Law Offices of David J Volkin, 20 Cabot Blvd, Ste 300 02048 Mansfield, MA, US

Reception will be closed at 3:00 today and will reopen on Tuesday, Jan 18 in observance of Martin Luther King Day. If you have anything that needs to be brought to my attention please either email me directly or through the contact form on the website: www.volkinlaw.com

In my spam mail was a reminder from Martindale Hubbell that my 25th anniversary of being admitted to the bar is today (or actually tomorrow) "What a long strange trip it's been."- Grateful Dead Yes, it is an odd day for a anniversary for being admitted to the bar, In fact, I would not be surprised if I was the only one. I remember finishing the bar exam on my birthday in July and waiting for what seemed like forever for the results to be posted. This did not happen until ...sometime in November. At this point, I was already in the Navy and at a training school. During the regular swearing in ceremony, I had already been sent to Norfolk, Virginia. All I needed was any military judge to swear me in. In this case, it was the first Monday after the New Years and Christmas holidays. As I was the only member of my Navy Justice School class who had not already been sworn in before attending NJS, I ended up with my own private swearing in ceremony. There were no cake or cookies, but just something the judge signed and dated that I could send to the MA BBO. And that happened 25 years ago tomorrow. From Newport to Yokosuka, Japan, Yokosuka to San Diego, and San Diego back to Boston. What a strange trip indeed.

I thought this was an interesting article. It is true that many lawyers do appreciate the slowing down of things during the holidays (although I have been sent requests for admissions in the first week of December before... definitely on Santa's coal list). While this season has not been as slow as other years (where I tend to work half days for the two weeks of Christmas and New Years), it has been such a dismal year due to court closures and an overall slowdown in litigation that I am not minding the extra work (granted getting documents and things from corporate clients during the holidays is an exceedingly difficult task made worse by most working remotely). Anyway, enjoy the article.

A reminder to Massachusetts employers and employees: The Paid Family And Medical Leave Act goes into effect on January 1, 2021. All employers should be reviewing and updating their employee handbooks to make sure leave and PTO policies are up to date and that you have the proper state posters in place and that your employees have signed an acknowledgement that they received notification. You should copy these into the employee's file as well as a separate binder to insure ease of compliance with an audit. For employers who need assistance complying with your obligations under the law, contact my office for a review of your policies and procedures.

Please be advised that Reception will be closing early at 1:00pm today and be closed from 12/24 and 12/25. If you need to reach my office, please leave a message and I will try to return urgent calls or respond the week thereafter.