Plans are in the works for the 61st Annual ACBA Bench-Bar Conference, slated for June 12-14 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. Enjoy three days of CLEs, networking, sporting events, fine dining, entertainment and more. Additional details will be announced in the days ahead. Visit the Bench-Bar website for updates.

ACBA members are invited to attend "It’s Not a Sprint, It’s a Half-Marathon: Business Development for Professional Services Firms" on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 8 to 9:30 a.m.at 20 Stanwix St.

The event, organized by the Pittsburgh Legal Administrators Association and the Professional Services Marketing Association, will cover business development strategies specific to professional services, such as legal services. An expert panel will included strategies, experiences and expertise on developing business, particularly when trying to sell services, versus products. There is no cost for PLAA and PSMA members, and $30 for non-members. Registration includes breakfast.

The ACBA Judiciary Committee will meet at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the ACBA Headquarters in the Koppers Building to consider candidates seeking ratings for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. The Judiciary Committee will interview Heather Schmidt Bresnahan, the Hon. Michele K. Santicola and the Hon. Michael B. Sullivan. 

Written comments from ACBA members are invited and shall be received and maintained as confidential by the Committee. Written comments should be sent to David A. Blaner, Executive Director, ACBA, by email to dblaner@acba.org by Friday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. 

For the full notice, click below.

It’s important for lawyers to spend as much time as possible practicing law. But those management and administrative tasks that come with running a practice can drain a lot of time. The ACBA’s Practice Management Center can help. Available at the button below, the Practice Management Center contains articles, tips and other resources to help you manage your practice efficiently.

The ACBA Homer S. Brown Division's 26th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was held Monday, Jan. 20 at the Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in Larimer, and the event was very well received. The Hon. Joseph K. Williams received the Drum Major for Justice Award, the POISE Foundation received the Legacy Award, and a number of dignitaries offered comments, including Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Congresswoman Summer Lee, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. The event garnered substantial media coverage, including:

Interested in learning more about running for ACBA leadership positions? Join "Run for ACBA Office: Here's Everything You Need to Know" — an interactive educational session — on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m. on Zoom.

Gain valuable information about running for ACBA office, ACBA elections and more. Get advice from ACBA colleagues who have navigated the process successfully. Attendees will hear from current ACBA board members and leaders, former ACBA officers, ACBA Young Lawyers Division leaders, ACBA Women in the Law Division leaders and ACBA staff.

For information on open positions, the application process, deadlines and more, click the button below.

Join Fort Pitt Capital Group for their upcoming free lunchtime webinar on Tuesday, Feb. 18: “Estate Planning: A Guide to the Afterlife of Your Assets.” Financial Advisors Skylar Riddle, CFP®, CPWA®, and Paul Brahan, CFP®, CEPA, CRPC™, of Fort Pitt Capital will discuss what happens to your money when you die.

The webinar will answer common questions such as who needs a trust, estate taxes, and more. Sign up today and submit your questions. For more webinars and free registration, click below.

Have you observed or experienced a form of gender bias as an attorney or law student intern? If so, contact the WLD Gender Bias Subcommittee. Duty officers will keep your report confidential and review next step options available. Click the button below for more information.

If you’re considering a job change this year, the Pittsburgh Legal Community’s top resource for legal job postings is the ACBA Job Board. Firms, corporate legal departments and legal services departments post positions frequently, including those directly targeting the Pittsburgh Legal Community. For more information, contact Jennifer Pulice, the ACBA’s Director of Legal Employment Services, at jpulice@acba.org.

The Hon. David Tatel has served nearly 30 years on America’s second highest court, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Yet he has been blind for the past 50 of his 80-plus years. Only recently, partly thanks to his first-ever guide dog, Vixen, has he come to fully accept his blindness and the role it’s played in his personal and professional lives.

ACBA members are invited to join the Jewish Book Council on-site at Temple Sinai or via Zoom for a discussion with Judge Tatel on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 in-person, and there’s no cost to watch on Zoom.