Volunteers are needed for the Wills for Heroes event scheduled for Saturday, May 30, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department, 555 Washington Rd. in Mt. Lebanon.

Attorney drafters, witnesses, and notaries are needed to prepare basic estate documents including wills, durable financial powers of attorney, and healthcare powers of attorney for the community’s current and former first responders and veterans. Attorneys volunteering to draft documents must have malpractice insurance. Training on the software used for drafting will be provided in advance of the event. Interested in volunteering? Contact Alyssa Zottola at azottola@williamscoulson.com, Paige Tamecki at ptamecki@gmail.com, or Erika Dowd at end@qrlegal.com. Thank you to K&L Gates and Westinghouse for sponsoring the event.

In May 2025, the FBI warned law firms that they were being targeted by the Silent Ransomware Group with fake tech support scams using phone calls (vishing) and targeted emails (spearphishing).

Bypassing encryption and ransom, SRG steals data and threatens to publish it if a payment is not made. These attacks are continuing. Last month, SRG published the names of 38 law firms that it claims to have compromised and refused to pay. It claims that more law firms, which it has not identified, have paid.

Beware of phone calls and emails that appear from law firm IT or service providers. Don’t click on a link or give access to your computer without verifying the legitimacy through a trusted communication channel.

The ACBA Partners at 8am LawPay help attorneys get paid faster. The legal industry’s leading credit card processing service, 8am LawPay helps firm collect credit card, debit card, eCheck and other forms of payments. It integrates with QuickBooks and all major practice management platforms, and automatically keeps you in IOLTA compliance. ACBA members get three free months.

The Pittsburgh Legal Journal – the official legal journal of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas containing trial lists, legal notices, sheriff sales and more – is published five days per week and is available only to subscribers. It is delivered via email as an easy-to-print, 8.5x11-inch pdf. For an informational video on the PLJ, click here.

The “Green Event” scholarship fundraiser – one of the most unique annual events on the ACBA calendar – will feature an evening of food, beverages and networking in the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden on Tuesday, May 19 beginning at 5 p.m. The goal of the event is to raise money for the ACBA Environment and Energy Law Section Scholarship Fund. In addition to breathtaking views of the grounds, the event will feature comments from Sue Myers, the Garden’s Horticulture & Conservation Director, who will discuss ongoing efforts to address invasive species, the Garden’s recent controlled burn, and more. The event also will feature the presentation of a scholarship check to this year’s recipients, thanks in large part to Title Sponsor Civil and Environmental Consultants.

Protect your organization from uncovered losses by aligning contract language and insurance coverage with today’s evolving third‑party risks. The below article covers more. For more on the ACBA Insurance Program, visit www.ACBA.org/Insurance.

All ACBA members are invited to join the Allegheny County Bar Association’s diverse affinity groups for food, beverages and networking on Thursday, May 21 from 5-7 p.m. at the Spritzery.

Sponsored by IPV Litigation Services, this casual networking event brings together members from across the ACBA’s affinity-based committees for an evening of connection, conversation and community in one of downtown’s most vibrant venues.

Whether you are an active committee member or interested in getting more involved or an ally looking to support your fellow members, this happy hour is a great opportunity to meet colleagues from across the bar, strengthen professional relationships, and celebrate the diversity that makes the ACBA community strong.

In addition to the hard copy edition that is sent to members through the mail, the May 15 edition of the Lawyers Journal — the ACBA’s flagship publication featuring substantive legal articles and stories of interest to the legal community — is available digitally on the ACBA website and at the button below.

Members are invited to participate in the ACBA’s annual Military and Veterans Project – “Operation MVP.” The project is designed to help military personnel and veterans by providing them with care packages and other support; there are two ways to participate.

• Amazon Wish List: Members can purchase items for military personnel and veterans from an Amazon wish list, available here. Needed items include snacks, personal hygiene items, playing cards, games and puzzles.
• In-Person Event:  Help stuff care packages in the Koppers Building Conference Center on Thursday, May 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. Participants can also enjoy happy hour, complete with appetizers, beer and wine. There’s no cost to attend for anyone donating items toward the cause.

The ACBA Membership Elections opened on Tuesday and voting remains open through Thursday, May 28.

During this period, eligible members are encouraged to cast ballots to elect the ACBA’s next President-Elect, Treasurer, and new members of both the Board of Governors and the Judiciary Committee. Members in the active and honorary membership classes as of April 1, 2026, are eligible to vote.

Voting is conducted exclusively online. On May 12, eligible members received an email containing voting instructions and unique login credentials. To prevent delivery issues, members are advised to add noreply@directvote.net to their safe sender list or consult with their IT departments to do so.

Members who did not receive the voting email by May 13 should reach out to Jennifer Pulice at jpulice@acba.org for assistance.