The Voice of the Legal Profession

MSBA as advocate

As the voice of Maryland’s attorneys, the MSBA increased its advocacy efforts in the last decade as well.

In recent years, this included filing amicus curiae briefs, meeting with executive branch officials, and testifying before state legislative committees.

In 2019, the MSBA launched a new Advocacy homepage, providing members with a one-stop resource for MSBA’s Legislative Action Center, the State Legislative Program, and more. Powered by TrackBill, the MSBA Legislative Action Center keeps members apprised of bills the MSBA supports, opposes, or simply monitors throughout the legislative session. 

The MSBA also helped to kick off the 2019 Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly as presenting sponsor of the 2019 Eye on Annapolis Summit, presented by The Daily Record. MSBA President Judge Keith R. Truffer set the stage for a line-up that included Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Senate President Mike Miller, and House Speaker Michael Busch in a conversation that addressed some of the most prominent legislative issues facing the state of Maryland. The MSBA was a presenting sponsor for the event in the years that followed as well. 

The MSBA held its first Lobby Day in 2020, allowing members to help advance the MSBA’s legislative priorities by meeting virtually with legislators, hear from MSBA leadership, staff, and legislators on key issues impacting the legal profession and Marylanders’ access to justice. Later in the year, the MSBA earned national recognition from the American Society of Association Executives for its efforts to defeat taxation of legal services. 

In 2021, the MSBA took the extraordinary action of filing amicus curiae briefs in two cases considered by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, Chavis v. Blibaum Associates, P.A., and Delegall et al. v. Nagle & Zaller, P.C., et al. Although the MSBA rarely takes positions in active controversies, it did so in these matters, not to advocate for either side, but to fight to protect core tenets of the attorney-client relationship.