On Oct. 21, the ACBA Board of Governors voted to amend the ACBA By-Laws; the proposed amendments and additional information regarding the specifics of the proposed changes are available at the button below. In accordance with Article 21 of the ACBA By-Laws,  the amendments shall become effective on Sunday, Nov. 16 unless a petition is filed with the ACBA signed by 50 active members in good standing requesting a vote of the membership on the subject amendments, or particular portions thereof. For more, click below.

In today’s day and age, when a potential client calls, the expectation is they’ll get a live person or a return call almost instantly. If not, they’ll quickly move on to the next attorney. The ACBA partners at LawyerLine provide a third-party call center where highly trained receptionists field your calls and even perform intake; the goal is for clients/potential clients to feel like they’re talking to your receptionist, not a call center. ACBA members get a discount: enjoy LawyerLine’s gold platform for just $2.25 per minute, reduced from the regular price of $3 per minute.

Procedural changes are coming to the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas Civil Division to help General Docket cases move efficiently in Allegheny County. As encouraged by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Civil Division will now take an active role to manage cases by conducting case management conferences and issuing case management orders near the time of filing. All members are invited to a non-CLE session on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. in the Koppers Building. The program will provide the background for these changes and introduce what can be expected.

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.

All members are invited to attend a hands-on introduction to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts with Stout Pittsburgh on Thursday, Nov. 20 beginning at 5 p.m. at Stout Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Participants at the event will train skills primarily from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a grappling-based martial art, and will be introduced to the various striking arts and mixed martial arts (MMA) also offered at Stout Pittsburgh. Participants should wear comfortable athletic attire to participate. Space is limited, so those interested should register soon.

If you are considering making a career move, be sure to check out the ACBA Job Board at jobs.acba.org. The Pittsburgh Legal Community’s top resource for legal job postings, the ACBA Job Board gets more than 3,000 page views each month, the vast majority from Pittsburgh-area legal professionals looking for jobs. For more information, contact Jennifer Pulice, the ACBA’s Director of Legal Employment Services, at jpulice@acba.org.

The Nov. 14 edition of Pittsburgh Legal Journal Opinions is available online. The Pittsburgh Legal Journal publishes timely, precedent-setting, full-text opinions from various divisions of the Court of Common Pleas. Opinions that appeared in past editions are available in a searchable database here; members must be logged in to the ACBA website to access this database.

The ACBA Knowledge Center is the premier resource library for legal professionals. Explore this library of content and resources from the ACBA, as well as experts and providers across the legal industry. These resources include timely, actionable research from the ACBA as well as third-party resources that are designed to be helpful to your organization.

In addition to the hard copy edition that is sent to members through the mail, the Nov. 14 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.

With hunger a pressing need in the region, volunteer attorneys are needed to help with food bag distribution at Hugh’s Kitchen – part of the Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation – on Sunday, Nov. 23; shifts include 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. Hugh’s Kitchen is located at 925 Brighton Road in Pittsburgh. For more info or to register, email Mya Thomasmeyer at the button below.