VOLUME 37, NUMBER 5 - Winter 2023
ADVOCATE
THE
THE ADVOCATE
Young Lawyers Section Council
Maryland State Bar Association
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Lauren Lake, Chair
Rima Kikani, Chair-Elect
Emily Greene, Treasurer
Jeffrey Sadri, Secretary
Megan Micco, Member At-Large
Kerri Smith, Immediate Past Chair
BOARD OF GOVERNORS REPRESENTATIVES
Lauren Lake
Jasmine England-Caesar
Christian Noble
Kayla Vossler
STANDING COMMITTEES
ACTIVITIES CO-CHAIRS
Ashley Fellona, Megan Micco, Taylor Scott
ABA REPRESENTATIVE
Chris Jennison
DISASTER RELIEF CHAIR
Jackie L. Fox-Copley
DIVERSITY CO-CHAIRS
Jasmine Caesar-England & Dania Ayoubi
EDUCATION CHAIR
Candice Miller
FAMILY FRIENDLY CO-CHAIRS
Genna Hoy, Sonya Tsao
LAWYER WELLNESS CO-CHAIRS
Sara Lucas, Richard Shermanski
LEGISLATIVE CHAIR
Grason Wiggins
MEMBERSHIP / LAW STUDENT OUTREACH CO-CHAIRS
Valerie Desroches, Reema Sood, and Eliza McDermott
NOMINATING CHAIR
Kerri Smith
2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Bringing the Bars Together 4 Lego League 5 YLS Sumit 7 New Admittees Ceremony 8 Fall Open Meeting 9 Estate-Planning Clinic 10 Upcoming YLS Events 10 Pottery Painting Party January 25, 2024 10 ABA Midyear Meeting February 2-3, 2024 11 Polar Bear Plunge February 3, 2024 11 Young Lawyers Section 33rd Annual Charity Event April 19, 2024 11 Spring Happy Hour & Headshots Date TBD
POLICY CHAIR
Rima Kikani
PRO BONO / WILLS FOR HEROES CO-CHAIRS
Bill Kiniry, Zuhair Riaz, Ernesto Villasenor
PUBLICATIONS CO-CHAIRS
Anamika Moore, Meg Tippett
PUBLIC SERVICE CO-CHAIRS
Annice Brown, Christian Noble, Amy Rappole
SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIR
Letam Duson
STRATEGIC PLANNING CHAIR
Rima Kikani
TECHNOLOGY CO-CHAIRS
TJ Keilty III & Joseph Kavanagh
YLS SUMMIT CO-CHAIRS
Rima Kikani, Greg Waterworth
CIRCUIT REPRESENTATIVES
Gary Damico, Anne Arundel
James Robinson, Baltimore City
Alexis Holiday, Baltimore County
William Sasse, Carroll
Spencer Cropper, Lower Shore
Clark Adams, Frederick
Jackie Fox-Copley, Harford/Cecil
Tyler Brown, Howard
Kayla Vossler, Montgomery
Holland Burch, Western Maryland
Kamryn Washington, UB Law
Olalekan Olaniyi, UB Law
Adamandia Frantzis, UMD Law
The Advocate is published quarterly by the Young Lawyers Section of the Maryland State Bar Association, 520 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201.
The opinions exercised in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent the opinions of the Young Lawyers Section or the Maryland State Bar Association © Maryland State Bar Association, Inc.
BRINGING THE BARS TOGETHER
WELCOME BACK HAPPY HOUR
More than 100 members of several local and specialty bar associations, including the MSBA YLS, celebrated the new bar year at the Welcome Back Happy Hour – Bringing the Bars Together on September 7, 2023, at The Maryland Club in Baltimore City. It was a wonderful way to kickoff the bar year!
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Angela Munro chats with Amy Petkovsek and Sarah Belardi
Letam Duson, Sarah Belardi, Rachel Samakow, Kerri Smith
LEGO LEAGUE
Members of the YLS Public Service Committee gathered at Checkerspot Brewing in Baltimore on November 11, 2023, to volunteer with the FIRST LEGO League. The FIRST LEGO League supports students as they apply STEM skills by building LEGO robots for competition. Public Service Committee Chairs Amy Rappole and Christian Noble built components that would become an integral part of each course
Public Service Committee Chairs Amy Rappole and Christian Noble
YLS SUMMIT
On November 15, 2023, the Young Lawyer’s Section hosted its annual YLS Summit at Maryland Live!. Joined by incredible guest speakers, members of the YLS enjoyed fireside chats with Baltimore City State’s Attorney, Ivan Bates, who stressed the importance of resilience, and Executive VP & General Counsel for Fender, Inc., Aarash Darroodi, who spoke about his unique career path, innovation, and the future of practicing law.
