Supreme Judicial Court Reappoints Member to
Advisory Committee on Ethical Opinions for Clerks of the Courts;
Two Attorneys Reappointed to Board of Directors of
Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation
The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court recently announced the reappointment of Essex County Juvenile Court Judge Michael F. Edgerton to the Advisory Committee on Ethical Opinions for Clerks of the Courts, pursuant to SJC Rule 3:14. His term will expire on May 1, 2011.
The Justices also reappointed Attorney Robert B. Foster of Natick and Attorney Richard C. Van Nostrand of Northborough to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC), in accordance with G.L. 221A, §3. Their terms will expire on April 1, 2011.
Created in 1990, the Advisory Committee on Ethical Opinions for Clerks of the Courts renders opinions to Clerks, Registers, and their assistants and individuals nominated to be clerks who seek advice “with respect to the interpretation of rules of court relating to the ethical and professional conduct of Clerk-Magistrates,” ie. the Code of Professional Responsibility for Clerks of the Courts.
Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1996, Judge Edgerton served in the Administrative Office of the Trial Court for seventeen years, first as Legal Counsel, then as General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department. He was also Special Assistant Attorney General from 1994 to 1996. From 1976 to 1978, he was Executive Secretary to the Chief Justice of the Probate and Family Court. After graduating from law school, he was a sole practitioner in Salem for three years. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation from 1983 to 1996, and was treasurer, vice-chairman, and chairman of the board. He has served on numerous court committees and has participated in a variety of trial practice and educational programs. Judge Edgerton teaches on the adjunct faculty of the Massachusetts School of Law. He received a J.D degree and an L.L.M. degree from Suffolk University Law School and a B.A. from St. Michael’s College.
Established in 1983, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation provides financial support to legal assistance programs for persons involved in civil legal matters who cannot afford legal representation.
Attorney Robert B. Foster, who was reappointed to the seat designated for the Boston Bar Association, has been an attorney in the Boston law firm of Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster since 1993. Mr. Foster is a member of the American Bar Association and Boston Bar Association, where he was co-chair of the Section on the Delivery of Legal Services and the Real Estate Section. He worked as a law clerk to then SJC Justice Herbert P. Wilkins in 1992. He has also served on the Planning Board of the Town of Natick since 2001. Mr. Foster received his B.A. degree from Haverford College and his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
Attorney Richard C. Van Nostrand, who was reappointed to a seat designated for unpaid directors of qualified legal services programs, is a partner in the Worcester office of the law firm of Mirick O’Connell. He began his legal career in 1980 with a small Westborough law firm before joining Mirick O’Connell in 1984. Mr. Van Nostrand is a Massachusetts delegate to the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and a fellow of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation. He is a member and former president of the Worcester County Bar Foundation, the Worcester County Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the New England Bar Association. He formerly served as a trustee of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. Mr. Van Nostrand has been active in the United Way of Central Massachusetts, having served on the Board of Directors for eight years, and the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts, where he was on the Board of Directors for five years. Mr. Van Nostrand holds a B.A. degree from Binghamton University and a J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law.
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