I am grateful for the opportunity to have shared this year with you as the editor of the BPLA newsletter.

Please read the article on staying sober in the holiday season. Even if you do not struggle with addiction, you very likely have colleagues, acquaintances, or friends and family who do. Raising awareness of the challenges of sobriety during the holiday season benefits our whole community. If you would like more personalized advice on addiction or other wellness topics, attorneys admitted in Massachusetts can schedule a free and confidential consultation with a licensed clinician at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, an organization funded by bar dues.

As we continue to explore opportunities for Pro Bono work, please read about Finnegan’s exciting and impactful work through the New England Innocence Project. Non-IP pro bono opportunities offer a breath of fresh air and new challenges compared to our ordinary tasks, plus they meet deeper needs of our larger community; however, they require us to stretch in new and unusual ways. If you are employed by or lead a large organization, you can develop internal resources in non-IP areas. If you are employed by or lead a smaller organization, you can look for legal service organizations that provide training and review to their volunteers. During my career, while working at Finnegan (which offers high levels of internal support for pro bono work), I enjoyed representing two disabled veterans in disability benefit claims and representing two criminal defendants in DC Superior Court (including a felony criminal trial for assaulting a police officer). Now that I am leading a smaller firm, I have volunteered with the Election Protection Hotline through the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, which provides extensive training and support for its volunteers. My experience shows that no matter whether your organization has internal resources for pro bono work, you can find a way to improve the community around you using your unique skills and abilities.

Our newsletter also dives into the challenges to patent practitioners of the smart healthcare revolution and features our comments regarding USPTO subject matter eligibility jurisprudence. We also congratulate Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler on her upcoming retirement from the US District Court, District of Massachusetts and share an application deadline for a new Magistrate Judge position.

I would like to thank BPLA’s administrator, Constance Brennan, and the staff of Readz for their help in preparing this newsletter and for working with me this year.

For those of you considering volunteering as a committee cochair in the 2022 year, I encourage you to serve. I hope to see all of you at the Annual Meeting on December 8th.

Rebecca McNeill Editor