Maryland State Bar Association Holds 2016 Annual Meeting

An attorney with nearly two decades of experience, J. Christopher “Chris” Llinas oversees a private practice based in Ocean City, Maryland. Over the course of his career, Chris Llinas has been active in several legal organizations, including the Maryland State Bar Association. 

In addition to providing legal resources and overseeing several continuing legal education programs and activities, the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) holds a number of professional development events as part of its efforts to enhance the knowledge and skills of its members. The organization recently held its 2016 annual meeting from June 15th through June 18th at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel in Ocean City. 

The event attracted legal professionals from across the state for four days of educational sessions focused on a variety of topics related to practicing law in the state of Maryland. Outside of the learning activities, the meeting featured several networking events, including receptions, morning yoga, an ice cream social, a fun run, and a tennis tournament. 

Additionally, MSBA’s 2016 annual meeting included an address from Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and an exhibit hall featuring dozens of legal products and services companies. To learn more about the meeting or find out about upcoming MSBA events, visit www.msba.org.

Improving Running Technique

Practicing law in Maryland, J. Christopher “Chris” Llinas handles cases related to construction litigation and family law. Away from his career, Chris Llinas participates in long-distance races and has completed 15 marathons.

When preparing for a marathon, focus on improving running technique to finish the race the way you intend. Speed, for instance, takes stride length and frequency into account. You must find a middle ground between short strides that cover less distance and inefficiently use energy and over-reaching strides that expend more energy, thus making you fatigue faster.

Ideally, a good stride will have you striking the ground with your foot 180 times per minute, according to elite runner Marilyn Arsenault. She goes on to say in an article published by Competitor.com that taking notice of how long your foot stays on the ground will help increase cadence. A foot that stays on the ground longer needs additional force to move it forward.

A good method for developing a perfect stride is to run at 70 percent of your fastest speed. Keeping your arms at a 90-degree angle, swing them back and forth, reaching for different lengths. Evaluate the differences between your strides, based on arm movement, and from there, choose a comfortable stride for training.

Boston Marathon Raises the Bar for Runners in 2016

With more than 17 years of experience in the legal field, J Christopher Llinas owns and operates his criminal & traffic defense, family law, and construction litigation practice in Ocean Pines, Maryland. Outside of his professional responsibilities, J Christopher Llinas enjoys participating in long-distance running events and will compete in the 2016 Boston Marathon.

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon ranks as one of the top achievements to which athletes aspire. Depending on age and gender, runners gain their entrance by besting the average race time for their specific entry group. The Boston Athletic Association recently raised the bar for candidates by announcing that runners must record a time that is two and a half minutes faster than their category to run the 2016 Boston Marathon, versus the previous mark of 62 seconds set in 2015.

On April 18, 2016, the Boston Marathon will celebrate 120 years of racing with thousands of participants hailing from around the world. Given the raised qualifying standards, this year’s race is slated for one of the most competitive in its rich history.

Certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources

Currently in private practice as J. Christopher Llinas, Attorney at Law, Chris Llinas previously served many years as corporate counsel with Royal Plus, Inc., in Snow Hill, Maryland. In 2014, Chris Llinas earned official certification as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR).

Administered by the HR Certification Institute, the SPHR certification is widely recognized as a significant credential for American human resource (HR) management professionals who have mastered the strategic-planning and policy-making aspects of their chosen field. The credential is ideal for the HR worker who focuses on the “big picture” and “plans, rather than implements.”

In order to be eligible for the SPHR program, participants must have one or more of the following: four years of experience in a professional-level HR position with a master's degree or higher, five years of experience in a professional-level HR position with a bachelor's degree, or seven years of experience in a professional-level HR position with a high school diploma. The SPHR test consists of 175 multiple-choice questions and takes approximately three hours to complete.

What to Keep in Mind Regarding the Miranda Rights Warning

Since 2015, J. Christopher (Chris) Llinas has owned a private legal practice in Ocean Pines, Maryland. In his capacity as a criminal defense attorney, J. Christopher (Chris) Llinas endeavors to help people understand and exercise their constitutional rights.

The 1966 decision of United States Supreme Court for Miranda v. Arizona led to what are now known as the Miranda Rights, which comprise the list of facts police must read prior to performing custodial interrogations. Police officers read, or recite, these rights (e.g. to remain silent, to an attorney, etc.) if and only if they place an individual under custody and they intend to use any responses as evidence.

However straightforward the law may seem, certain issues arise when a person does not understand the protocol of a Miranda warning. Citizens should remember that unless placed under custody, law enforcement has no obligation to read the Miranda Rights. Attorneys generally advise that their clients either offer no information in a non-custodial situation or that they exercise their rights by remaining silent and requesting an attorney if and when placed in custody. Different nuances exist from state to state, and individuals should consult a legal professional on these matters.                          

Supporting the Delmarva Education Foundation

A graduate of Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire (now the University of New Hampshire School of Law), Chris Llinas is now an attorney in private practice in Ocean Pines, Maryland. Aside from providing representation through his practice, J. Christopher Llinas, Attorney-at-Law, Chris Llinas provides legal support to local nonprofit organizations such as the Delmarva Education Foundation.

The Delmarva Education Foundation (DEF) provides individuals living in and around Maryland’s lower Delmarva peninsula with assistance when it comes to finding money and scholarship opportunities for college education. In helping financially burdened and underserved students receive the funds necessary for continued education, the organization has established itself as the area’s only not-for-profit college access operation.

Individuals interested in contributing to DEF are invited to visit www.delmarvaed.org. Online donations can be made through PayPal, a safe and secure method of electronic transfers. Alternatively, contributions can be made by mail. For more information on donations and foundation operations, individuals can call 443-235-5915.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Attorney Chris Llinas assists clients through J. Christopher Llinas Attorney-At-Law, his private Ocean Pines, Maryland, practice. In his free time, Chris Llinas reads for entertainment and notes Siddhartha by Herman Hesse as a work he particularly enjoys.

Siddhartha was originally written in German and published in 1922. It did not become popular until after the author’s death. The novel has proven to be highly influential. Siddhartha tells the story of a man in India on a lifelong quest for enlightenment self-understanding.

The novel's main character, Siddhartha, starts life in a wealthy family, but renounces his comfortable existence as a young man to live as a beggar while studying spirituality and meditating. As a middle-aged man, he falls in love with a beautiful woman. He then transforms himself into a successful merchant to impress her and eventually becomes her lover. He feels unfilled, however, by his material lifestyle and eventually abandons business to live humbly by the river in harmony with nature and finally lives at peace with himself.

The main character in Siddhartha questions authority, challenges himself, and never gives up hope on his road to enlightenment. In part because of these themes, the book was popular with many people involved in the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

El Camino de Santiago

Attorney Chris Llinas, a 1997 graduate of the Franklin Pierce Law Center, now the University of New Hampshire School of Law, gained considerable experience in the law as a public defender, an assistant state’s attorney, a solo law practitioner, and corporate counsel before opening his own private practice, J. Christopher Llinas, Attorney at Law, in Ocean Pines, Maryland, in early 2015. An avid athlete and traveler, Chris Llinas plans to walk the final 100 kilometers of the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

In English, “El Camino de Santiago” is “The Way of St. James,” any one of many routes taken by pilgrims to reach the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, reputedly the final resting place of the remains of Jesus’ apostle, St. James the Elder. For many centuries, the Camino de Santiago was one of the three main Christian pilgrimages, along with the pilgrimages to Rome and to Jerusalem. Christians who completed any of these pilgrimages expected to receive spiritual blessings.

Modern pilgrimages are memorialized with a “compostela,” a certificate attesting to the pilgrim’s journey. A “compostela” is granted to all pilgrims who document their walk over the final 100 kilometers, or cycle over the final 200 kilometers, in a “credencial,” a special document similar to a passport, available to pilgrims from a variety of sources. When they stay overnight along the route, eat in a restaurant, or visit a church, museum, or police station along the route, they can have their “credenciales” stamped with each establishment’s unique identifier, called a “cello,” thus documenting their journey.                            

“Whoever Finishes First, We’ll Call Him the Ironman”

Attorney Chris Llinas earned his law degree in 1997 from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the University of New Hampshire School of Law). He recently opened his own practice, J. Christopher Llinas, Attorney at Law, in Ocean Pines, Maryland. An avid athlete who has completed 14 marathons, including two in 2015, Chris Llinas plans to run in the Marine Corps Marathon the week after he competes in Ironman Maryland.

“Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!” This handwritten note accompanied invitations to the very first Ironman competition held in Hawaii in February 1978. The competition, the brainchild of U.S. Navy Commander John Collins and his wife Judy, was intended to answer once and for all who was the toughest athlete: the runner, the swimmer, or the cyclist? Collins and his tablemates at the awards banquet for a local race had gotten into a heated debate over the question, which inspired Collins to combine a marathon with a demanding open-sea swim and a grueling bike race around the island of Oahu. Legend has it that Collins was so enthused by the idea that he jumped onstage at the event, grabbed the microphone, and announced the competition, declaring “Whoever finishes first, we’ll call him the Ironman!”

That first race had 15 competitors, of whom 12 finished. The winner was Gordon Haller, a U.S. Navy communications specialist. It’s said that runner-up John Dunbar, a Navy Seal, had a good shot at winning, but his support team ran out of water during the marathon, and so gave him beer instead.

In the years since, the Ironman triathlon has grown into an event of international proportions, and races are held on six of the seven continents. In addition to the “full” Ironman, many competitions include several events for different age groups, with stages of varying lengths, to encourage athletes of all ages to compete.