Notice from the Court Administrator
Beginning with January, 2015, the Civil Trial Lists will be posted on the Court’s Web Page, and updated one week prior to the trial term. Copies of the trial lists will no longer be mailed to litigants and attorneys.
Once a Certificate of Readiness is filed, all objections decided, and a Pretrial Conference Set, the parties will be responsible for checking the trial lists posted at www.co.westmoreland.pa.us. That posting will be the only Notice you receive.
Your clients are talking about it and using it—what is this “social media,” and what does it mean for you and your practice?
Join us on Wednesday, October 29, 2014, at 4 pm in the Commissioners’ Meeting Rooms at the Westmoreland County Courthouse for a 60-minute CLE presentation on social media’s ever-changing role and how to discover the right formula for utilizing it in your practice. Attendees will come away with a better understanding of the trends in social media and the importance of having a social media policy and plan.
Topics of discussion will include:
Speaker: Jennifer Altimore
Global Enterprise Social Strategist, Kennametal
A reception will immediately follow at the “NEW” Rialto Bar from 5:15 to 6:30 pm.
A new Certificate of Readiness form was adopted by the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County on September 18, 2014, and is effective immediately. The order and form can be accessed online at http://www.westbar.org/local_rules.
The first Dine Around event of the Fall is approaching. Join other bar members and their guests for an informal evening of food and conversation on Thursday, October 16, at The Nest, in Jeannette.
Reservations are necessary and taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Register online or call the Bar offices at 724.834.6730 to reserve your Dine Around date(s). Start time 6:00 p.m. Cost: On own, as ordered from menu.
The WBA heads to Rizzo's Banquet Hall in Crabtree, Pa., for a traditional Holiday Dinner Dance on Saturday, December 6. This year’s event will offer passed hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, a festive atmosphere, and the bar foundation’s annual fund-raising auction. Entertainment will be provided by DJ Tom Spallone with big-screen music videos.
Ticket costs for this year remain at $60 per person with a discount for young lawyers. RSVPs are due by November 26th. Register online here.
Public notices from the November 7, 2014, issue of the Westmoreland Law Journal are now posted online. This issue includes the Court Administrator's Notice of Proposed Termination of Court Cases pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 1901, which you will find on page 12. The list is fully searchable, and can be downloaded to your computer as a PDF.
The WBA is accepting registration for the 2015 Lawyer Referral Service. At just $125, the registration fee allows WBA members to participate in the only court-recognized referral service in Westmoreland County. Applying for LRS membership is quick and easy.
• First, read the rules.
• Next, complete the LRS Application.
• Finally, either e-mail the completed form along with your credit card information to westbar.org@westbar.org, or print and mail the application along with your check to: Lawyer Referral Service, Westmoreland Bar Association, 129 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Greensburg, PA 15601.
Please note that certain referral panels have specific experience requirements for membership. Those panels are marked with an asterisk on the panel list in the application. To be considered for membership on a panel with experience requirements, read the Experience Requirements section of the application carefully and complete the appropriate sections.
If you have any questions about the rules, the application or the program, you may contact the Association at 724-834-6730.
From Sherry Magretti Hamilton, Esq/MBA, Chief Deputy Register of Wills
As some of you may know, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has updated the “REV-1500” form. The revisions are expected to increase the department’s efficiency in processing the inheritance tax returns. Click here for the outline of changes provided by the state. If you have any questions, please contact our office.
Thank you.
Join us for the Winter Quarterly Meeting of the Westmoreland Bar Association on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, at 4 p.m., at the Commissioners' Meeting Rooms of the Westmoreland County Courthouse, where we will honor 50-year (and longer) members of the Westmoreland Bar Association and vote on amendments to the WBA Bylaws.
PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS
The attached proposed amendments were approved by the WBA Board of Directors on November 13, 2014, and must be approved by two-thirds of the participating members present--and entitled to vote--at the Quarterly Meeting.
Please give the proposed WBA amendments consideration and plan to be present for the vote on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, at 4 p.m. at the Commissioners Meeting Rooms in the Courthouse. The current bylaws of the association may be found online at: westbar.org/bylaws.
Reception to follow at Rialto Back Bar, with complimentary appetizers and drinks.
