary; two of my kids will be enrolled in college next year. Ouch.

3I think the Marketing campaign is clever and if I don’t support it, we could return to something much less entertaining.

2Someone scammed me into thinking I could turn this around as a way to thank members for all they do. Methinks they will see through that ruse. But I do like working with members – hands down, one of the best parts of the job.

DRUMROLL. The #1 reason I am asking you to renew your membership?

1It’s easy. The MSBA is doing great things for its members. To steal a phrase, “This isn’t your father’s bar association.” Here they are. Read them and renew. You’ll make all my dreams come true.

In the last year, the MSBA…

• Taught 7,000 students about the rule of law and civic rights and responsibilities through the Civic Education programs.
• Added two new certification areas – Criminal Law and Labor and Employment Law.
• Changed the annual convention format to bring full-day CLE programs to Minnesota’s eight judicial districts outside the Twin Cities.
• Fought for the integrity of Minnesota’s judicial system by aggressively advocating for a judicial election reform bill.
• Launched a digital edition of Bench & Bar of Minnesota, enabling members to link to resources cited and electronically search, share, and save articles of special interest.
• Hired a Government Relations Director to actively lobby on behalf of the MSBA and keep members informed of legislative issues affecting the Minnesota legal community.
• Oversaw development of  forms and resources posted on practicelaw for use in marital dissolution, foreclosure, civil litigation, real property, probate, and appellate practice matters.
• Provided quality, timely, free or low-cost, one-hour CLE programs through MSBA sections, setting records for programs, credits, and attendance.

*An aside – I used several Flair markers, in varied colors, to complete my list. One of my kitchen visitors read the list, then commented, “I never took you for someone who’d use different colored pens.” Not sure what she meant, but, I digress…

© Nancy Hupp for Practice Blawg, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Developments, MSBA, Updates

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Revised Monster Judgment and Decree – Greg detailed the work on the J&D in a previous post. Since then, we’ve added a page where you can post your comments on particular provisions. We will review and update the form on a quarterly basis, so please, take a look at it and give us your feedback.

MSBA Section CLE Materials – As pointed out in an earlier post, many of the MSBA Sections host CLEs. Some presenters prepare written materials which we now tag and post on practicelaw.

More Appellate Practice Templates – Thanks to the hard work of the MSBA Appellate Practice Section Council members, we have revised federal brief templates on practicelaw. (The revised state brief templates were posted last month.)In the coming weeks, we will roll out the first phase of Editable Conveyancing Blanks, and we also plan to release an expanded set of criminal law forms.

Federal Tax Committee Report – We recently posted Dick Hawke’s monthly report which covers all sorts of “heads up” tax information for probate practitioners.

Source of practicelaw forms – As reported last month, we’ve added a source column on practicelaw. Users can click on the icon in that column and get information about the source of that particular form or resource. We are slowly but surely adding this information.

Blogroll – We continue to add descriptions and links to blogs written by MSBA members on legal topics. Peruse the list, read some, and, by all means, send us your link if you have joined the ranks of the bloggers.

Coming Soon – The Uniform Conveyancing Blank (UCB) Task Force has approved changes to 60+ UCBs to include a place to indicate electronic recording information for Well Disclosure Certificates. Once these are approved by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, we will post them. Also in the upcoming weeks, we will roll out the first phase of Editable Conveyancing Blanks. We also plan to release an expanded set of criminal law forms and to add practicelaw resources for labor & employment law practitioners. So unless one of us gets the call from President Obama to replace Justice Stevens, we will continue work on these improvements.

Advisory Board? – Lastly, one idea rolling around is to solicit members to volunteer as a member of a practicelaw “advisory group.” Who better to advise us on how and what materials to add and delete than our users? Hands down the best part of this job is working with members, and we greatly benefit from your occassional feedback so we are thinking about formalizing an advisory relationship with those who are interested. (At least then you may get some cookies for your comments!) Thoughts? Interested? Let us know; we are all ears.

© Nancy Hupp for Practice Blawg, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Appellate Practice, Judgment and Decree, practicelaw, Resources, tax

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Hard to tell if the MSBA Sections are more of the chord players – steady, regular – or the melody players – adding the variety, above and beyond, noteworthy projects. When I asked my co-workers what the various Sections are up to these days, I was amazed, not just with the number but with the breadth of activities. I then decided to write a blog post about what I learned. The challenge – not sounding like an infomercial. Tall order. One way would be to pick just one or a few activities, then provide a link to all the rest. But that wouldn’t really get my point across. I am not trying to sell anything, rather I want to amaze.

So, hang on to your hats, and I will blog you through an entire rendition of Heart and Soul. If necessary, click on the link in the first paragraph, to provide ambience as you read. Ready, begin.

Playing Chords

On the one hand, most of the 34 MSBA sections offer a chance to network and a chance to learn. Most sections meet monthly. Over the next several weeks Sections will host several free or low-cost CLEs on a variety of topics:

• The U.S. Senate recount trial (Civil Litigation Section)
• Children & Human Trafficking (Children and Law Section)
• International Criminal Law (Criminal Law Section)
• Clinical Trials (Food & Drug Section)
• Mental Health Parity (Health Law Section)
• NLRB Casehandling (Labor & Employment Law Section)

In addition, MSBA Sections keep members informed on their practice area through e-newsletters, blogs, list-servs and other publications. Check out the Labor and Employment Section’s Winter/Spring Newsletter. Some MSBA sections give members an opportunity to volunteer their time and expertise. For example, this Spring both the Labor & Employment and the Environmental Law sections will launch Speakers Bureaus.

Section involvement is a way to network with peers – old, new, and soon-to-be; metro and outstate:

• Both Labor & Employment and the New Lawyers section are hosting receptions this spring for new lawyers.
• Some sections, such as Family Law, host satellite meetings and CLEs to enable participation by outstate members.

Playing the Melody

On the other hand, some Sections are engaging in activities above and beyond their regular offerings. Upcoming:

• The Civil Litigation Section is finalizing the Judicial Questionnaire project. The results will inform lawyers about the specific courtroom and proceeding requirements of individual state district court judges. The results will be posted on the Section’s website.
• The Elder Law Section will celebrate and support National Healthcare Decisions Day around the state with a number of clinics and presentations
• The ADR Section is co-sponsoring an all day training event featuring Ken Cloke.

Working at the MSBA offices, I see members come and go throughout the day. Some want to play, others, to listen. Fortunately, there is room at the piano for all.

© Nancy Hupp for Practice Blawg, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: MSBA Sections

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