Save the date for CCBL 2023 at the Hotel Hershey, March 2-4, 2023

Thursday, February 24, 2022

PABE - Pennsylvania Association of Bar Executive Meeting

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Commonwealth Salon 3, Level 2

The PABE Business Meeting is open to all conference attendees and will also be available through a Zoom connection for those who are not able to attend CCBL in person.

The Haves and Have Nots: What is the Role of the Local Bar Association in Delivery of Legal Services to Those with Limited Income?

3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Commonwealth Salon 3, Level 2

Pro bono requires a new approach in 2022 and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges and opportunities for county bar leaders to provide their communities with expanded access to justice and to help their members fulfill the pro bono responsibility of Professional Rule 6.1. This session will provide information on Pennsylvania Free Legal Answers and other strategies leaders can tap into as essential stakeholders in the operation of our American legal system.

Moderator: Mark Primrose, CCBL Team, Past President, Monroe County Bar Association

Speaker: David Trevaskis, PBA Pro Bono Coordinator

1.0 substantive CLE credit

Friday, February 25, 2022

Everything I Know about Leadership I Learned from These Pop Culture Literary Characters (OK, maybe not everything, but there are some fun and interesting lessons we can talk about!)

8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

Commonwealth Salon 3, Level 2

Kick off a fantastic day of leadership-focused sessions with this thought-provoking opening dialog that will draw from well-known literary and pop culture characters to discuss some of the tricky situations and ethical dilemmas leaders can encounter. This is a fun, interesting way to elevate your leadership skills.

Moderator: MariAnn Hathaway, CCBL President; Past President, Washington County Bar Association

Speaker: Andrew Lotz, Assistant Dean, Lecturer and Advisor, Department of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

1.0 substantive CLE credit

YLD Business Meeting

9:55 a.m. - 10:55 a.m.

Heritage Salon DE, Level 3

Your Year as Bar Leader - Writing a Best Seller and Using the Plot Twists to Your Advantage

9:55 a.m. - 10:55 a.m.

Commonwealth Salon 1-2, Level 2

Experience is one of the best teachers. Past county bar presidents will share their experiences and tips for making your year as president a success. You will also benefit from a seasoned bar executive whose years of professional experience at the local, state and national levels will prove invaluable in helping to write your own best seller and move your association forward. Examples of specific topics covered include: board governance, maintaining your practice and representing clients, time management, work/life balance, and relationships with the courts, state and affinity bars, and with the bar exec and staff.

Moderator: Andrea Pettine, CCBL Incoming President and Past President, Chester County Bar Association

Panelists:

Hillary Madden, Past President, Monroe County Bar Association

Samuel Cortes, Past President, Chester County Bar Association

Jill Scheidt, Past President, Berks County Bar Association

David Blaner, Executive Director, Allegheny County Bar Association

1.0 substantive CLE credit

We All Have Drama: Can We Also Have A Happily Ever After?

9:55 a.m. - 10:55 a.m.

Commonwealth Salon 3, Level 2

Attorney wellness is an important consideration for those serving in all levels of leadership in the legal profession. Not only being attentive to balancing and managing our own health, the well-being of our family, maintaining a successful law practice, and serving as a leader in our bar association and other community organizations; bar leaders also set the wellness tone for the association and its members.

As a leader, how do you create a healthy culture and increase awareness of the diverse personal and family life experiences that we each bring to our work? What is the role and value-add of the bar association in maintaining the successful functioning of our legal system and helping our members thrive? What types of innovative strategies, programs and member benefits can your bar association offer?

Moderator: Joyce Novotny-Prettiman, CCBL Team and Past President, Westmoreland Bar Association

Panelists:

Julie Kresge, Bar Executive, Erie County Bar Association

Melissa Leininger, Co-Chair, PBA Membership Development

Philip Yoon, PBA Zone Governor and Chair, DEI Team

1.0 ethics CLE credit

Thinking On Your Feet and Telling Your Story: Using Improv Techniques to Elevate Your Effectiveness as a leader

11:05 a.m. - 12:05 a.m.

Commonwealth Salon 3, Level 2

It’s an inevitable part of leadership, you are going to be caught off guard, put on the spot, and asked to think quickly. The improv techniques you learn in this session will help build your confidence that you can roll with the punches while also improving your leadership and lawyering skills. Improv teaches you to think out- side of the box, listen more closely and communicate more effectively. It requires awareness of other’s words, tone, facial expressions, and body language; all skills that help you better relate to people (client, jury, judge, other stakeholders, and even opposing counsel.) Improv, at its core, is all about storytelling.

Moderator: Dan McKenrick, CCBL Team and Past President, Centre County Bar Association

Presenters:

James Tierney and Dawn Rosenbaum, Happy Valley Improv

1.0 substantive CLE credit

"The Newlywed Game: Bar Leaders & Bar Execs, a Marriage Made in Heaven?"

11:05 a.m. - 12:05 a.m.

Commonwealth Salon 1-2, Level 2

The issues involved in the work of bar associations often feel like they might be straight out of a Jane Austen novel: pride and prejudice, virtue and vulnerability, education and power, meddling Lady Catherines, mistaken motives, boundaries between the “classes,” complexity, courage, fortitude, and illusion vs. reality. This fun, interactive seminar will pair bar leaders and bar execs in heart-to-heart discussions about bar leader — staff dynamics and bar association best practices, cultures, and preferences.

