Jen brings nearly a decade of experience working with families in a variety of settings to her work as a Wills and Trusts attorney.
She views legal documents that are commonly used to help families plan for the future as tools for investing in the relationships, stories, and causes that ultimately create a legacy.
Jen prioritizes a values-based planning process and takes time with each client to educate and counsel them through potentially challenging decisions.
An expert on energy, tax, business regulation, and procurement matters, Rob lobbies for clients in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. As a former Maryland State Senate Majority Leader and State Senator for ten years, Rob understands the inner workings of state government. Prior to becoming a State Senator, he spent close to a decade on Capitol Hill – both as a lobbyist and senior staffer for U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., who is now the Chairman of the Energy & Commerce Committee. In addition, he has experience lobbying in Baltimore City and Frederick County. Rob also lobbies before the Delaware General Assembly, DC City Council, and in the halls of Congress.
A triple threat for Compass, Rob serves as a Principal for Compass Government Relations and Compass Public Relations and as the Managing Member for Compass Law. With nearly 30 years of legislative, lobbying, and advocacy experience at the federal, state, and local levels of government, and over 20 years practicing law in D.C. and MD, Rob plays a leading role in managing the Compass leadership team and nurturing the firm’s enterprise growth and innovation.
Addison connects the dots between government advocacy and communications on behalf of Compass clients. Prior to joining Compass, he served as Communications Specialist for the U.S. Architect of the Capitol, where he coordinated messaging and led outreach initiatives to House Members, staff, and key congressional stakeholders.
As the former Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Delegate Darryl Barnes, Addison led the office’s marketing and strategic communication efforts, serving as a liaison for constituents on all legislative activities.
Addison has also worked with several nonprofits and businesses, providing consulting services in brand identity, graphic design, web development, and multimedia.
It’s here! 988 is officially available nationwide to call or text from anywhere in the country during a mental health crisis. You can learn more about what changes with 988 (and what doesn’t) here: nami.org/988
Our client, NAMI, has been fundamental in the creation of 988. We are so grateful for their continued advocacy for such important issues!
HB 293 (Del. Lewis Young)/SB 241 (Sen. Augustine) – Behavioral Health Crisis Response Services 9-8-8 Trust Fund
Mental health crises and suicides can be devastating for individuals, families, and communities. When someone experiences a mental health crisis and doesn’t receive the care they need, they can end up in emergency rooms, on the streets, involved in the criminal justice system, or in the worst case, they could lose their life. A ‘round the clock crisis hotline can be the first line of defense in preventing these tragedies and an essential part of any continuum of care for mental health crises. HB 293 designates 988 to be the phone number for Maryland’s suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline and establishes a sustainable funding source to support existing behavioral health crisis call centers in Maryland.
This legislation was supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders. It passed and received supporting appropriations of $10 million to help launch the program. Sustainable funding will be the next hurdle to ensuring the success of 9-8-8 in future years.
On April 21, 2022, Governor Hogan signed Senate Bill 36 (Chapter 177) into law. His signature codified the procedure for electronically signing Wills that [-‘had been implemented by Executive Order during the pandemic. This means that Maryland residents can execute their Wills in the comfort of their own homes. Witnesses can be present in the “electronic presence” of the testator/testatrix via Zoom or other video conferencing software. However, to ensure all formalities are followed, the law requires that a supervising attorney be present via video conference and that attorney must certify the electronic signing. The certification will then become a part of the Will.
Have you been putting off drafting your Will? If so, please contact the attorneys at Compass Law Partners to get the process started.
Phishing scams have been on the rise over the past few years. Phishing is the act of sending an email to an individual or business purporting to be a vendor/creditor and notifying of a recent account change. Frequently, the fraudulent emails so closely resemble previous emails from the actual vendor/creditor that it is extremely easy to become a victim. While individuals are also victims of phishing scams, businesses seem to fall prey to these scams at a much higher rate.
If you become the victim of a phishing scam, you should notify your bank immediately upon learning of the scam. Your bank will then notify the bank that received the funds. At times, there may be some funds remaining in the account that will be reimbursed to you. You should also notify the FBI and complete a report. The FBI is dealing with this every day and they will let you know that you are unlikely to recover the funds.
The final step you should take is to set up a consultation with an attorney at Compass Law Partners. During that consultation, you will discuss the options available and the potential of successfully recovering some or all the lost funds. While these types of recovery are difficult, they are not impossible.
