Bar Association swears in new officers

The association of the Commonwealth’s top lawyers convened yesterday to officially mark the shift of the organizational leadership to the hands of a woman president, Atty. Ramona V. Manglona.

Ms. Manglona succeeds retired Justice Ramon G. Villagomez as CNMI Bar Association head.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Miguel Demapan performed the oath of office installing the new set of Bar Association officers, led by Ms. Manglona, with Robert T. Torres as vice president.

Also sworn in as officers were Matthew T. Gregory as Secretary, Perry B. Inos as Treasurer.

Michael A. White and Maya B. Kara were also inducted as members of the board of directors.

The brief ceremony held at the Dai-Ichi Hotel took place in the presence of high-ranking CNMI officials led by Governor Pedro P. Tenorio and distinguished Superior, Supreme, and Federal court judges.

In a speech, the new president seized the moment to pay reverence to former Bar Association president and retired justice Villagomez for his significant contributions to the organization.

In a bid to continue Mr. Villagomez’ legacy, Ms. Manglona vowed to keep the association become more involved in more activities, in pursuit of its many goals.

Serving her very first term as president, the lady lawyer said it is her intention to start with simple but effective projects that would enrich the whole organization.

Empowering the group’s disciplinary committee and creating a concrete procedure for judicial nominations are two of her topmost priorities.

At the association’s general membership meeting, the group also appointed respective chairpersons for standing committees to include Lillian A. Tenorio for Admission, Sheila Trianni for Programs, Diane S Cabrera for Courts-Bar, Sean Frink for Disciplinary, Herb Soll for Judicial and Government, Christine Matson for Continuing Legal Education, and Michael A. White for Diversity.

Mr. White was also assigned to represent the group in ABA affairs, while Bruce L. Mailman, Anthony Long, and Lucy Blanco-Maratita were appointed as representatives to the Law Revision, Ninth Circuit Court, and MLSC groups, respectively.

Mr. Mailman has also been designated to represent the association in the Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, the group has also planned for a series of events to celebrate Law Week 2001 to be highlighted by a two-part workshop on Courts and the Media starting April 28.

The Law Week proclamation ceremony has been set for April 30 at the Supreme Court to be spearheaded by the governor.