Washington County, Vt. Bar Association

12/05/2025

Hello Colleagues!

It's that time of year again. Please RSVP ASAP for our annual WCBA holiday party. It will be a great time to mix and mingle, chat with old friends, and meet new people. We're looking forward to seeing you.

Here are the details:
What: 2025 WCBA Holiday Party. A spread of delicious appetizers and a cash bar.
When: Friday, December 12, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
Where: Hugo’s, 44 Main St, Montpelier, VT, 3rd floor.
Who Can Attend: All attorneys who work or live in Washington County, office staff, and plus ones are invited.
Cost: $30/person payable in advance or at the door.
Additional $15 per attorney for annual membership dues may be paid simultaneously.
Please RSVP by this Friday, December 5, 2025, by mailing the attached form (and a check if paying in advance) to Heather Devine, Tarrant, Gillies, Shems LLP, 44 East State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, or by sending an email containing the RSVP information to Sidney Collier at [email protected]. Please do not reply to this email. It is not monitored regularly. If you RSVP you will attend, we will need you to pay for your attendance even if your plans change since we will be required to pay for you. Checks should be made payable to Washington County Bar Association.
Please feel free to forward this to other Washington County attorneys.
Thank you and hope to see you all there.
Sincerely,
Heather Devine, President
Brian Amones, Treasurer
Sidney Collier, Secretary

02/21/2025

Dear Colleagues,
Please save the date!
Washington County Bar Association
Spring Luncheon Save the Date

Where: Julio’s Cantina, 54 State Street, Montpelier
When: Wednesday, March 19, 2025 from 12:00-1:30 pm
Cost: $30 per person
What: We expect to have a special guest speaker and will offer a 1 hour Wellness CLE credit.
Please mark your calendars to save the date for the Washington County Bar Association’s spring luncheon, with CLE Wellness credit, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 from 12:00-1:30 pm.
More details and RSVP information coming very soon!

01/30/2025

Hi Everyone - Mike Caccavo here. I've been working with a new (for me) document automation program. At my request, they have automated all the Vermont Probate Court Estate forms. The end of February the company is hosting a free online bootcamp for Vermont attorneys to try out their system and the Court forms.

If you are interested here is the information:
Brittany Hernandez (a lawyer and the Head of Legal Innovation at Gavel) is hosting a free, hands-on "Document Automation Bootcamp" for Vermont probate attorneys on February 27th from 3pm - 5pm ET via Zoom. She'll cover how to use and create automated versions of both your standard and custom legal templates to streamline your practice and reduce time wasted on manual, repeated data entry. Attendees will get the chance to get hands-on legal tech experience with a practice Gavel account. Use this link to register if you'd like to join us:

Spend 120 minutes getting practical document automation experience with Gavel's Head of Legal Innovation, Brittany Hernandez, to save 1,000+ hours in 2025!

11/03/2023

2023 Holiday Party !

Hello Colleagues,
Save the Date! Our annual WCBA Holiday Party is back. Please come! It will be a great time to mix and mingle, chat with old friends, and meet new people. Here are the details:
What: 2023 WCBA Holiday Party. A spread of delicious appetizers and a cash bar!
When: Tuesday, December 19, 2023 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
Where: Hugo’s, now at the former Black Door location, 44 Main St, Montpelier, 3rd floor.
Who Can Attend: All attorneys who work or live in Washington County are invited to attend this meeting. You are also welcome to bring a plus one.
Cost: $30/person payable in advance or at the door.
Additional $15 per person for annual membership dues may be paid simultaneously.
Please feel free to forward this to other Washington County attorneys!
Thank you and hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Heather Devine, President WCBA
Brian Amones, Treasurer WCBA
Sidney Collier, Secretary WCBA

08/29/2023

Reminder:
Washington County Bar Association fall meeting featuring Mike Kennedy and his 1 credit Wellness CLE. Here are the details:
What: Mike Kennedy! 1 CLE Wellness credit and Fall Meeting
When: Tuesday, September 12, 2023 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm. Please RSVP before September 5.
Where: Café Noa, 8 Putnam Street, Montpelier. The café is located between Barre Street and the bike path/Stone Cutters Way. There is some parking on Putnam Street (come down the driveway), and additional parking on Stone Cutters Way directly across from the café, and down Barre Street.
Who Can Attend: All Attorneys who work or live in Washington County are invited to attend this meeting.
Cost: The cost of the meal is $30.
We need to provide a final headcount by September 5th so please let us know if you will attend before that date.
Thank you and hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Heather Devine, President WCBA
Brian Amones, Treasurer WCBA
Sidney Collier, Secretary WCBA

