CPCS Website

Go to the Head of the Class! WORCESTER EdLaw Training
2024-12-04 09:00 - 16:30 UTC | EdLaw Worcester, 120 Front Street, Worcester, 01608, United States
Go to the Head of the Class: Education Advocacy for Court-Involved Children and Youth

Learn how to Zealously Zoom!
2024-12-04 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
LEARN HOW TO ZEALOUSLY ZOOM!
Refresh & hone your remote ABCs (basic virtual Zoom skills)

Come join and practice with your MHLD colleagues,
On December 4th from 10am -11am
(1 CLE)

After you attend and practice, you will:

Astonish your family, friends, dogs & cats with your remote skills!
Bravely raise and lower your virtual hand
Calmly mute and unmute yourself
Daringly turn your video on and off
Effortlessly share your screen
Fearlessly add comments or share documents in the chat
Go where zealous & competent attorneys and advocates aspire to virtually go
AND MORE…!

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0sduGvrj8rEtHB0eTfAUGovgfSXCxUWF8i

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Investigating and Litigating Child Abuse Cases
2024-12-04 13:00 - 16:00 UTC | Zoom
Investigating and Litigating Child Abuse Cases
An introductory to intermediate training on investigation and litigating allegations of child abuse. The webinar will focus primarily on physical child abuse, but the topics will largely apply to charges of sexual abuse as well. Presentations will cover finding the right expert (and fast), evaluating alleged injuries, discovery issues, criminal and CAFL attorneys working together for better outcomes, challenging the same old experts the prosecution or DCF uses, and practical tips for litigation in both criminal and CAFL cases. Note: Forensic Services is planning a separate training on Shaken Baby Syndrome / Abusive Head Trauma cases for February, 2025.
Register by clicking here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_STywKJC9QhWLYAATyGex3g

As with all Forensic Practice Series webinars, this training will be recorded and available on MyGideon along with any materials.
FACULTY

Nancy Hathway, Senior Trial Counsel, CPCS Child and Family Law Division (CPCS Forensic Advisory Board member)
Jessica Salinas-Thomas, Esq., Revere (CPCS Forensic Advisory Board member)
Jason Green, Trial Attorney, CPCS Public Defender Division, Brockton
Ira Gant, Director, CPCS Forensic Services

The following panels are offering 3 CLE Credits: Criminal Defense Trial, Adult Post Conviction, YAD Trials & Appeals, CAFL Trial & Appeals

Coercive Control & 209A Moving beyond physical violence
2024-12-04 15:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and enhance your legal practice in the context of domestic abuse prevention. LIVE WEBCAST »

Social Law Library: Fostering Excellence in the Forensic and Legal Communities
2024-12-05 16:00 - 18:00 UTC
This program is hosted by Social Law Library (www.socialaw.com). Any questions or issues regarding this program should be directed there. (msaporito@socialaw.com). This event is being listed for informational purposes only. CPCS staff cannot assist with, or solve, registration issues.
For program description and registration information, please use link here: https://socialaw.com/forensiclegal

Note: This program qualifies for 2 CLE on the following CPCS Panel(s):
Criminal Defense Trials, Post Conviction, YAD, YAD Appeals

New Lawyer Bringback - Suppression and Evidence
2024-12-09 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-12-10 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-12-11 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-12-12 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-12-13 09:00 - 17:00 UTC
New Lawyer Bring Back – Suppression and Evidence
by invitation only

Storytelling / Sharing Power
2024-12-10 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Zoom
Virtual – info to follow

We are Not Done: Zealous Advocacy in 8B Litigation
2024-12-12 13:00 - 16:00 UTC
Virtually Join Alexander A. Flig (RC for Norfolk County) and
John O. Mitchell (RC for Bristol County)
December 12, 2024, from 1 pm to 4 pm

WE ARE NOT DONE!
ZEALOUS ADVOCACY IN 8B LITIGATION
With presenter, Devorah Vester, MHLD Appeals Staff Attorney
1pm-3pm (2 CLEs): We will start with the training!

After the training, you will be able to:

Explain why it is critical in your 8B litigation advocacy to move to bifurcate the proceeding and consider whether and when to oppose the incorporation of testimony
Describe the correct 8B legal standards regarding competence to make informed treatment decisions and substituted judgment of an (incompetent) client through critical precedent
Sharpen your litigation skills to undermine the petitioner’s case through effective cross-examination, testimony of an IME, your client and/or other witnesses based on correct legal standards
Create a strong record to support both a favorable trial court decision and appeal from an unfavorable decision through objections, motions, argument, and court education.