Moderator: Kathy Sabol, PABE Representative to the CCBL Team and Bar Executive, Washington County Bar Association

Panelists:

Lisa Driendl-Miller, Bar Executive, Lancaster Bar Association

Janis Hackett, Bar Executive, Butler County Bar Association

Mary Beth Leeson, Bar Executive, Northampton Bar Association

Not eligible for CLE credit

Invite. Invest. Inspire. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategies That Work for Bar Associations

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Commonwealth Salon 1-2, Level 2

Engaging new and diverse attorneys in our bar associations is essential for our associations and profession to grow and develop. To make this happen, bar associations need initiatives and action plans that invite new and diverse attorneys into the membership and make them feel welcomed. Leaders must be willing to invest in members because they add valuable perspectives, knowledge and experiences to the association. And leaders must inspire the next generation of leaders to grow the association and advance the legal profession. Bar association representatives from across the state will share how their associations effectively engage, promote and support underrepresented attorneys through proven strategies and programs.

Moderators: Wesley R. Payne IV, CCBL Immediate Past President and Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association

Dan McKenrick, CCBL Team and Past President, Centre County Bar Association

Panelists:

Nancy Conrad, President-Elect, Bar Association of Lehigh County

Joseph R. Williams, President, Allegheny County Bar Association

Patrice Merzanis, Bar Executive, Dauphin County Bar Association

Kiandra Steffy, Board Member, Lancaster Bar Association

1.0 ethics CLE credit

Ad Hominem: It's Personal, It's Uncomfortable, It's Part of Life and Leadership -- Conflict Within the Bar, Now What?

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Commonwealth Salon 3, Level 2

This practical session will explore strategies and tactics for conflict resolution and consensus building drawing upon some of the lessons delivered in what has been recognized as one of the best courtroom dramas ever. The session will explore how to use your leadership to establish the tone for productive communication and address personality conflicts and uncomfortable situations between and among bar leaders, members and colleagues. Ad Hominem is Latin for “against the man.” It is a literary device, actually a flaw, utilized in argument whereby one comments on or against his/her opponent to undermine them personally rather than utilize reason and logic in response to an argument or position.

Moderator: Mike Jones, CCBL Team and Past President, Beaver County Bar Association

Panelists:

Hon. Deborah A. Kunselman, Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Jay Silberblatt, President-Elect, Pennsylvania Bar Association

Barry Simpson, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Bar Association

1.0 substantive CLE credit

The Essential Role of Supporting Characters: We Can't All Be in the Spotlight But We Definitely Don't Want to Be Written Out of the Story! How Can Bar Leaders Engage and Support the Judiciary?

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Commonwealth Salon 3, Level 2

How can bar leaders support the judiciary and how can the bench more effectively work with the bar, ultimately leading to better administration of justice? This interactive session will explore the value and importance of building and maintaining good working relationships with the judiciary. What exactly is the bar association’s role? Topics such as the effectiveness of bench bar conferences, judicial elections, addressing the “rogue” judge and other timely topics will be discussed in this session that is sure to inspire you to examine your bar’s relationship with your local bench.

Moderator: Bernie Ilkhanoff, CCBL Team and Past President of the York County Bar Association

Panelists:

Hon. David L. Ashworth, President Judge, Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas

Lisa Driendl-Miller, Bar Executive, Lancaster Bar Association

1.0 substantive CLE credit

Literary Tragedies Make for Interesting Conversations about Insurance: What Do Bar Leaders Really Need to Know about the Current Insurance Market, Policies, and Important Coverages?

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Commonwealth Salon 1-2, Level 2

This session will highlight important insurance issues for bar leaders and the long-standing member benefit partnership with USI Affinity. While not a “sales” pitch, USI, as a respected industry leader, will share information bar association leaders need to have on their radar both for protections of their association and for protection of their members. USI will talk about industry trends in insurance coverages and policy coverages that are important for those in a leadership role at the bar association. Executive Director and Officers (D&O) liability insurance, nonprofit/foundation insurance, cyber coverages, liability, building/premises and more.

Moderator: Jenn Galloway, YLD Representative to the CCBL Team

Panelists:

Shelly Lawson, USI Affinity, Vice President of Bar Association Programs

Mark Lefever, USI Affinity, Vice President of Sales and Client Management

Gina Sage, USI Affinity, Professional Liability Account Executive

This session is not eligible for CLE credit

Saturday, February 26, 2022

That's a Wrap and Here's the Cliffhanger ... How Will You Use All You've Learned to Write the Sequel?

8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Commonwealth Salon 1-2-3, Level 2

CCBL Business Meeting and Passing of the Gavel

Everyone is invited to attend a brief business meeting where current CCBL President MariAnn Hathaway will pass the gavel to Incoming President Andrea Pettine.

Courts, Community, and Rule of Law

An engaging and critical leadership conversation about the importance of judicial independence, the significance of the Rule of Law, and protecting those who serve the public in our judicial and legal systems. This session is a conversation about the work of the Courts, Community, and Rule of Law Committee of the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit and its partnerships with bar associations, civic organizations, and educational institutions. How can we more effectively use our circles of influence and work together to educate people in our local communities and help them better understand the essential role of the third branch of government?

Panelists:

Hon. Mark A. Kearney, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a Past President of the Montgomery Bar Association

Hon. Lawrence F. Stengel, retired former Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Past President, Lancaster Bar Association

Matthew J. Creme Jr., Past President, Lancaster Bar Association; Past President, Pennsylvania Bar Association

That's a Wrap and Here's the Cliffhanger ... How Will You Use All You've Learned to Write the Sequel?

The CCBL Team will close the session with a quick re-cap of highlights of the critical takeaways and significant issues that will be facing the legal profession, bar associations and our members moving forward. Take notes and make plans to hit the ground running when you return and begin implementing your programs and initiatives for your year as a bar leader!

Moderated by CCBL Team members Dan McKenrick and Bernie Ilkhanoff

Additional Information:

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Pennsylvania Bar Foundation

American Bar Association Bar Services Overview