04/13/2023

Hello Washington County Bar Attorneys,
We are pleased that, after so much time, the Washington County Bar Association plans to meet in person again! Here are the details:
What: Meet the Judges Luncheon. We have invited and have confirmation from many of the Judges currently sitting in Washington County. Judges Tomasi, Griffin, Harris, and Kilgore have all confirmed their attendance.
When: Thursday, May 4, 2023 from 11:45 am to 1:15 pm. The Meet the Judges portion of the meeting will start at 11:45. After, we will hold an election for President of the Bar Association and conduct other meeting business. Heather Devine with Tarrant, Gillies and Shems has been appointed President and kindly offered to continue to serve. If anyone else is interested in running, please e-mail Sidney at [email protected].
Who Can Attend: All Attorneys who work or live in Washington County are invited to attend this meeting. You do not need to be a Washington County Bar Association member to attend. We want to reorganize and move forward with growing the WCBA so please come. If you know someone that might like to join, please invite them! If you have any questions, or even if you are new and prefer to walk into the meeting with someone, please e-mail Sidney and I would be happy to help.
Cost: The cost of the meal is $25. However, if this is your first time attending a WCBA event (or you are a Judge), you do not have to pay for your luncheon. But we need everyone who plans to attend – even if you are not required to pay - to please complete and mail or e-mail the attached RSVP form to Sidney so we can get a proper headcount. Kindly ensure we receive all RSVPs no later than Thursday, April 20, 2023.
If anyone wants to be removed from this list or knows of someone who should be added to this list, please let Sidney know by e-mailing [email protected] (please do not reply to [email protected].)
Thank you and hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Heather Devine, President WCBA
Brian Amones, Treasurer WCBA
Heidi Groff, Past President WCBA
Sidney Collier, Secretary WCBA

03/22/2023

Been a long time. I hope everyone is doing well.

I ran across this video and thought it might appeal to some members.

A satirical yet insightful video that has gained national attention as a vivid portrayal of the problems inherent in the jury trial system. This video is an ...

12/04/2021

Reminder - Probate Bench-Bar meeting via webex Friday, 12/10/21 at Noon. Contact the court for connection details.

04/08/2021

The courts are going to re-start jury trials !

Vermont Judiciary also preparing for remote civil trials

03/25/2021

Join the ABA.
This was posted on Solosez and I thought I'd share it here. (If you aren't on Solosez - and most of you aren't, you should be!). The ABA has reduced its membership fees, especially for Solos, and has added lots of features. Take a look.
"If you've been enjoying Solosez, and you're not an ABA member, you owe it to yourself (and the ABA) to join. Membership dues have never been lower. See https://www.americanbar.org/membership/dues_eligibility/ The rates strt at nothing for law and non-law students and certain military members, going all the way up to $150 a year for solo and small firm lawyers. If you're temporarily out of the work force, you'll only have to pay $75.

But wait, there's more. Along with your ABA membership comes complimentary membership in the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division and the Law Practice Division. And if you're young enough or old enough (and maybe even both in some cases), you'll get complimentary membership in the Young Lawyers Division and the Senior Lawyers Division.

Want to give another lawyer a hand? Give that lawyer a membership in the ABA. Details are available at https://www.americanbar.org/membership/give-the-gift-of-aba-membership-/ "

Even if the complimentary CLE, discounts, sense of belonging and all that aren't enough, join anyway. It's the right thing to do.

A membership to the American Bar Association makes a perfect gift for the lawyer in your life. Whether you are gifting to a recent graduate, new associate in your firm, or a seasoned practitioner, the ABA offers membership categories that meet the needs of lawyers at all career levels.

03/12/2021

Dear Colleagues,

Please see the attachment from your county bar president regarding our free
virtual CLE scheduled for Tuesday, April 6, 2021, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30
p.m., featuring the always educational and entertaining Michael Kennedy.
For registration purposes, please rsvp to [email protected],
with your name and the e-mail address where you would like us to send you
the link for the meeting. Please put 'WCBA Spring 2021 CLE' in the subject
line.

Thank you very much,

Denise, Brian and Sidney
Your WCBA Board