BAR BLAST – August 26, 2014

Nationally recognized speaker and author of Run Your Firm Like a Business, Frank T. Lockwood, will discuss the challenges of and solutions to practicing law while managing the administrative and business demands of your law practice, at WVCLE’s Family Law Institute seminar, scheduled forSeptember 5 – 6, 2014.  This course is accredited for 9.7 WV MCLE credits including 4.2 LIVE Ethics/L.O.M. credits.  His book, published by the American Bar Association, serves as an operations guide for lawyers and law firms.  Mr. Lockwood has over 30 years legal experience and currently teaches attorneys and firms how to eliminate waste and implement more efficient systems for their firms.  He is joined by, Cinda L. Scales, Esquire, Honorable Michael J. Kelly, Shari Jo McPhail, Esquire, Brittany Ranson Stonestreet, Esquire, Rachael L. Fletcher Cipoletti, Esquire, David Epperly, MBA, CPA, ABV, CFF, CVA, and Andrew S. Nason, Esquire.

For more information or to register, click here .

The West Virginia State Bar is excited to announce a new opportunity for attorneys to provide pro bono assistance to the public anytime, from anywhere.  West Virginia Online Legal Help(www.wvonlinelegalhelp.org)is a new website where low-income West Virginians can post questions about their civil legal needs.  The questions are answered by volunteer attorneys, who provide basic information and legal advice for free.

We need West Virginia attorneys to sign up to volunteer.  The benefits of volunteering include:

• No expectation of long-term representation.
• Professional liability insurance provided.
• Attorney’s name is anonymous to user.

Please go to www.wvonlinelegalhelp.org and click on “Lawyers Sign Up” to register to volunteer.  We hope to open the website to questions from the public in September 2014.

Click here for more information.

The West Virginia State Bar, in conjunction with the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, is pleased to offer a new service to our members.  In addition to receiving emails advising of situations, disseminated by the Supreme Court, which may impact your practice (these notifications include courthouse closings or similar events in your county and contiguous counties), you may now register to receive these notifications on your mobile phone via text message (SMS).  Standard text messaging rates would apply, should you choose to avail yourself of this service.  To do so log in towww.mywvbar.org and update the notification section of your member profile.

Please note: only members who register for this service will be notified via text message.

The 57th annual tax seminar sponsored by the Tri-State Tax Institute and Wheeling Jesuit University will be held on October 7, 2014 on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling.  Presentations this year include James Hamill, CPA, Ph.D., an internationally recognized and highly regarded speaker and Director of Tax Practice at Reynolds, Hix & Co., P.A., in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Jim will speak about the use of partnerships for income and transfer tax planning, providing a primer on how to maximize advantages of the partnership form of business entity while avoiding the pitfalls.   Other presentation topics include, Ohio Legacy Trusts; Handling Tax Audits and Criminal Tax Investigations; Employer Responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act; and an economic update.  For additional information on the program and to register click here . If you have questions, contact Paula Ullom at Wheeling Jesuit University at pullom@wju.edu. You may also contact Robert J. Krall, Esq., Chairman of the Institute at rkrall@hmhy.com or 304-242-2300.  CLE credits are approved for West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including an hour of ethics credit.

The Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission is currently receiving applications to fill the judicial vacancy on the 13th Judicial Circuit serving Kanawha County.    Candidates must submit their completed applications by no later than 5:00 p.m. on September 12, 2014.  The deadline for submittal of letters of recommendation or comment is September 19, 2014.  Applications and instructions are available atwww.governor.wv.gov.  To contact the Commission regarding the application process, please call Janet Shelton at 304-558-2000.  Interviews will be held on September 26, 2014.

WVCLE – Family Law Institute  

Location: WVU College of Law in Morgantown, WV

Shale Gas Law 2014 

Location: WVU College of Law in Morgantown, WV

Update on the Law   

Location: WVU College of Law

57th Annual Tax Seminar

Location: Wheeling Jesuit University – Wheeling, WV

WV State Bar Regional Meetings

Below is a list of tentative dates and locations.

Check back soon for registration and more details.

65th Annual Meeting of the West Virginia Tax Institute   

Location: Canaan Valley Resort, Davis, West Virginia