The annual National Legal Aid & Defender Association’s conference, Blueprint For Justice: Designing a New Paradigm for Impact, will take place in Arlington, Virginia starting today. Pro Bono Net’s Executive Director, Mark O’Brien, along with Liz Keith, Program Director, and Claudia Johnson, LawHelp Interactive Program Manager, will present on a variety of panels about innovations in civil legal aid.
Fifty years after the launch of the War on Poverty, poverty remains a persistent problem in America, however, innovations in technology have allowed for significant progress in the provision of civil legal aid. With ever-expanding caseloads for full time attorneys and dwindling resources for legal services and courts, Pro Bono Net staff will join speakers from across the country to focus on how these innovations in technology have allowed for broader access to legal assistance.
Pro Bono Net staff are slated to participate in the following panels:
- The Role of Forms and Interviews in Supporting the Work of Lay Advocates – Mark O’Brien, Pro Bono Net; Alex Rabanal, Chicago-Kent College of Law; Glenn Rawdon, Legal Services Corporation
- Innovations in Civil Legal Aid – Sarah Frush, Legal Aid Bureau, Inc; Liz Keith, Pro Bono Net; Jan May, Legal Counsel for the Elderly; Patricia Pap, Management Information Exchange; Alison Paul, Montana Legal Services Association; Jonathan Pyle, Philadelphia Legal Assistance
- Expanding Expungement: Leveraging Technology & Implementing Innovative Strategies – Sharon Dietrich, Community Legal Services; Michael Hollander, Community Legal Services; Liz Keith, Pro Bono Net
- The War on Poverty: Doing It with Modern Tools – Michael Hollander, Community Legal Services; Claudia Johnson, Pro Bono Net; Tanina Rostain, Georgetown Law School ; Gordon Shaw, Community Legal Aid
We hope to see many of our partners and stakeholders at the conference, in panels, and at our PBN Affinity Group Meeting on Thursday from 12-2:00pm!