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JOIN US TO MEET OUR NEWEST SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, HEAR FROM TRIAL JUDGES, THE RULES COMMITTEE AND SEASONED MEDIATORS


Vermont Trial Lawyers Association Annual Meeting 




5 General Vt CLE Credits
October 7, 2022
Associate Justice Nancy Waples - Justice Waples started her legal career as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, working in the appeals bureau and trial division. She later served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Vermont, where she served in the criminal division. Prior to her appointment as a judge she worked as a lawyer with the law firm Hoff Curtis where she focused on criminal defense.

On December 29, 2014, Vermont Governor Peter Schumlin appointed Waples to the Vermont Superior Court to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of judge Geoffrey W. Crawford, who was appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court. 

On February 25, 2022, Governor Phil Scott announced the appointment of Waples as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, filling the seat vacated by the resignation of justice Beth Robinson on November 5, 2021, after Robinson was appointed to the United States Court of appeals for the Second Circuit. The Vermont Senate confirmed Justice Waples' appointment on March 25, 2022 and was sworn into office on April 15, 2022. 
Judge Robert Mello Judge Mello is the current presiding judge of the Superior Court in Washington County. He spent most of his legal career in private practice and served as counsel for the Public Service Board and general counsel to the Department of Banking Insurance and Securities. He was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Jim Douglas in 2010.
Judge Martin Maley - Judge Maley is a Superior Court Judge currently in Franklin County, Vermont. He has served in the criminal, civil and family divisions. Judge Maley was appointed in July 2011 by Governor Peter Schumlin and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in 1981 and his JD from Western New England College in 1987. 
Judge Gregory Rainville - Judge Rainville is a Superior Court judge currently sitting in Chittenden County. Judge Rainville was appointed to the bench on March 17, 2006. He earned his BA in political science from the University of Vermont in 1977 and his JD from the University of Toledo School of Law in 1980. He was an attorney at Rainville and Associates from 1995 until 2006. 
Judge Megan ShafritzJudge Shafritz is a Superior Court judge currently presiding in Chittenden County. She previously served as assistant attorney general to 2009 where she was chief of the Civil Division. Prior to that role she was a partner in the Burlington law firm of Gravel and Shea practicing in the areas of commercial litigation, general business disputes, and personal injury cases. She received her BA from Williams College and her JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was Editor in Chief of the Law Review. She was appointed to the Superior Court in 2018 by Governor Scott. 
Judge Thomas S. Durkin - Judge Durkin was sworn in by Vermont Governor James Douglas on January 31, 2005 to become Vermont’s second Environmental Judge.   Judge Durkin currently serves as Chair of the Vermont Supreme Court’s Character and Fitness Committee that governs attorney licensing and as the judicial representative on the Board of Managers for the Vermont Bar Association. Judge Durkin lives in West Brattleboro, Vermont, with his wife of nearly 40 years, Susan. 
 
