"The best book I've read on Baltimore legal history in years!" - says Judge James F. Schneider - Meet the author of Treasure in the Cellar, Len Augsburger, on Monday, September 29, 2008, at the Museum of Baltimore Legal History in Room 243 of the Mitchell Courthouse.

Coin collectors and enthusiasts have long been familiar with the story of two boys who unearthed a fortune in gold coins in a Baltimore basement in 1934. But the rest of the story trailed off to a few odd details. One of the boys died young, the other ran into trouble with the law. No one seemed to know more. Author Leonard Augsburger was determined to uncover the rest of the story.

Meticulously researched, Treasure in the Cellar delves into the lives of the boys and their families, recreates the hours at the police station after the boys reported what they found, and describes months of courtroom drama as descendents of several former property owners came forward, each claiming the fortune for themselves. It is also the story of famous legal giants of Baltimore and Maryland including Judges Eugene O'Dunne, Simon Sobeloff, Emory H. Niles, Samuel K. Dennis, and Harry O. Levin, counsel to the boys.

Chapter 13 "Nuts & Bolts" Seminar (Greenbelt - October 3 and Baltimore - October 10) - Join the faculty of Judges, Assistant U.S. Trustees, Chapter 13 Trustees , Clerk’s office, and experienced Practitioners for a full day ‘back to the basics’ in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Topics will include:

• Commencing the Case
• How do we get to confirmation?
• Best Practices for filing and managing your cases
• Means testing
• Property of the Estate
• Exemptions
• Claims & Claim

Click here for a registration form.

Amended Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws - The Board of Directors recently approved an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the BBA with respect to the qualifications for membership. Previously, there were only two categories of membership: (a) "Attorney Members" who were admitted to practice before the District Court for the District of Maryland and who concentrated their practice on bankruptcy law, and (b) "Honorary Members" who were voted in. All of the bankruptcy judges in Maryland are Honorary Members. The amendment to the Articles added a third category for "Associate Members." Those Panel Chapter 7 Trustees and Standing Chapter 13 Trustees who are non-attorneys and thus ineligible to be Attorney Members of the BBA are now eligible to become Associate Members while they are serving as Trustees.

There were also a number of significant revisions to the Bylaws since their last revision on November 16, 2000. A copy of the Bylaws may be obtained under the "Bar Info" button above at the links on the pull-down menus.

September 1, 2008

Summer is over (I can hardly believe it) and a new season of BBA events is right around the corner.  Thankfully, our former President Larry Katz left the Association in great shape and I again thank him for his dedication to the Association.   Our Chapter Chairs, Maria Chavez-Ruark and Jennifer Kneeland, and the Assistant Chapter Chairs, Patricia Borenstein and Bret Weiss, have been hard at work putting together a great line-up of events for all members.  The festivities will kick-off with our traditional State of the Court Addresses for both chapters.  Thanks to some outside technical help, I finally got the on-line event RSVP system back up and running and I encourage all members to use this system to help our Chapter Chairs get an accurate count of the attendees for each event.  

One of the changes for this year’s events is that we will be emailing event information for each event (both Baltimore and Greenbelt) to the entire Association.  Although we have two Chapters, members of the Greenbelt Chapter are welcome to attend events held by the Baltimore Chapter and vice versa. 

In addition to the BBA’s great lineup of breakfast, luncheon, and cocktail meetings for the 2008-2009 season, I am informed that MICPEL is planning a consumer seminar on Chapter 13 issues for October 2008.  As soon as I have more details on this seminar – including confirmation of the exact date – I will post that information here.

I hope to see each of you at the September meetings!

Mark A. Neal, President

For information on any of the above-listed events, please contact the appropriate Chapter Chair.

Baltimore Chapter Chair
Maria Ellena Chavez-Ruark
(410) 752-9739

Greenbelt Chapter Chair
Jennifer L. Kneeland
(301) 961-5205

Baltimore Asst. Chapter Chair
Patricia Borenstein
(410) 727-6464

Greenbelt Asst. Chapter Chair
Brett Weiss
(301) 924-4400