Jennifer Archer has been designated and appointed as the Chair of the Civil Process Improvement Stakeholders Working Group by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The Civil Process Improvement Stakeholders Working Group was created by Judicial Branch Charter to provide the Supreme Judicial Court with additional input from the Maine Bar regarding a working draft of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure which was initial prepared and posted for public comment on September 5, 2018. As provided in the Judicial Branch Charter, the Working Group will consider and evaluate the suggestions and comments submitted to the Supreme Judicial Court for improving the draft and will address further proposals for improvement. The Working Group will provide a final report to the Supreme Judicial Court in 2019, including proposed amendments to the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure that reflect the unified recommendations of the Maine Bar to accomplish civil process reform.

KRZ Paralegal Susan Bowyer (far right in photo) recently attended a Bicycle Coalition of Maine Community Spokes Training in Brunswick, Maine where she honed her bicycle and pedestrian advocacy skills and learned how to perform a walk audit.  Susan is part of KRZ’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Law Practice and provides medical and other paralegal support to clients across the State of Maine who have been injured in traffic crashes.  Not only does Susan understand the special needs of injured cyclists and pedestrians, but she, like others within our practice, knows the important difference between a bicycle accident and a bicycle crash.   We are proud to have Susan as part of our team!

Attorney Lauri Boxer-Macomber, who leads KRZ’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Law Practice, writes about World Day of Remembrance here.  The annual event marks a time to memorialize the many millions of people killed or injured in traffic crashes.  It is also an opportunity to pay tribute to emergency crews, police and medical professionals who routinely face, and are impacted by, the traumatic aftermath of road death and injury. Lauri and other members of KRZ’s bicycle and pedestrian law team are committed to working towards zero traffic deaths and injuries on Maine’s roadways.

Three KRZ attorneys — Jennifer Archer, Emily Atkins, and Lauri Boxer-Macomber — were recognized by the 2018 Katahdin Counsel for providing legal services without fee or expectation of fee to persons of limited means and to charitable, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in legal cases and other matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means.

The Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program was created by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to focus the public’s attention on the critical role that pro bono publico plays in maintaining a vibrant civil justice system. The State of Maine Judicial Branch states the purpose of the Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program as twofold: “First, to establish an annual process for recognizing and honoring the pro bono work of Maine’s lawyers. Second, to encourage more lawyers to provide such services for Maine’s low-income residents to help to meet their growing unmet legal needs.”

This fall, Attorney Lauri Boxer-Macomber was invited to become a Maine Bar Fellow.  Other lifetime and current fellows from Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman include Attorneys Jennifer Archer, John Kelly, Tim Norton and U. Charles Remmel.  The Bar Fellows is an honorary organization of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars who have been elected by their peers.  Bar Fellows have demonstrated outstanding achievements and dedication to the welfare of their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession.  Maine’s  Bar Fellows Program is modeled after the American Bar Association Fellows Program and formally recognizes Maine Bar members who through their professional activities promote the provision of legal services to the poor, support legal education and scholarships, and engage in activities designed to enhance the legal profession’s ability to serve the public throughout Maine.

Attorney Emily Atkins recently joined the Maine Women’s Fund Grant Committee.  For nearly three decades, the Maine Women’s Fund has been creating social change by investing in the power of women and girls. In 28 years of grantmaking for and by women and girls, it has given away millions of dollars, hundreds of grants and supported over 200 different organizations.  Emily is excited to be part of this effort, as well as to be part of the planning committee for the 2019 Maine Women’s Fund Leadership Luncheon.

Maritime attorneys Terry Duddy and Stephen Koerting obtained a Discovery Order in the United States District Court for the District of Maine in an admiralty lawsuit requiring the Defendant employer and boat owner to produce in discovery the recorded statement of a witness taken by a representative for Defendant’s insurer shortly after the injury in question.  The Court determined that the Defendant failed to demonstrate that the insurance company’s efforts to obtain the statement were in anticipation of litigation and trial, as distinguished from the company’s regular business practice. Under the federal rules and federal court case law, the Court ordered the Defendant to produce the statement to the Plaintiff in discovery under the facts of the case.

This week, KRZ Attorney Lauri Boxer-Macomber joined Rainbow Bicycle, the Maine Cycling Club, local law enforcement officers and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine at Gipper’s in Auburn for an evening focused on Maine bicycling laws.  Lauri presented on proactive measures that bicyclists can take to protect themselves before a crash occurs, as well as on what to do in the event of a crash.  She also spoke on why bicycle crashes should not be referred to as bicycle accidents and the importance of comprehensive and accurate bicycle crash reporting in Maine.

Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman was included in the “Best of Portland 2018” Profile Series for KRZ’s legal representation in the fishing industry. The Best of Portland series profiles local businesses “discovered, reviewed and loved in 2018” and is printed in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Today. KRZ’s maritime & admiralty attorneys, Chuck Remmel, R. Terrance Duddy and Stephen Koerting, were profiled for their decades of legal experience pursuing legal matters within admiralty & maritime law. The Best of Portland 2018 Profile Series can found here and here.

KRZ’s Attorney Lauri Boxer-Macomber obtained a favorable jury verdict of several hundred thousand dollars for a client who suffered soft tissue injuries in a motor vehicle crash in Penobscot County. The crash was caused by a motor vehicle operator who was operating at a speed that was not reasonable or prudent for the time, place and circumstances.