The Honorable Ralph D. Gants, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, presented the Keynote Address at the Annual Banquet of the Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court at the Museum of Science on May 17, 2018. Chief Justice Gants has been at the forefront of advancing the rule of law in the Commonwealth by inspiring judges and lawyers to achieve the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring. Among his awards and honors are the 2017 Massachusetts Bar Foundation Great Friend of Justice Award, the 2016 Haskell Cohn Award for Distinguished Judicial Service, the Boston Bar Association Citation of Judicial Excellence, and the Suffolk Law School Public Service Award.

Richard Schmidt, retiring Judicial Case Manager of the Norfolk Probate Court, received the Marie A. Gardin Oracle Award, presented by the Honorable Paula M. Carey, Chief Justice of the Trial Court, in recognition of his many years of outstanding service and dedication to the courts, attorneys, and all they serve.

“We are very pleased to honor Rick Schmidt after so many years of devoted service,” said Patricia Saint James, a partner with the Boston, MA law firm of Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers, P.C., and outgoing president of the Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court.

The Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court, founded in 1998 as a chapter of the American Inns of Court, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary. It is one of the largest Inns of Court in the country, comprised of judges, court administrators and lawyers throughout the Commonwealth. The Inn's mission is to promote professionalism, civility and ethical awareness through discourse and education. The Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court meets regularly throughout the year, as a means of fostering collegiality and providing peer education on topics of importance to the practice of law in the Family and Probate Courts.

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The 2018 Annual Banquet of the Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court was held at the Museum of Science on May 17, 2018. Among the guests, presenters and honorees were (from left to right): Patricia Saint James, Partner Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers, P.C., President of the Massachusetts Probate and Family American Inn of Court; Honorable Paula M. Carey, Chief Justice of the Trial Court; Marie A. Gardin, Assistant Case Manager, Middlesex Probate and Family Court and the 2017 Recipient of the Marie A. Gardin Oracle Award; Richard P. Schmidt, Assistant Case Manager, Norfolk Probate and Family Court, 2018 Recipient of the Marie A. Gardin Oracle Award; Honorable John D. Casey, First Justice of the Norfolk Probate and Family Court; Honorable Ralph D. Gants, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court; Rosemary Purtell, Law Offices of Rosemary Purtell, LLC, President-Elect of the Massachusetts Probate and Family American Inn of Court.