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Ivan Bates (center), having recounted his successful journey to achieving the position of Baltimore City State’s Attorney, is pictured alongside Letam Duson, Genna Hoy, Kerri Smith, Kiernan Waters.
Greg Waterworth, MSBA YLS Summit Committee Chair interviews Aarash Darroodi about his career.
MSBA President Jason DeLoach, Rima Kikani, Ivan Bates, and YLS Chair Lauren Lake pose together at the YLS Summit.
YLS SUMMIT
Rima Kikani, Greg Waterworth, Aarash Darroodi, Past YLS Chair Indira Sharma, YLS Chair Lauren Lake
Aarash Darroodi and Greg Waterworth
Members of the YLS socialize before the YLS Summit.
NEW ADMITTEES CEREMONY
On November 28 & 29, 2023, YLS Members welcomed the new admittees to the Maryland Bar.
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Editor’s Note: Do you know a new admittee? Let them know their first year with MSBA is free! Send them to msba.org/join
FALL OPEN MEETING
On Wednesday, November 29, 2023, YLS members let their creative juices flow at the Fall Open Meeting hosted by Gordon Feinblatt, LLC. While there was a theme and reference painting, no two creations looked the same. Participants enjoyed becoming artists for the evening by mixing colors, creating textures and layers, and laughing over the realization that we should not quit our day jobs!
Stay tuned and keep your calendars open for the Spring 2024 Open Meeting.
Editor’s Note: Upcoming YLS MSBA events are always available at msba.org/calendar
Attendees were inspired to paint a legal-themed design and encouraged to add their own creative flair.
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Ally Comegys (middle) starts her painting with friends, Eleni vanRoden Bickley, Kyle Anthony
Emily Greene, Emily Sofia
Lauren Lake and Letam Duson pose together with their finished artwork.
ESTATE-PLANNING CLINIC
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, the YLS Pro Bono Committee co-sponsored a Pro Bono Resource Center estate-planning clinic at the Enoch Pratt Free Library - Waverly Branch, in Baltimore. The event had a fantastic turnout and members were able to help many low income individuals with unique and challenging issues.
One of the most challenging cases was a client who was not only attempting to keep her home in her family, but also had two timeshares. YLS members learned that timeshares actually count as Real Property and can be deeded, and had to do a lot of legwork to make everything clear in the client’s Will.
Pro Bono Volunteers, Bill Kiniry and Vidhi Kumar
UPCOMING YLS EVENTS
SPRING HAPPY HOUR & HEADSHOTS
March 13, 2024
Meet up with members of several other MSBA Sections for socializing at Guilford Hall Brewery at 5:30-7:30 p.m. Plus, get a complimentary professional headshot. Learn about the event here.
DAY AT THE ZOO
March 23, 2024
Join members of the MSBA and their families for a fun-filled day at the Maryland Zoo, the beneficiary of the YLS Charity Event on April 19, 2024. Attendees will receive a special discount on tickets and additional information to make your day at the zoo extra memorable, especially for anyone who also already has a ticket to the Charity Event. More details coming soon — look for information in the MSBA e-Weekly, social media, and the MSBA website
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UPCOMING YLS EVENTS
YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION OPEN MEETING
April 2, 2024
Join members at the University of Baltimore School of Law to learn about disability rights and accommodations. More details coming soon — look for information in the MSBA e-Weekly, social media, and the MSBA website.
YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION 33RD ANNUAL CHARITY EVENT
April 19, 2024
Support the conservation efforts of the Maryland Zoo by attending the YLS Charity Event. You can purchase tickets as well as find sponsorship and silent auction donation information here.
ABA YLD SPRING MEETING
May 15-18, 2024
Members of the MSBA can learn more about what young lawyers sections are doing nationally as they attend social events and CLEs at the ABA YLD Spring Meeting. Contact Chris Jennison at chris.s.jennison@gmail.com to express interest and for more information about receiving an MSBA YLS stipend.
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