3pm-4pm (1 CLE): John and Alex will break out into separate meetings for Bristol and Norfolk County.

We will address several important issues specific to Bristol and Norfolk Counties.
We will also discuss changes you feel are needed to the Guardianship court forms, as requested by Laura Sanford in her list serve post on October 8th. You can find the Probate Court Forms here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/probate-and-family-court-uniform-guide-to-filings

NO NEED TO REGISTER, JUST JOIN US!
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/87037248120?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 870 3724 8120
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Breaking the Silence: Addressing Depression and Suicide in the Legal Community [Panel Discussion]
2024-12-12 16:00 - 17:30 (America/New_York)
Breaking the Silence: Addressing Depression and Suicide in the Legal Community [Panel Discussion]
Hosted by Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers MA
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12
4Pm – 5:30pm – Zoom

The legal profession faces some of the highest rates of stress, burnout, and mental health challenges including depression, with suicide rates significantly higher than in many other fields. This discussion offers a compassionate, in-depth look at suicide in the legal community, focusing on how these losses impact individuals and their communities.
Join us for an open conversation that explores the unique stressors legal professionals face, the prevalence of stigma, and other factors that contribute to mental health struggles.
Our panelists are survivors of suicide and survivors of suicide loss and will share their personal stories, perspectives, and motivations for joining this discussion, providing a human-centered view of these complex issues. They will offer insights, guidance, and hope for anyone facing similar struggles or seeking to better understand and support others. In addition, we will discuss how to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide in the legal field.
This discussion aims to promote a supportive and stigma-free legal community while empowering individuals to seek the help they need for their well-being

CLE APPROVED MHLD Trials and Appeals

REGISTER HERE

How to Make Money & Stay Out of Trouble—The Ethics of Practice
2024-12-13 09:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
When: December 13, 2024 – 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Live-Virtual Training
Run a thriving law practice with no ethical missteps. Whether you are a new or experienced attorney, this program gives you the essential tools to run a professional and successful law practice. A panel featuring a practitioner and counsel from the Office of Bar Counsel review the expectations and rules governing the ethical and responsible practice of law in Massachusetts. You learn the standards that represent the best traditions and highest aspirations of the legal profession as well as the best practices and procedures to make money while avoiding ethical mistakes. Take advantage of this opportunity to raise your practice to the next level of professional excellence.
For more information, , please check out the event’s web page here.
Important Note: Please be sure to register for the live webcast only and affirmatively select and click the tracking/attendance prompts throughout the program as it runs.
Hosted by MCLE
Cochairs
Dorothy Anderson, Esq., Office of Bar Counsel, Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, Boston
James S. Bolan, Esq., Brecher, Wyner, Simons, Fox & Bolan LLP, Newton
Faculty
Heidi S. Alexander, Esq., Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, Newton
Luz A. Carrion, Esq., Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL | MassLOMAP), Boston
Joseph M. Makalusky, Esq., Office of Bar Counsel, Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, Boston

Evidence Series - Body Worn Camera
2024-12-18 14:00 - 15:00 UTC
See Flyer Here for full Series Information: Evidence-Series-Flyer-Final3
PRESENTER: Connor Barusch – Training Director Criminal Defense Trainers
You received body camera footage in discovery. In some courts people have resigned themselves to the idea that the body camera footage “just comes in”. At this webinar, learn about ways to get body camera footage excluded when it hurts your theory of defense and admitted when it helps your theory of defense.
1 CLE credit for each webinar for attorneys on each of the following panels: Criminal Defense Trials (Adult), Post-Conviction (Adult); YAD, YAD Appeals, Mental Health (Trials), Mental Health Appeals, Parole
REGISTER FOR ANY/ALL SESSIONS HERE

ICPC Training
2024-12-18 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Salem Juvenile Court, 56 Federal St,, Salem, MA, 01970
A training for CAFL attorneys about the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). This in-person training (Courtroom B) will focus on what is the ICPC, problems with the ICPC, the application of the ICPC to parent clients, the controversies in Massachusetts and nationally about the application of the ICPC to parents, current state of the law and caselaw about the ICPC, what the new proposed Juvenile Court Rules say about the ICPC and how attorneys can address this if the proposed rule (Proposed Rule 22) is adopted. There will be time at the end for questions and answers.
Please RSVP to Jessica Salinas-Thomas at jrtesq43@gmail.com
Faculty
Amy Karp, Director of Legal Training, CPCS Training Department