Our website will be down for routine maintenance on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. If you would like to register for any of our events, please call 724-834-6730.
The final Dine Around event of the Fall/Winter is approaching. Join other bar members and their guests for an informal evening of food and conversation on Wednesday, January 14, at The Ligonier Tavern in Ligonier.
Reservations are necessary and taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Register online or call the Bar offices at 724.834.6730 to reserve your Dine Around date(s). Start time 6:00 p.m. Cost: On own, as ordered from menu.
The Nominating Committee is accepting letters of application for positions on the Board of Directors, Membership Committee, and Building Committee. Any member interested in running for these positions should submit their petition to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, c/o the WBA, by Friday, February 13, 2015, at 4:30 p.m.
Beginning on Thursday, January 29th, at 5:00 pm, high school teams will meet at the Westmoreland County Courthouse to begin the 2015 Mock Trial Competition. This event is free and open to the public. Entrance to the competition is at the Main Street entrance to the Courthouse. Contact the Westmoreland Bar Association at 724-834-6730 for additional information.
Students will try a “pretend” civil case, with a pretend defendant, pretend witnesses, and pretend attorneys, but in real courtrooms. All teams will rotate between the defense and the prosecution and the winning team will move on to regionals and, if successful, state and national competition. High school participants are required to put in countless hours learning about courtroom procedures and rules of the competition under the guidance of a volunteer attorney coach and teacher coach.
Other dates for the competition are 5:00 pm on February 3rd, 10th, 17th and 19th.
Public notices from the February 13, 2015, and February 20, 2015, issues of the Westmoreland Law Journal are now posted online. These issues include the Court Administrator's Notice of Proposed Termination of Court Cases pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 1901, which you will find on page 13 and page 12, respectively. The lists are fully searchable, and can be downloaded to your computer as a PDF.
Congratulations to District 1 Mock Trial winner Franklin Regional High School, who claimed the trophy at the February 26 competition against Greensburg Salem.
A big thank you to all the schools who participated this year (Derry Area High School, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Greensburg Salem High School, Homer-Center High School, Kiski Area High School, Penn-Trafford High School, Southmoreland High School, and Valley Jr./Sr. High School), as well as all the coaches, volunteer jurors and jurists, timekeeper Jim Silvis, and coordinator Leo Ciaramitaro.
The Newest Members of the WBA will be officially introduced to the court en banc at the annual New Members Ceremony on Tuesday, March 17th, in Ceremonial Courtroom No. 3 at the Westmoreland County Courthouse at 3:00 p.m. The ceremony is open to the public.
Following the ceremony, WBA members are invited to greet the new members and their families at a complimentary reception at the NEW Rialto beginning at 4:15 pm. Register online today!
On March 31, 2015, The Pennsylvania Bar Institute will initiate a dialog about the future of legal education.
Bringing together the organized bar, law schools, CLE providers, and leading practitioners from the private and corporate bar, this international webcast will focus on identifying specific knowledge, skills, competencies, and personal and character traits that epitomize exceptional lawyers in the 21st century. The remarkable panel will also discuss how we can best train lawyers, from the beginning of law school through retirement, to achieve these characteristics as early as possible in each lawyer’s career. Jon Delano, a Pittsburgh lawyer, television legal/business reporter and professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Public Policy and Management, moderates this look into the future. Celebrating its 50th year as a leader of the CLE community in Pennsylvania and nationally, PBI is dedicated to making learning dynamic. Each panelist brings exceptional knowledge and experience in training lawyers to this fascinating discussion.
Live Webcast Information
Start Time: March 31, 2015 12:00 PM Eastern
Estimated Length: 2 hours
Registration Fee: $50.00
Enter coupon code "townhall_nocredit" to take this course for free without CLE credit.
Registration link: http://catalog.pbi.org/store/seminar/seminar.php?seminar=38472
Any bar member wishing to "run from the floor" for any of the elected positions: Vice President, President-Elect, Director, Membership Committee, or Building Committee, is reminded to submit his/her intention to run to the Executive Director - in writing - by Monday March 23rd. This is ten (working) days ahead of the Annual Meeting, April 6th at Rizzo's Banquet Hall.
