The VBA played host to the annual gathering of the New England Bar Association (NEBA) from Oct. 24 to the 26th at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. NEBA was founded in 1971, initially, as per its Maine Certificate of Organization, as the “Northern New England Bar Association,” to promote the general welfare of the State Bar Associations of Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The other New England states (Massachusetts and Connecticut) joined shortly thereafter. It has been a tradition since then for the bar leaders of the six New England states to gather once a year to share information and ideas, attend CLEs, and generally promote goodwill and strong ties among the bars of our region. The meeting circulates among the six states. Last year it was in Massachusetts. Next year it will be in New Hampshire. This year, past-VBA President Andrew Manitsky served as NEBA president and as the NEBA meeting host in Stowe.
The visitors got a Vermont warm welcome on Thursday night with a reception in the Trapp Family Brewery. The official program got started on Friday morning and included a pair of excellent CLEs. The first was led by Ed Walters, the co-founder of Fastcase and vLex chief Strategy Officer. Ed talked about how lawyers are using AI now, and what the future of AI looks like for the legal profession. After Ed’s talk, he was joined by Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark and Ott Lindstrom of Paul Frank and Collins, both of whom serve on the Vermont Judiciary’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence and the Courts, for a discussion of the issues of the use of AI in the legal profession. Chris Newbold, COO of ALPS, then took the podium. Chris discussed notable legal trends of relevance to state bar leadership. To the extent CLE can be edge-of-your-seat interesting, Ed and Chris delivered.
It was then time for lunch, which at NEB A is more than a chance to eat. A representative of each of the states gave an update on issues and initiatives relevant to their organizations in a state-by-state “roll call.”
Attendees got a break after lunch to rest and relax and enjoy the beautiful autumn day in Stowe. They came back together for cocktails once the sun went down. Sam von Trapp, the grandson of the “Captain and Maria,” and a leader in the Trapp family business, treated the crowd to a lively von Trapp history lesson. Sam graciously stayed to answer questions and talk to the guests. Then it was time for dinner. Andrew, as outgoing NEBA president, made a short speech and passed the gavel to Russell Hilliard, of New Hampshire, the new NEBA President. Russell read the Maine incorporating documents noted above and invited the group to Portsmouth, NH for next year’s meeting.
The hosting state is responsible for providing entertainment at the Friday night dinner and Vermont chose a pub trivia contest. The states squared off against one another. Andrew captained the Vermont team (made up of VBA immediate past president, Judith Dillon, Associate Director Lisa Maxfield, Executive Director Bob Paolini, NEBA Board Members Jim Rodgers and Matt Valerio, and your correspondent, director of education and communication Kim Velk). The Vermont team prevailed handily. There was no grumbling that the fix was in (it was not)
nor any hint of resentment from any of the other states (including the state which is home to Harvard and MIT). There was also no gloating by anyone from the Green Mountain State. Second place went to “Connecticut,” which gets the quotation marks because their contingent included only two genuine Nutmeggers. The CT team was rounded out by Chris Newbold of ALPs, VBA President Josh Diamond, ABA President Bill Bay, and ABA treasurer (and Vermonter) Fritz Langrock. It is perhaps not surprising that Connecticut came in second place with such Vermont might on loan to it.
The prize? A very tarnished trophy, originally awarded to Claire Waters and John Maguire in 1920 for their triumph as “Crimson Club” dance champions. The trophy was donated by Bob Paolini, who remembered he had an old trophy in his shed. It sits now in the kitchen at the VBA. The New Hampshire contingent advised the Vermont contingent that we had better bone up on New Hampshire trivia before next year’s meeting.
On Saturday morning, Fritz Langrock, in his role as treasurer of the ABA, addressed the group and introduced ABA President Bill Bay. Bay, an active participant in the entire meeting, made remarks to the group on Saturday morning. Cassie Gillespie, LICSW, a popular presenter at several VBA meetings, closed the meeting with CLE on “lawyer work as trauma work,” aiming to advance that discussion around the region. It was then time to wrap up the 2024 NEBA meeting with Vermont covered in glory and New Hampshire given a high bar to meet next year, so to speak.
