Following Governor Lamont’s declaration of civil preparedness and public health emergencies, we want to update you on the Connecticut Bar Association’s (CBA) plans for the next several weeks. The safety, health, and well-being of our members, our staff, and the greater community in which we all live and work remain our first priority.

The CBA is taking the following steps in response to COVID-19 (coronavirus):

• The CBA will not host in-person programs, CLE seminars, or meetings beginning Friday, March 13 through June 30. The Connecticut Legal Conference has been postponed to Monday, September 14. A virtual annual meeting will be held on Monday, June 8.

• CLE seminars: All CLE seminars will be held virtually via Zoom meeting, at the discretion of the speakers. If you cannot participate, a recording of the program will be made available to all registrants for free and available in the Education Portal.
  If the speaker does not wish to host the program virtually, you will be issued a refund within ten business days, and the CBA staff will attempt to reschedule the seminar for the fall.

• Section, committee, and task force meetings: All in-person meetings will be held virtually, via telephone conference or Zoom meeting, or canceled. CBA staff will reach out to coordinate details with group leaders.The CBA’s 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Task Force is in communication with Governor Lamont's counsel and the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch.  If you have any questions regarding the pandemic and are not on a section or committee, please send them to COVID19@ctbar.org and we will forward them to the task force. If you are on a section or committee, please forward your concerns to your chair, whose contact information can be found on their corresponding group page. We cannot stress enough that the Judicial Branch and the governor’s counsel are moving as quickly as possible as this crisis develops.  We all need to be patient and understanding and to trust that everyone is working as hard as they can under extraordinarily difficult conditions.
  
  
• FREE webinars and conference calls regarding the legal profession’s response to COVID-19 are being organized. Below are the COVID-19 events that have already been scheduled. More are planned for the upcoming weeks and details will be announced as soon as they are available.
  
  
• All CBA staff are now working from home and the CBA Law Center is closed. Please contact staff by e-mail for assistance.

2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Task Force 

The CBA formed the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Task Force to respond to the growing legal issues and needs in Connecticut arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The task has seven subcommittees to help meet the needs of the state of Connecticut including liaison to the executive and legislative branch, legal aid, the public at large, the legal profession, the financial impact on the legal profession, liaison to the judicial branch and federal courts, and technology.

During this interruption of our services, we encourage members to:

• Provide pro bono service virtually: Answer financially qualifying Connecticut residents’ legal questions with CT Free Legal Answers. Residents can connect with attorneys and receive legal advice on the online portal. Learn more at ctbar.org/freelegalanswers.

• Complete Your MCLE Requirement: Access our award-winning CLE seminars online on the Education Portal, the CBA’s online course catalog of video and audio on-demand seminars. Access the Education Portal at ctbar.org/EducationPortal.