The Brooklyn Bar Association is hosting several bankruptcy events this week

Bankruptcy attorneys have the opportunity to participate in many after-school programs this week, as the Brooklyn Bar Association is hosting a Bankruptcy CLE on Tuesday and a virtual meet and greet with Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Stong on Wednesday.

Both events will take place virtually on Zoom. Tuesday’s continuing legal education seminar titled “Death and Inheritance in Bankruptcy Cases” will begin at 6 p.m. and Wednesday’s virtual session with the Hon. Elizabeth Stong starts at 1 p.m.

Death & Inheritances in Bankruptcy Cases is a 1.5 hour event hosted by President-elect Richard Klass, Rachel Blumenfeld and the Bankruptcy Committee. It will feature speakers Hon. Elizabeth Stong, United States Bankruptcy Court for EDNY; Rachel S. Blumenfeld, Esq.; and Gregory M. Messer, Esq. Participants will earn one CLE credit in professional practice and one half-credit in ethics.

The theme of CLE is how to plan for the unexpected — what happens when a debtor dies before a bankruptcy filing? During the discussion, speakers will consider the impact of death on Chapters 7, 13, and 11 filings; death and the debtor’s rights to exemptions, and how to protect a client’s inheritance and property before filing for bankruptcy.

Judge Stong and Messer are regular speakers at the Brooklyn Bar Association. In fact, Judge Stong will be back the next day for a virtual session with another familiar face – David Doyaga, co-chair of the bankruptcy committee.

Doyaga will serve as moderator for Wednesday’s virtual session. During this event, Justice Stong will have the opportunity to address the stand and raise any concerns or discuss issues she sees in court. BBA members will also be able to ask the judge questions about the court. Please email your questions to [email protected].

Virtual Sitdowns have become a regular event that started during the pandemic. With so much confusion with closures and changes, including adjusting to a more virtual world, the goal was to get the judges and lawyers in the room so everyone could understand what was going on.

Events are for members only and free. So far they have been a consistent hit. People come to events with questions and leave with a better understanding of what is going on in each court. Two more Virtual Sitdowns have already been planned and a third is also about to be announced.

Following the meeting with Justice Stong on March 23, the BBA will welcome the Hon. Rosemarie Montalbano of Kings County Surrogate Court on Monday, April 11 at 1 p.m. Then on Tuesday, May 3 at 1 p.m., the Hon. Deborah Kaplan, Associate Chief Administrative Judge of the New York Courts, will speak.

Trusts & Estates / Substitute Court Committee Meeting Tuesday

The Brooklyn Bar Association’s Trusts & Estates Section and Surrogate’s Court Committee are hosting a meeting at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday that will be sponsored by Ronit Abraham of Compass Realty.

Lawyers do not have to be members of these committees to attend this free meeting. Anyone interested in hearing the latest happenings in court should attend. The meeting is for members only. Please consider joining the BBA if you are not a member.

This meeting is led by co-chairs Daniel Antonelli, James Cahill, Antar Jones and Kerry Archer. The chairs will discuss the latest events at Surrogate Court as well as any updates to the law that may affect practitioners. Judges of the Surrogate Court usually attend and are available for questions, but when they are unable to attend they always send a member of staff.

Follow us on social media and attend our LinkedIn event

After a dormant period, the BBA has relaunched its social media accounts. You can now follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Speaking of LinkedIn, the BBA is hosting a free members-only event on Thursday, March 31 at 1 p.m. titled “Tips and Tricks for Using LinkedIn to Promote Your Business,” featuring speaker Amin Gates. Gates will discuss how lawyers and their firms can stand out on LinkedIn.

This event is part of the BBA’s Professional Management Series which is designed to increase lawyers’ skills outside of the courtroom. They are all free and we have tried to schedule one per month with vendors the local legal community is already familiar with.

Women’s History Month Event with the Women’s Bar Association

The New York Chapter of the National Association of Women Judges is co-sponsoring a Women’s History Month event with the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, the Bronx Women’s Bar Association and the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission titled “The Power of Women’s Voices”, on Thursday March 24 at 6 p.m.

Moderated by Hon. Joanne Quinones and the Hon. Llinet Rosado, speakers will include the Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix, NYC Corporation Attorney, Hon. Deborah Kaplan, Veronica Guerrero, Gehad Abdelrehim and Sharmin Yousuf. Anyone interested in attending this virtual event should go to www.BrooklynWomensBar.org to register.

The notices of assessment go out

The Brooklyn Bar Association is sending out membership renewals for our 2022/2023 fiscal year this week. Please consider renewing your membership if possible. Our membership numbers are lower these days than they have been in years and we could benefit from the support of the legal community.

If you would like to remain an active member, but are experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic, please email me and we can either work out a fee reduction or possibly waive the fee depending on your situation. We certainly understand that this is a difficult time for some, as the legal community has still not returned to its pre-pandemic normal.

Robert Abruzzese is the former legal editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the current director of member services for the Brooklyn Bar Association. Now as a legal columnist for the Eagle, Abruzzese writes about the BBA and the local legal community. For more information on joining the Brooklyn Bar Association, you can contact him by email at [email protected].