Link to article: https://thedailyrecord.com/2022/05/09/hannah-powers-garagiola-3/
Link to list: https://thedailyrecord.com/top-100-women/winners/?fbclid=IwAR2saQzaA3OZC-MaiPE2YRRzq9lSyWu2yYw3JqEwuwhD_pLFQxZ9mzK9lWw
Author: The Daily Record Staff
Why is community service critical to your career and your personal leadership journey?
From the beginning of launching my current venture, I decided giving back was going to be a major part of our firm’s core values. We launched the ‘Compass Cares’ committee of our firm to give back to the community that has been so good to us. It also serves as a team-building opportunity for us as well. In politics, the pinnacle of civic engagement, being involved in the community is an absolute must. We also are very fortunate to represent some very crucial nonprofits that we are pleased to support.
Self-care connects everything in life: career, interactions and one’s personal life. Is this something you are doing well or is this a goal? What are your secrets if you are succeeding and what are your goals if this is a focus area where you want to learn from others?
Our work as a contract lobbyist is very intense for 90 days. We work around the clock and right at the moment things get extremely stressful and you feel like the pressure cooker is about to explode, the legislature is finished for the year. Although we work on procurement and planning for the next session and other government relations services, the craze of running against such a serious deadline is over. We encourage family time, leave, PTO, etc., so that our team all gets an opportunity to recharge.
A Hybrid Session
Maryland’s 90-day legislative session began with a lot of uncertainty due to the continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our presiding officers, Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones worked all interim on health and safety protocols, incredible technology upgrades and some significant tweaks to the legislative process. This session saw historic changes and a divergent approach – the session started virtually and eventually the Senate of Maryland moved to in-person meetings and bill hearings. For the House of Delegates, members of the public were required to use Zoom to testify in bill hearings, attend work sessions, and meet with legislators for all 90 days.
Big Issues Leading Up to Election Season
The Maryland General Assembly had a busy session which included re-drawing and approving redistricting maps, enacting landmark greenhouse gas emissions goals, passing a ballot initiative that will ask voters if they support recreational cannabis, creating a program and framework to give all Marylanders access to twelve weeks of paid family leave, enacted tax relief for retirees, and provided record funding for education.
With 3,114 bills introduced over the course of the session, it was a busy final year before election season. Governor Larry Hogan is term limited and cannot run again, but tough primary fights are shaping up for both the Democratic and Republican contenders. The Maryland General Assembly is up for election too, and between retirements and redistricting, we anticipate some significant turnover in both chambers.
This session, Compass monitored the state operating and capital budgets and worked with the Maryland Alliance to introduce legislation to protect club access to critical federal background check legislation and weighed in on the future of cannabis funding.
The Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 1; legislation that will let voters choose whether recreational, adult use cannabis becomes legal in Maryland. The measure to approve recreational cannabis is expected to be overwhelmingly supported by voters in November 2022.
This year (as in past years) Compass’ clients have worked with sponsors in both chambers to advance language that would open up funding from cannabis sales tax revenues to youth development organizations. Although some clients do not take a position on the question of recreational cannabis, it’s important to advocate for sustainable funding sources where they exist. The Senate adopted our recommended language, but the House adopted and passed broader funding language in House Bill 837 that creates a Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund. The Fund will receive at least 30% of all adult use, or recreational cannabis sales tax revenue and a portion of licensing fees. The fund will be apportioned based on cannabis policing and counties will have authority over how to reinvest their proceeds from the fund in community programming. The enormous racial disparities in criminal enforcement of cannabis were a clear factor to adopt broader community reinvestment language, and there will absolutely be opportunities for clubs to apply. Compass anticipates additional regulations and future legislation on recreational cannabis and how it is taxed and regulated in Maryland.
With all the hype surrounding all of the twos last month, it made me think about the terrible twos and those of us with minor children.
No matter what stage our children are in, parents know their needs better than anyone else. As parents, we should be the ones to decide how to best meet those needs, whether we’re here to take care of our children ourselves or not. If you and the other parent of a child die, it is imperative to have a Will where you decide who will serve as the guardian of your minor child(ren). Without it, a court will decide who is “best suited” to care for them.
Not only could this take a very long time and become very expensive, but it could easily create enemies among your living family members (who may feel they are better suited than the others to care for your children). Your children need you to make that choice for them the same way they need you to help them through those terrible twos, pick them up from soccer practice, and teach them why the music of your generation is better than theirs. The best way to do so is to create a Last Will and Testament.
The attorneys at Compass Law Partners can help you through this process to make sure your children are in the best hands in the event you aren’t able to be with them in their formative years.