Harford County

Bar Association News

September 2012 Volume 13, Issue 1

A publication of the Harford County Bar Association.

Sept. 2012 Page 1

Dear Fellow HCBA Members,

It is with great sadness that I have concluded my year as

president-elect of the Harford County Bar Association. I

enjoyed my service to the Association over the past year as

president-elect and I trust that you, the members, were sat-

isfied with the manner in which I fulfilled the many and

varied responsibilities of that office.

Actually, the responsibilities of that office weren't that

many and weren't that varied. They consisted primarily of

reading emails sent to other people on which I was copied

and sitting next to Paul Ishak, our immediate past presi-

dent, at meetings. Although limited as they were, I am

proud to say that I fulfilled those responsibilities to the

best of my ability, devoting countless minutes being wit-

ness to the countless hours of work that Paul was called

upon to do.

Paul has moved on to the next step of his service to the

Association as immediate past president. Those duties are

similar to those of president-elect in that he will be copied

on numerous emails, no doubt. One difference, however, is

that he won't have to read them if he doesn't feel like it.

Another difference is that at meetings, he can sit anywhere

he wishes. After a year of watching Paul work so diligently

on our behalf, I can say with confidence that he is up to the

task.

With Paul basking in the glory he achieved this past year,

I am learning the true extent of what it means to be Presi-

dent of the Association. I have had to get used to the vol-

ume of correspondence, many from people seeking access

to the Association member lists and contact information.

Thus, it is the president's primary obligation to protect the

member ship from a deluge of solicitations. Another re-

sponsibility of the office is to be the fixer of every per-

ceived problem occurring since the beginning of American

jurisprudence. I have arrived at the conclusion that the

problem lies in the title. "President" conveys the impres-

sion of far more authority than reality provides. Perhaps

consideration should be given to changing the name of the

position to something more reflective of reality, "Curator"

perhaps.

The most important thing that I've learned so far, howev-

er, is just how important the position of Executive Director

is to the President. Our Executive Director, Jayne Haiber,

is new to her position, replacing the outgoing Director,

Betty Buckley. Betty was so tremendous in this job

that thoughts of quitting entered my head when I learned

that Betty would be resigning just as I would be taking

over as president. Those thoughts disappeared upon

Jayne's appointment as she has been great to work with.

She has a ton of great and fresh ideas and the word

"procrastination" is not in her vocabulary. No sooner than

we decide something should be done, then she has it done.

She sort of scares me, actually.

All of the above leads to a discussion of the hopes and

goals of the upcoming year. One item that is well under-

way is a revitalization of the Association’s web presence.

With the help of Dave Carey and an outside consultant,

Jayne is putting the finishing touches to a new website

(harcobar.org) that is incredibly user friendly. It is antici-

pated that the flow of information, calendar of events,

newsletter and dues payments will be simplified for mem-

bers. The general public will have one stop access to con-

President’s Message

HCBA Newsletter

Published quarterly (Mar/Jun/Sept/Dec) by

The Harford County Bar Association Established 1927

20 West Courtland Street

Bel Air, Maryland 21014

443-987-3730

2012-2013 OFFICERS

President Frederick J. Hatem 410-638-3475

President-Elect

Diane Adkins Tobin 410-638-3500

Secretary Larry F. Kreis, Jr. 410-576-6991

Treasurer Tony DiPaula 410-893-4255

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

David E. Carey, Hon. Mimi Cooper, Yolanda L.

Curtin, Paul W. Ishak, Lawrence Kreis, Carl R.

Schlaich, Chris VanRoden, and one Vacancy.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Jayne T. Haiber 443-987-3730

harcobar@gmail.com

Annual subscriptions provided to HCBA Members

at no cost as part of annual dues; Non-member sub-

scriptions $10.00 per year.

Sept. 2012 Page 2

UPCOMING EVENTS

TAILGATE!

Thursday, Sept. 6, 4 to 8 pm Dumer, Harrison & Barnes 31 E. Lee St., Bel Air ANNUAL FAMILY LAW MEETING

Tuesday, Sept. 11, 12 to 3 pm Harford Community College’s Chesa-peake Building

HAPPY HOUR! Thursday, Sept 13, 5 pm Main Street Tower, Bel Air

SARC BALLOON FESTIVAL! Balloon Glow Gala! Dinner Dance Friday, Sept. 21, 7 to 11 pm Maryland Golf & Country Club

Family Fun Day! Saturday, Sept., 22, 11 am to 6 pm Har-ford County Equestrian Center

FREE!

