Wellness is crucial, especially for those battling the stresses and challenges that come with the legal profession. To recognize the importance of mental health and well-being in the legal profession, the ACBA has created “Wellness Circles” for members, a vision of ACBA President and cancer survivor Amy Coco.

Currently there are seven Wellness Circles, which are listed below. Members are welcome to suggest ideas for additional Wellness Circles. For more details, FAQs and other information, click the button below.

• Attorneys who Run
• Cancer Survivors
• Parenting Children with Disabilities
• Pickleball
• Sandwich Generation
• Support for Attorneys Battling Mental Health Issues/Addition
• Support for Attorneys with Loved Ones Battling Mental Health Issues/Addiction

When is the last time you got a quote on your LPL insurance? The discount members can get on getting 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.

ACBA members are invited to “Paws and Pints” – a feel-good happy hour featuring some special service animals (aka “therapets” from Animal Friends) – which will be held on Wednesday, June 3 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Southern Tier Brewery.

The Chair Project of outgoing YLD Chair Rebeca Himena Sekinger, this is a “meet-and-greet” style event, so there will be no on-site adoptions, but Animal Friends will be on site with plenty of info on adoptable pets and how to apply. ACBA members are invited to bring approved pet supply donations (donations will be accepted at ACBA Offices headquartered on the 4th floor of the Koppers Building until June 2 and on site at Southern Tier on the day of events) to support the cause. Please note that the ACBA cannot accept or process financial donations for Animal Friends or any third-party organization.

If you plan to attend the ACBA Bench-Bar Conference but haven’t registered, now is the time to do so. The Standard Registration price of $665 ends tomorrow, May 29. Beginning Saturday, the Late Registration price of $695 will be in effect. Bench-Bar will be held June 18-20 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.

The adults-only, members-only conference features three days of networking, fine dining, social activities, sporting events and more. This year’s Bench-Bar also serves as a farewell celebration for ACBA Executive Director David Blaner, who retires on June 30.

The standard recommendation for strong passwords has been a minimum of 12 to 15 characters, including capital and small letters, numbers, and symbols, and periodic changes in passwords. The National Institute for Standards and Technology has recently updated requirements to a minimum of 15 characters, no required complexity, and no periodic changes (only if there has been a compromise). Many law firms, and other businesses and organizations, continue to follow the earlier recommendation.

Passphrases are secure and easier to remember than random passwords. For the new approach, NIST gives “cassette lava baby” as an example. Password managers (like 1Password, Keeper, and Dashlane) can be very helpful to balance security and ease of use.

Passkeys are an emerging technology designed to replace passwords for logging onto networks, apps, services, and websites. They are faster, easier to use, and more secure than passwords.

For more information, click here. 

For current NIST recommendations, click here.

The ACBA issued a news release last week regarding Thomas C. Petropoulos becoming the new Executive Director of the Allegheny County Bar Association and Allegheny County Bar Foundation on July 1. He will replace David A. Blaner, who retires on June 30, concluding a historic 35-year career with the ACBA and ACBF. Resulting media coverage is listed below.

In addition to the hard copy edition that is sent to members through the mail, the May 29 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.

Today is the final day to vote in the ACBA Membership Elections. 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. Members who do not receive the voting email should reach out to Jennifer Pulice at jpulice@acba.org for assistance.

Longtime ACBA Executive Director David A. Blaner is retiring on June 30, concluding a long and historic career. The impact he has made on the Pittsburgh Legal Community – from individual members to entire firms – is undeniable. As a way to bid farewell to Dave, the ACBA will be publishing a commemorative edition of the Lawyers Journal newspaper on July 10. This edition will be filled with content on his impact, memories, and coverage of the 2026 Bench-Bar Conference, which doubles as his going away party.

Firms wishing to congratulate Dave on his retirement are invited to purchase an ad in this farewell edition. Advertising commitments are due by June 1, and all artwork must be submitted by June 8. Pricing information is available at the below link. For more information, contact Jennifer Pulice at jpulice@acba.org or 412-402-6623.

Wonder if your decisions, legal advice or other professional actions are ethical? ACBA members can get confidential consultation on their legal actions and/or potential actions through the bar association’s Professional Ethics Hotline.

Through the hotline, members of the ACBA Professional Ethics Committee are available to give their opinion on the proper interpretation of the Code of Judicial Conduct and/or Rules of Professional Conduct. They are available to address ethics questions from any ACBA member, but they advise only about the member's own conduct; they will not give opinions about the conduct of other lawyers or judicial officials.