Bill Counos - Bill practices in St. Albans where he was born and raised and concentrates his practice in personal injury law. Bill is a current member of the  VTLA Board of Trustees and is past president of the Franklin County Bar Association, past president of the former VTLA and past president and national board member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. 
Bonnie Badgewick - Bonnie currently serves on the Civil Rules Committee and is the current chair of the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association. She has been a trial lawyer in Vermont since 2001 and currently practices in Woodstock, Vermont.
Allan Keyes - Allan is a long-time member of the Vermont Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and has been chair since 2015. This committee is responsible for the Vermont Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure. Allan is a second generation appellate lawyer from Rutland. Since 1975, he has briefed and argued hundreds of appeals and motions in Vermont and Federal Court - perhaps more civil appeals to the Vermont Supreme Court than any other active attorney.
John Bloomer - John is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law and has been practicing civil and criminal trial law in Rutland and surrounding areas for over 30 years. He also has a long family and personal background in Vermont politics, having served 4 terms in the Vermont State Senate and later serving as Secretary of the Senate since 2015. He is a Trustee of the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association. 
James Dumont - Jim has served  as the Reporter for the Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure, Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Family Procedure and Probate Procedure. His duties included authoring the Reporter’s Notes that appear in the published volume of rules and that accompany and explain each new rule and rule change. Jim currently is a member of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure. He graduated from Harvard  and the Columbia Law School in 1978 where he was co-Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. 
Navah Spero - Navah joined Gravel & Shea as a litigation associate in 2011 and her practice focuses on all aspects of litigation in state and federal court. She is a graduate of the George Washington University of Law School and the University of Pennsylvania and is listed as a "rising star"  in New England Super Lawyers. Navah is a member of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure.
Sue Buckholz - Sue is an attorney in private practice, focusing on family law and mediation, primarily working with people in family and probate matters. She has previously worked as a staff attorney in the Prisoner Rights Division of the Vermont Defender Generals Office. She received her degree from Yale College in 1977, read the law and has been admitted to practice in Vermont since 1995. 
Adam Powers - Adam is an attorney and mediator. He has been effectively mediating by Zoom since the early days of the pandemic and has been an adjunct professor of law at Vermont Law School since 2012. He is a contract mediator for the Vermont Agency of Education as well as with the Civil Rights Unit of the Vermont Attorney Generals office.
Greg Weimer - Greg is a mediator from Burlington and has had extensive experience in personal injury litigation and employment litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He works for the firm Kirkpatrick & Goldsborough, PLLC and is a graduate of the University of Vermont Law School where he served as research editor of the Vermont Law Review. 
Phyllis Philips - Phyllis Phillips was the director of the Vermont Department of Labor and Industry Workers Compensation Division from 1989 until 1992 and served as a Senior Administrative Law Judge at the Vermont Department of Labor between 2008 and 2018. Since then she has worked as a mediator specializing in workers' compensation, personal injury, sexual harassment and other civil litigation claims. She is a graduate of the University of Vermont and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. 
Francesca Bove Francesca's practice at Ryan Smith & Cabine involves representation of insured individuals, institutions, and employers and advises health care institutions on regulatory compliance. She is a graduate of Seton Hall University Law School and has practiced law since 2011. She is a trustee of the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association. 
MEETING PROGRAM SCHEDULE

AGENDA
October 7, 2022
8:30 a.m. - 09:00 a.m.

09:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.







11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.


12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.






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

The Rules Committee - Changes That Will Affect Your Practice 
Allen Keyes
Jim Dumont
Navah Spero
Bonnie Badgewick, Committee member and moderator 

The Vermont Supreme Court's Newest Justice
Associate Justice Nancy Waples
John Bloomer, Moderator 

Lunch/Business Meeting

View From The Bench - How Are We Doing And What Can We Do To Get Back To "Normal"
Judge Robert Mello
Judge Martin Maley 
Judge Gregory Rainville 
Judge Thomas Durkin
Judge Megan Shafritz
William Counos, Moderator 

Mediation - Effective use of mediation during the covid and post-covid era. 
Adam Powers 
Sue Buckholz
Greg Weimer
Phyllis Phillips
Francesca Bove, Moderator 
FREE TO ALL VTLA MEMBERS AND JUDICIARY
CLICK HERE for your free ticket 
(but only if you are really attending)
JOIN NOW
VENUE INFORMATION
The Basin Harbor Resort 

Vergennes, Vermont 
4800 Basin Harbor Rd
Vergennes, Vermont 05491
https://www.basinharbor.com
The Annual Meeting is for members of the VTLA. If you are not a VTLA member, receive your ticket by clicking "Join Now" and completing the form or mail a check to VTLA, 409 Main Street, Bennington, VT 05201.
JOIN NOW
Questions:
Contact: contact@vtlassn.org | (802) 442-8979

*Not affiliated in any way with the Vermont Bar Association, the Vermont Association for Justice or any other state or national organization.  We encourage you to support and become members of any of those fine organizations as well.  This is a different organization and has different purposes than VTAJ's predecessor, the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association.
 
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