Three, four drawer, used metal file

cabinets. Contact Executive Director

Jayne Haiber at 443-987-3730

Treasurer Elected! Congratulations to Mr. Tony DiPaula who was

elected August 29, 2012 by the Executive

Council to fill the position of HCBA Treasurer

left vacant by the departure of Ian Fallon.

Many thanks to Tony for volunteering his time

and efforts.

President’s Message Continued from page one.

act information, as well as facts pertaining to the history of

our association and the contributions of our association to

our community.

Another goal of the upcoming year will be to continue the

emphasis on the work of the various committees of the As-

sociation. Committees are truly the lifeblood of our organi-

zation and the vehicles through which our mission is ac-

complished: promoting competence and efficiency in the

practice of law in Harford County; nourishing the collegial-

ity among lawyers; and acquainting the community with

the contributions of our members toward ensuring a safe

and stable Harford County. Some committees are very ac-

tive, yet others languish. Once up and running, the website

will have a list of the most recent composition of the com-

mittees. Please take a few minutes to review the committee

lists. If you're a committee chair, contact your committee

members, get together and plot a course for the committee's

upcoming year. If you're on a committee or find a commit-

tee of particular interest to you, become involved and help

move forward the objectives of that committee. Committee

work provides camaraderie with a purpose that will serve

you, the Association and the community in both the short

and long term.

I hope that I'm up to the task of continuing to help move the

Association forward over the next year. During the three

decades of my membership, the HCBA has remained rele-

vant and vital through the overwhelming transitions faced

by the legal profession, Harford County and the world in

which we live. The bottom line, however, is that the value

of our Association is entirely dependent upon the value

placed on it by our membership. With this in mind, I'll be

close by asking each of you to remain committed to the

mission of our Association and be willing to become in-

volved through the work of the various committees and by

attending the numerous and various activities being

planned for the upcoming year.

Frederick J. Hatem, Jr., President

Sept. 2012 Page 3

The DUI Mock Trial Committee completed the 25th consecutive year of presenting mock trials in area schools

at prom time. This year, seven schools participated: Havre de Grace, Joppatowne, North Harford, Bel Air, C.

Milton Wright, Patterson Mill and Fallston.

The state’s attorneys who acted as prosecutors were Mike Mathias, Chris Smith, Dave Ryden, Joe Cassilly,

Tracey Delp, and Diane Tobin. Local law enforcement officers who participated were DFC Grant Kurlock, Lt.

Carl Brooks, DFC Chris Maddox, DFC Nate Gerres, and Cpl. Therese Blubaugh of the Harford County Sher-

iff’s Office and Sgt. Rob Pfarr of the Bel Air Police Dept.

The defense attorneys who showed up to valiantly defend these lost causes were Ed Andrews, Bruce Smith,

Chris VanRoden, Joe Snee and Eric McLauchlin. The high school senior defendants were portrayed by Caro-

line Andes, Cameron Legg, Chris Smith, Karen Raborg, Brenden Hodge and Keith Hinder. Judge Stephen M.

Waldron presided over all the trials.

Everyone did a great job putting on this program, but a special thanks is extended to the “defendants,” as these

portrayals were quiet convincing and entertaining. They engaged the high school audiences and kept their

attention throughout the presentations.

Hon. Stephen Waldron, Committee Chair.

2012 DUI Mock Trial Program Celebrates 25th Year

Who is Our

Web Developer? Chris Filippou is a Website Developer and Electronic

Strategy Director for Rice Consulting here in Bel Air.

Chris works with social media veterans and beginners,

building new, interactive websites from the ground up

and reviving dormant/dated websites.

Chris is a Baltimore County native who graduated from

the University of Baltimore in 2008 with a Bachelor of

Science in Corporate Communications. He began his

professional career as a Graphic Designer, creating web

and print media brochures, signs, advertisements, flash

animations, and website graphics. Chris has specific

experience with the communication needs of lawyers,

as he worked for two years in the website department at

the Maryland State Bar Association, aiding in the de-

sign and maintenance of their primary and supplemen-

tary websites.

Chris has generously donated his services in creating a

website for the HCBA. His hours of dedication to our

site can only be matched by his endless patience, and

true listening skills in addressing the needs of our

members through this site. Chris ensured that this

building process was painless and actually enjoyable.

Chris can be found at Rice Consulting, 17 West Court-

land Street, Bel Air, MD 21014, 410-838-6355.