Coercive Control & 209A Moving beyond physical violence
2024-12-19 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-12-30 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and enhance your legal practice in the context of domestic abuse prevention. RECORDED WEBCAST »

Bristol County Training on eFiling Pilot Program & CAFL Litigation Support Tools
2025-01-07 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Fall River Office, 1822 North Main Street, Fall River, MA 027201822 North Main Street, Fall River, MA, United States
Please join us on January 7th from 2-4PM for a two-part training on the Bristol County eFiling Pilot Program and New CAFL Litigation Support Tools. This training is being held in person at the Fall River CAFL Office at 1822 N Main Street. Attendees will receive 2 CAFL CLEs.

Spotting Issues After the 72
2025-01-08 13:30 - 16:00 UTC | Zoom
More info to follow

Evidence Series - How to Get Client's Statement In
2025-01-08 14:00 - 15:00 UTC
See flyer for this series here: Evidence Series Flyer
PRESENTER: Josh Raisler Cohn, CPCS Training Department Staff Attorney
Your client made a statement to the police that you want the jury to see and hear but… isn’t it hearsay? We are so used to objecting and blocking to keep evidence out. This webinar will give you some ideas of how to get good statements into evidence when you want them in.
1 CLE credit for each webinar for attorneys on each of the following panels: Criminal Defense Trials (Adult), Post-Conviction (Adult); YAD, YAD Appeals, Mental Health (Trials), Mental Health Appeals, Parole
REGISTER FOR ANY/ALL SESSIONS HERE

CPCS MHLD Regional Coordinator Training - Representing Clients who Decline Treatment
2025-01-10 13:00 - 17:00 UTC
Training: Representing Clients Who Decline Treatment
Hosted by Anna Lembo (Worcester) and John Mitchell (Bristol)
Viewing of God Knows Where I Am
Discussion about Applebaum’s 1979 publication Rotting with Their Rights On addressing drug refusal by psychiatric patients
Discussion about a client’s legal right to decline treatment and limited insight testimony
God Knows Where I Am is a documentary about Linda Bishop, a well-educated New Hampshire mother who battled mental illness and homelessness.
Rotting with Their Rights On is a 1979 study by P.S. Appelbaum & T.G. Gutheil fully entitled Rotting with rights on: constitutional theory and clinical reality in drug refusal by psychiatric patients

Date & Time: Friday, January 10, 2025, 1:00pm – 5:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom
Advanced registration: REQUIRED
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tf-mhrj0pE9RdP2ripfbG0XVvRCc2hOvo
Upon completion of this seminar, you will:

Understand your role in representing a client with mental illness
Understand the autonomy of choice regarding treatment has shifted in the psychiatric profession from right to refuse treatment to decision-making capacity to make that decision
Learn that insight may be an indicator of lack-of decision-making capacity, but that the two concepts are different
Effectively be challenge limited insight testimony at trial and how to advocate for decision-making capacity

Questions: call Anna Lembo, Esq. (781) 894-0022 or email lembolaw@outlook.com
Worcester County Regional Coordinator

CIP/Cultural Humility workshop, "Honoring the Story: Power-Sharing with Your Clients
2025-01-13 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
This interdisciplinary workshop aims to provide attendees the knowledge and tools to allow them to respectfully gather their client’s narratives and then share them in a way that honors and uplifts their client’s voice. This workshop is approved for 2.0 hours of CAFL/YAD CLE and is hosted by the Cultural Humility/Court Improvement Program Training Committee. Please join us!

Addressing the Realities of Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Substance Use, & Justice Involvement in Boston: A Massachusetts Trial Court Response
2025-01-13 16:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Justice involvement, substance use disorder, and commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) are inextricably linked. In Boston, the Dee Kennedy Project (DKP), an initiative of the Massachusetts Trial Court, works to help justice-involved adults find supportive pathways to exit CSE. The DKP provides a variety of services—through peer advocates/recovery coaches who work to help referrals achieve short and long-term goals at their own pace, whether it be related to safety, exiting, access to social services, or to the referral’s justice-involvement.
Attendees will form a basic understanding of the intersection of CSE, justice involvement, and substance use, who is impacted, and the barriers this stigmatized population face in the courts and community. Included in this will be the tactics exploiters use to keep others caught up in exploitation and the system, and the barriers victim-survivors face when attempting to exit.
This program is online only and will be recorded. Anyone who registers will receive a link to the video recording.
Panelists:
Sheila Casey, Specialty Courts Director
Hon. Lisa Ann Grant, Associate Justice, Roxbury BMC
Sandra Andrade, Senior Peer Advocate, DKP
Katie Bryce, Project Coordinator, DKP
Tasha Thomas, Peer Advocate, DKP

Social Law Library: Addressing the Realities of Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Substance Use, & Justice Involvement in Boston_A Massachusetts Trial Court Response
2025-01-13 16:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York)
This program is hosted by Social Law Library (www.socialaw.com). Any questions or issues regarding this program should be directed there. (msaporito@socialaw.com). This event is being listed for informational purposes only. CPCS staff cannot assist with, or solve, registration issues.
For program description and registration information, please use link here:
https://www.socialaw.com/education/event-detail/2025/01/13/default-calendar/the-realities-of-commercial-sexual-exploitation-substance-use-justice-involvement-in-boston-a-massachusetts-trial-court-response
Note: This program qualifies for 2 CLE on the following CPCS Panel(s): Criminal Defense Trials (adult); YAD (Trials and Appeals); CAFL (Trials and Appeals); SORB and SDP

Calling Your Child Client to the Stand
2025-01-14 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Calling Your Child Client to the Stand
Thursday February 13th from 2-3:30pm
Your child client is the expert of their own experience. How can we as advocates amplify our client’s voice in legal cases that impact them. In this training, we will explore calling your child witness to the stand in either a delinquency, CRA, and/or a care and protection case. We will be talking about preparing your client to testify, assisting them in making the decision whether to testify, advocating for accommodations, and more.
1.5 CLE for YAD Trial and CAFL
Register here!

CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training
2025-01-14 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Zoom
Orientation

Racial Justice Drop In
2025-01-15 13:00 - 14:30 UTC | Zoom
Changing the Narrative: How Changing the Language We Use Can Help Combat Implicit and Explicit Bias.

Representing Clients in Substituted Judgment Proceedings
2025-01-15 13:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Representing Clients in Substituted Judgment Proceedings
Involving the Request for the Authorization of Aversives by the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC)
January 15th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

MHLD Training Department, Staff, and Colleagues Present:
On Zoom: 2 CLE Credits: MHLD trial & appeals

JOIN Laura Sanford and Karen Talley and your colleagues to watch the recording as part of a facilitated viewing and discussion.
**This training is mandatory for guardianship panelists.**

You will learn from:

Bob Fleischner, Senior Advisor to the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH), and Kathryn Rucker, Legal Director of the Center for Public Representation (CPR), who succeeded in getting a petition seeking painful skin shock denied in the Probate Court.

We will review the current law, how to identify and work with experts, and other strategies to zealously represent clients facing substituted judgment proceedings seeking use of Level III aversives.

After this training, you will be better prepared to:

Understand the current law and the proposed FDA regulations
Work with experts to educate the court about aversives and the alternatives
Collaborate with DDS
Advocate zealously for clients facing the potential use of aversive skin shock

Register in advance for this final training: January 15th from 1-3pm

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

This training is mandatory due to the SJC rulings in JRC v. DDS, 492 Mass. 772 (2023) and the resulting petitions for use of skin shock for behavioral control.

Email Laura (lsanford@…) or Karen (ktalley@…) with any questions.

Storytelling in the Courtroom - Three Day Workshop
2025-01-16 09:30 - 16:30 UTC | CPCS Worcester, 120 Front Street, 3rd floor, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States
Apply today to join us for a storytelling program where participants will learn storytelling techniques and performance skills taught by the Criminal Defense Trainers along with professional actors/performers. Learn how to apply storytelling skills to common situations in court. This three-day program will be held January 16, 17,and 24, 2025 from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm each day (in person) at CPCS Worcester Training Center (120 Front St, 3rd fl, Worcester MA).
The application deadline is November 22, 2024.
See our flyer Here: Announcement_CPCS Storytelling in the Courtroom Workshop 2025
Or use link below to apply.
APPLY HERE: https://www.cognitoforms.com/CommitteeForPublicCounselServices/ApplicationForCPCSStorytellingTraining
Acceptance is by application and space is limited! You will be notified in early December whether you have been selected to attend.
Note: this program has been approved for 18 CLE on the following CPCS Panels:
Criminal Defense Trials, Adult Post Conviction, YAD Trials and YAD Appeals
*8 CLE for CAFL (Trials and Appeals) and Mental Health (Trials and Appeals)
