The Allegheny County Bar Foundation Board of Trustees met last week, and in in the below video, ACBF President Bryan Neft offers a recap. Specifically he covers approval of the annual ACBF audit,  IOLTA funding, changes to the investment policies for the Foundation’s Endowment Fund and Lawyers Fund, and Saturday’s Pro Bono Rocks event.

Election Day is Nov. 4, and many Allegheny County residents will receive mail-in ballots prior to that date. With numerous judicial races on the ballot, the Allegheny County Bar Association aims to help members of the community make informed decisions when casting their votes. The ACBA has issued a news release containing its Retention Election candidate ratings, as well as the ACBA Judiciary Committee’s Judicial Candidate Ratings.

ACBA President Amy Coco recaps the Oct. 7 Board of Governors Meeting. She covers updates on the Gender Bias Subcommittee, the Labor and Employment Law Section By-laws, Division-level elections and the ACBA PAC. Additionally, she mentions the upcoming Pro Bono Rocks and Members-Only Happy Hour events.

The ACBA is exploring the idea of forming a “Legacy Lawyers Committee” and will hold a townhall meeting on the topic on Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 12-1 p.m. on Zoom. The Legacy Lawyers Committee would be a committee for veteran, experienced lawyers who bring significant value to the ACBA, the profession and the community. The townhall meeting will cover the importance of preserving institutional knowledge; how experienced lawyers are offering mentorship and guidance; professional engagement opportunities post-retirement; pro bono and community service opportunities; and more.

If you have not renewed your ACBA membership for the 2025-26 bar year, the deadline to do so is tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 10. The bar year officially started on July 1, and the ACBA has granted a grace period for members to renew, but now that window is closing. Don’t wait, or you’ll miss out on all that an ACBA membership has to offer, including access to Committees, Divisions, and Sections, discounts on CLEs, networking opportunities, the opportunity to attend the Bench-Bar Conference and more.

For a snapshot of the benefits of becoming an ACBA member, click below. 

With Election Day approaching, the ACBA Judicial Excellence Committee (PAC) is asking you to help keep qualified judges on the bench.

While many members of the community may not fully understand the importance of retention elections, attorneys typically do understand the vital importance of keeping qualified judges on the bench. That’s why ACBA members are being asked to “Get out the Vote” and encourage your contacts to VOTE YES in this election; a convenient hand card is available below.

During the annual ACBA Elections in the spring, members overwhelmingly recommended for retention two Pa. Supreme Court Justices from Allegheny County, one Commonwealth Court Judge from Allegheny County, and seven Court of Common Pleas Judges whose terms are expiring.  Further, six of the Court of Common Pleas Judges have opted into the Judicial Excellence Committee’s retention campaign:

• Hon. Alan D. Hertzberg
• Hon. Beth A. Lazzara
• Hon. Jennifer Staley McCrady
• Hon. Hugh F. McGough
• Hon. Dan D. Regan
• Hon. Dwayne D. Woodruff

For more information on retention elections, the full list of the ACBA’s Judicial Candidate Ratings and Retention Candidate Ratings, visit www.JudicialVote2025.org.

The ACBA is inviting members to a free paper-shredding event in the parking lot at the Burns White Center at 48 26^th St. in Pittsburgh’s Strip District today – Thursday, Oct. 9 – from 2 to 3:30 p.m.  Thanks to the ACBA partners at Steel City Shredding, members can bring up to five boxes of papers to be shredded, right in front of your eyes, by Steel City Shredding's mobile shredding truck. There’s no cost for members, thanks to Burns White and Shred America Iron City, the event sponsors.

Need temporary conference room facilities downtown for a mediation, deposition or client meeting? Practice in the suburbs but have an occasional need for office space when you have a court date downtown? Legal professionals can rent conference rooms in ACBA headquarters – located in the Koppers Building in downtown Pittsburgh – on a daily or short-term basis for as little as $50 for members. For more, contact Barb Brumbaugh at bbrumbaugh@acba.org.

When is the last time you got a quote on your LPL insurance? The discount members can get on LPL through the ACBA Insurance Program – powered by USI – is often greater than the cost of ACBA membership. For more, visit www.ACBA.org/Insurance.

Fall is here, and many legal professionals are looking to make a career move. If that’s you, 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 5,000 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.