President's Welcome
Welcome to the Berks County Bar Association website. Whether you are a member of the Berks County Bar Association or a member of the community, I believe you will find the content on this site to be very helpful and informative. Included on this site is contact information about lawyers and legal professionals in our local community, lawyer referral services, upcoming 2010 events, seminars and programs and links to a variety of law related organizations.
In 2010, a number of improvements to the website are planned. There are plans to create the capability of registering for seminars and other Bar Association events on line. Locally produced seminars will be taped as podcasts and posted on the website, allowing members to access the seminars whenever it is convenient for them. Handouts provided at the seminars will also be available. The website will be expanded to include listserves so that members can communicate with one another on a variety of topics.
By all accounts, 2009 was a very challenging year. Throughout the year, the Berks County Bar Association, under the direction of 2009 Bar Association President, Howard M. Lightman and first year Executive Director, Donald Smith, was able to carry on with its mission of providing useful services to its members and to the community. The Bar Association sponsored seminars for its members to keep them informed about current trends and changing areas in the law. Attorneys participated in a number of community events, including Wills for First Responders, an event which provided free wills, powers of attorney and living wills to police, firefighters and medical personnel in the City of Reading and our members manned a help desk, as part of Get Help Now Pennsylvania, giving people in our local region an opportunity to talk with professionals regarding economic problems, including mortgage foreclosures. The Young Lawyers Division “Stepping Out” Program, which sends young attorneys to area high schools and the Diversity Committee’s in classroom instruction to grade school students about the Constitution and other topics, underscored the Bar Association’s continuing commitment to staying involved with our community, especially in difficult times.
In early 2010, the Berks County Bar Association will host the Zone II statewide mock trial competition. This competition will bring together over 20 high school teams from all over the state to appear “in court” and argue their positions in front of a “jury” and “judge”. We need attorneys, members of their staff and members of the public, to volunteer to serve as “jurors” for one or two mornings while the competition is going on. Please contact the Bar Association if you would like to participate.
The Lawyer Referral Service is also available through the Bar Association to assist anyone who is in need of an attorney and would like help in finding an attorney who can help with their individual circumstances. Finally, there are always attorneys available to speak at schools or local organizations on a variety of legal topics. For both services, please call the Association at 610-375-4591.
We appreciate your visit to the website. If you have suggestions on how we can improve the site or if you care to comment on existing information. please feel free to contact us. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity of connecting with you.
Charles J. Phillips, Esquire
President
Berks County Bar Association
2010
Contact Information
P.O. Box 1058
Reading, Pennsylvania 19603
Phone: (610) 375-4591
Fax: (610) 373-0256
Email Addresses
Main Address:
berksbar@berksbar.org
Donald F. Smith, Jr., Esq., Executive Director:
smith@berksbar.org
Joi L. Vanstone, Administrative Assistant:
vanstone@berksbar.org
Andrea J. Stamm, Lawyer Referral/Secretary:
stamm@berksbar.org
Karen A. Loeper, Law Journal/Secretary:
loeper@berksbar.org