Sept. 2012 Page 4

Executive Council

Vacancy The Executive Council is currently seek-

ing applicants to fill the position left

vacant by Mr. Tony DiPaula’s move to

become Treasurer. The term of this po-

sition is three years, which began in June

of 2012.

Applicants can send notice of their inter-

est to Executive Director Jayne Haiber at

harcobar@gmail.com by the close of

business September 14, 2012.

Sept. 2012 Page 5

Law Clerk Update:

Heather J. Kirkwood, Esq.

Jezic, Krum & Moyse, LLC is pleased to announce the

addition of Heather J. Kirkwood as an associate at the firm.

Heather is employed in the firm’s personal injury

department and also handles adoptions. Before joining

Jezic, Krum & Moyse, Heather clerked for the Honorable

William O. Carr, Administrative Judge of the Harford

County Circuit Court.

Heather is a native of Harford County and a member of the

Harford County Bar Assocation. She graduated from the

University of Maryland School of Law where she was a

senior editor on the Maryland Journal of International Law,

the President of the International Law Society, and a board

member of the Latino/a Law Students Association. Heather

received her bachelor’s degree from McDaniel (Western

Maryland) College, and her Masters in Latin American

Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jezic Krum & Moyse is located in Montgomery County,

Maryland and handles primarily criminal defense and

personal injury claims. The vast majority of the firm’s

clients are Spanish speaking and Jezic, Krum & Moyse

particularly focuses on serving this population.

MR&D Relocates to

New Bel Air Office Mignini, Raab, & Demuth, LLP, is pleased to an-

nounced their recent move to 429 South Main Street,

Bel Air, MD 21014. The new office is conveniently

located in the business district area of downtown Bel

Air.

Kudos to HCBA

Volunteers!

On June 14, 2012, Register of

Wills Derek Hopkins sought

HCBA volunteers to assist

with estate administra-

tion. Within just a few hours

of the request going out, more

than a dozen of you stepped

up! The list has now grown

to 17. If you would like to

add your name, please contact

Executive Director Jayne

Haiber.

Brenden Hodge, Esq.

"I have joined Karas, Bradford, & Donlick as an associ-

ate attorney. I'm excited to be staying in the Harford

County area practicing family law and I look forward to

working with everyone in this amazing legal communi-

ty."

Apps to go

Rulebook http://readyreferenceapps.com/

rulebook.php Cost: FREE, but once in, some features are a small fee. This app is available for iPh-

one, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Rulebook offers a viable replacement to heavy books all lawyers buy yearly, poten-

tially saving hundreds of dollars each year. This app does not require an Internet con-

nection in order to read, search, highlight and annotate various court rules. Rules are automatically updated— no pocket parts or

need to go online. Rulebook’s updating pro-cess also preserves attorneys’ highlights,

bookmarks and annotations even when rules are amended. Great for federal prac-tice, unfortunately, does not include Mary-

land.

Focus Booster http://www.focusboosterapp.com/ Cost: FREE. This app is only available for

your PC.

Stay focused and accomplish the tasks you need to! Designed to help you eliminate the anxiety of time and enhance your focus

and concentration. An unobtrusive timer re-minds you to take a break. The concept is

simple and the app is simple to start up and use. Focus booster has been designed based on the principles of the Pomodoro

Technique.

The Pomodoro Technique was created by Francesco Cirillo in 1992 after a long search to improve his own study habits and has

since been embraced by professional teams to help accomplish tasks and continuously

improve efficiency. To learn more about this time management process visit http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/.

These app notes are brought to you by

summer Law Library Intern Jamie Schultz, a Harford Community College paralegal stu-dent.

Sept. 2012 Page 6

Save the date!

December 14, 2012

Sept. 2012 Page 7

—-WANTED -—

Technology Committee Chair The Website is nearing completion

That work is almost done

Now we need some techies

Can’t move forward with none!

-

Holiday Party!!

Sept. 2012 Page 8

Coming this October...

CLE "view from the bench."

Produced by the Harford County Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Committee

Starring: Local Judges

Wednesday, October 10th at 4:30 pm

Sept. 2012 Page 9

The Law Library is now WIRELESS!

ATTENTION: Please use this form to communicate with your Bar As-

sociation leaders. Detach and fax to the Bar Association Office at (410)-893-

6482.

My address on the label shown below should be changed to:

New Address:

New Phone:

New Fax:

To be answered in the next issue of the newsletter:

.............................................................................................................................

HARFORD COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION 20 West Courtland Street

Bel Air, Maryland 21014

Presorted Standard

US POSTAGE

PAID

Permit No. 2075

Bel Air, MD

21014

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED