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Panel Information
Date/Times/Location
Friday, December 2, 2011, 3:00 - 4:00 (for day students) & 5:30 - 6:30 (for evening students), in the 1st floor Function Room, Sargent Hall.
There will be refreshments and an opportunity to talk with the panelists immediately following each of the sessions.
Panelists
Afternoon Panel
Charles W. Rankin
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Charlie Rankin is a partner at Rankin & Sultan. He is a graduate of the City College of New York (B.A. 1977) and Harvard Law School (J.D. 1980). He was Chairman of the Criminal Justice Act Board established by the United States District Court from 1996 to 2009. In 2010, Mr. Rankin was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has also served as a member of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Council of the Boston Bar Association.
Mr. Rankin has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America from 1991 to date, and in Massachusetts Super Lawyers from 2004 to date. In 2010, he was selected to Boston’s Best Lawyers. In 1997, the Boston Bar Association awarded Mr. Rankin the Thurgood Marshall Award for extraordinary efforts to deliver legal services to the poor.
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Darly G. David Mevs
Darly David Mevs joined Gilmartin, Magence & Ross LLP, a boutique real estate law firm, in May of 2003. She is a 1997 graduate of Syracuse University and a 2000 graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where she served as a member of the Suffolk Transnational Law Review. She concentrates her practice in the area of real estate law, representing lenders, buyers, developers, and sellers in residential and commercial transactions, specializing in condominium development.
Ms. Mevs is a member of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, where she currently holds the position of Vice President, Professional Development, and chairwoman of the Professional Development Committee. She is the past member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, Real Estate Section, where she co-chaired the Educational Programming Committee. This committee created workshops and panel discussions for lawyers interested in real estate law. Ms. Mevs teaches home buying classes to first time homebuyers in the Boston area. She is a 2011 Award Recipient of the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Top Woman of Law Award.
Lynn Weissberg
Lynn Weissberg is a partner in Stern Shapiro Weissberg & Garin, LLP. She is a 1979 graduate of Boston College Law School and a 1969 graduate of Brandeis University. She also received a Masters of Arts in Teaching in 1972 from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Ms. Weissberg concentrates her practice in the area of employment law and litigation. She also advises clients with regard to employment law and conducts trainings for employees in sexual harassment and other EEO issues. She represents a variety of non-profit organizations as well. In 2007, Ms. Weissberg was named one of the top 50 women lawyers in Massachusetts by Super Lawyers, and was also recognized in the practice area, Employment Litigation: Plaintiff.
Before joining her firm, Ms. Weissberg was a Staff Attorney with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Since 1980, she has been a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Law School and is a certified mediator. Ms. Weissberg is a Board member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association.
Evening Panel
Lucinda Rivera
Attorney Lucinda Rivera graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 2001. After graduation, she became a prosecutor for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office. She later joined the Suffolk Lawyers for Justice Panel and became a private attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Private Attorney Division. Ms. Rivera opened her law practice in 2004 and focuses on criminal litigation and immigration. She is the President of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA) and was appointed to serve on the Massachusetts Latin American Advisory Council. Ms. Rivera serves on the Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). She is the host of a legal program called “Discovering Justice” that airs twice a month on Boston’s Public Access Television.
Jody L. Newman
Jody Newman is the managing partner of Collora, LLP. She received her B.A. from the University of Delaware in 1980, and her law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1983. She specializes in employment law. Ms. Newman is a current member and past Co-Chair of the Labor and Employment Section of the Boston Bar Association; a board member for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; an executive committee and board member for the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts; a member of the National Employment Law Association; and has served on the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council's Board of Directors. She has received numerous professional honors, including: New England Super Lawyer, Employment Litigation--Plaintiff; Boston's Best Lawyers, Labor and Employment Law; New England Super Lawyer, Top 50 Women Lawyers in New England; "The Power List," Most Influential Attorneys of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly; Recipient of the Distinguished Community Leadership Award by The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action; Best Lawyers of America; and Massachusetts Super Lawyer.
Héctor E. Piñeiro
Héctor Piñeiro has a private practice in Worcester, Massachusetts focusing on tort and civil rights cases in State and Federal Courts. He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law and of Clark University. He is admitted to the United States Districts of Massachusetts, Puerto Rico and Vermont. Mr. Piñeiro litigates medical malpractice, catastrophic injury, pharmaceutical, transplant cases, toxic torts, product liability claims and claims against the gun industry. He also represents plaintiffs in civil rights litigation involving police and prison misconduct - in particular prisoner cases involving claims of deliberate medical indifference. He is a member of the National Police Accountability Project.
Mr. Piñeiro was defense counsel in Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, 426 Mass. 647 (1998) which with its companion case (Commonwealth v. Wanis, 426 Mass. 369) (1998) established a criminal defendant’s right to production of records of a police department’s internal affairs division that contained statements of percipient witnesses to events occurring at the time of the alleged crimes and the defendant’s arrest.
Moderator
Michael Avery, Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School
Alumni & Faculty Mentors
Many Suffolk Law alumni work in small firms & solo practice and are happy to speak with current law students.
For more information about the Alumni Mentor Program, contact Diane Frankel Schoenfeld, Director of Alumni Relations, Suffolk University Law School at 617.305.1904 or diane.schoenfeld@suffolk.edu
The Career Development Office can help you identify Suffolk graduates working in solo and small firms. If you have not done so already, make an appointment to meet with a career counselor for more information.
To speak to a faculty member about working in a small firm or as a solo practitioner, contact Michael Avery, Professor of Law, mavery@suffolk.edu
Career Development
To get oriented in your job search and make an appointment with a career counselor, please link to the CDO’s webpage or call 617-573-8094 or email lawcdo@suffolk.edu.
Find job postings and search the CDO’s database of employers including many small and solo law firms by logging on to Symplicity. For Symplicity tutorials, visit the CDO webpage.
To search for alumni in small and solo law firms through LinkedIn, Martindale.com, and SULS’s Online Community, review the following handout called, “How to Find Alumni Networking Contacts” available on the “Handouts/Resources” section of the CDO website.
To explore small and solo opportunities in numerous cities and states throughout the US, view the 20 “Out of Town Guides” available on the ‘Handouts/Resources’ section of the CDO website.
To listen to audio recordings of recent solo and small firm-related career programs, visit the ‘SULS Community’ section of the CDO website (contact the CDO for the password). Recent programs include: “Marketing Yourself to Small and Medium Sized Law Firms (3/31/11) and “Going Small or Solo? Now What?” (3/1/11).
For additional links to various employer resources, visit the ‘Links’ section of the CDO website.
Learn more about and consider joining the following professional organizations:
Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP) Mass LOMAP supports and offers various services and programs to lawyers in solo practice
Boston Bar Association, Solo & Small Firm Section
Massachusetts Bar Association, General Practice, Solo & Small Firms
American Bar Association, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division
Library Resources
General
Tips for Landing the Job of Your Dreams
Top Ten Free & Subscription Legal Research Sites
Lawyering Bibliography
Suffolk University Law School Research Databases
For a complete list of research guides, go here.
A few recent law review articles:
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOLOS AND SMALL FIRMS: WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT MATTERS, New York State Bar Journal February, 83-FEB N.Y. St. B.J. 18 (2011)
ATTORNEY WEBSITES FOR SOLOS AND SMALL FIRMS, New York State Bar Journal February, 83-FEB N.Y. St. B.J. 24 (2011)
MARKETING FOR SMALL FIRMS, Lawyer's PC, 28 No. 6 Law. PC 9 (2010)
CLOUD COMPUTING FOR SOLOS AND SMALL FIRMS, 32-JUN Pa. Law. 54 (2010)
A SOLO/SMALL FIRM RESOURCE GUIDE, 47-APR Hous. Law. 38 (2010)
SMALL FIRMS HAD IT RIGHT ALL ALONG, 09-10 Law Off. Mgmt. & Admin. Rep. 1 (2009)
Guides & Manuals
Law office procedures manual for solos and small firms / Demetrios Dimitriou, Chicago, Ill.: Law Practice Management Section, American Bar Association, 2005 (LAW TREATISES, 5th Floor, KF318 .D56 2005)
Choosing small, choosing smart: Job search strategies for lawyers in the small firm market / Donna Gerson, Washington, DC : NALP, 2005 (LAW TREATISES, 5th Floor & CDO, KF297 .G477 2005)
Flying solo: A survival guide for the solo and small firm lawyer / editor, K. William Gibson, Chicago, Ill. : Law Practice Management Section, American Bar Association, 2005 ( LAW TREATISES, 5th Floor & CDO Office, KF300.Z9 F59 2005)
Minding your own business: The solo and small firm lawyer's guide to a profitable practice/Ann M. Guinn, Chicago: American Bar Association, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division, 2010 (LAW TREATISES, 5th Floor, KF318 .G85 2010)
Effectively staffing your law firm / Jennifer J. Rose, editor, Chicago, Ill. : American Bar Association, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division, 2009 ( LAW TREATISES, 5th Floor, KF318 .E34 2009 )
Solo by choice: How to be the lawyer you always wanted to be / Carolyn Elefant, Seattle, Wash.: DecisionBooks/Niche Press, 2007 (LAW CAREER DEV. OFFICE, KF300.Z9 E44 2007)
How to Start & Build a Law Practice/ Jay Foonberg, Chicago: American Bar Association, Law Practice Management Section, Law Student Division, 2004 (Law Reserve & LAW CAREER DEV. OFFICE, KF300 .F66 2004)
Unlearning law school: The key to running your own office / Jeremy T. Robin Publisher Boston, Mass.: A&UC Publishing, 2006 ( LAW CAREER DEV. OFFICE, (FL 1) KF300 .R578 2006)
For more resources on this topic, search the Library's online catalog.
Contact Information
If you have any questions at all or need research assistance, contact a Moakley Law Library reference librarian: 617-573-8516 or lawref@suffolk.edu
Conferences & Continuing Legal Education
Suffolk University Law School's Advanced Legal Studies (ALS) Center for CLE & Academic Conferences seeks to create in-depth continuing legal education for the legal community by utilizing the strengths and resources of the law school and the expertise of the bench and the bar. Their programs are built around members of the Suffolk faculty and experienced lawyers and judges. By carefully crafting the curriculum for each program, preparing solid course materials, and employing vigorous and open discussion methods, these programs provide attendees with challenging and helpful educational opportunities.
All current Suffolk University Law School students can register for ALS Conferences, for FREE. To review their current calendar of events or to get more information about ALS and the conferences they organize as well as a list of the very helpful practice-oriented publications they publish, go here.
Here's one upcoming conference that will be particularly interesting for students who want to learn more about small firms and solo practice: Jumpstarting Your Practice: From Backpack to Briefcase, Friday, January 13, and January 20, 2012. For more details go here.
For more information about Suffolk's Advanced Legal Studies Center, contact Carole Wagan, Esq., Director, Center for Advanced Legal Studies, cwagan@suffolk.edu or (617) 305-1652.
LEAPP Journals & Student Survey
LEAPP Journals
First-year students are required to attend each of the LEAPP panels and prepare a short journal entry following each panel. They will record their impressions of the presentations and what they learned about law practice from the speakers. When this series of panels are completed in this spring, students journal entries will be reviewed by faculty members on the LEAPP Committee.
For more information, log on to Campus Cruiser.
Student Survey
Please go to Campus Cruiser and take just a few moments to complete a brief survey.
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