Welcome to the 2024 NLADA Annual Conference! We are so excited to host you in Atlanta this year.
Session materials are available in the Learning Lab, where you can also claim CLE credit and provide session feedback. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to learninglab@nlada.org.
NLADA’s Train the Trainer program is designed for both experienced and aspiring training professionals to equip them with the tools necessary to design, develop and implement impactful training programs in their organizations. The program covers the fundamentals of utilizing adult learning principles, developing learning objectives, facilitating large and small groups, engaging in meaningful feedback processes, and producing insightful assessments and evaluations. Grounded in the spirit of a growth mindset, participants will gain confidence in handling uncomfortable situations that may arise during trainings and build capacity for recognizing and integrating principles of equity and inclusion.
The MIE New Executive Director Training offers new legal aid program leadership support and guidance in addressing today’s management challenges. With an agenda that touches topics such as the role of the director, leadership, communications, trust, culture change, race equity work, and financial management; participants have the opportunity to engage with peers, hear from experienced leaders, and think intentionally about the many diverse demands on a director’s time and attention. The training also provides space to workshop specific issues pressing for event attendees, learning from colleagues facing similar challenges. Attendees will leave the training with a new array of skills and perspectives, as well as a strong network of new executive directors who will continue to offer support in the future.
Tuesday November 12, 2024 8:00am - 5:30pm EST
Georgia 2, 3
NLADA’s Train the Trainer program is designed for both experienced and aspiring training professionals to equip them with the tools necessary to design, develop and implement impactful training programs in their organizations. The program covers the fundamentals of utilizing adult learning principles, developing learning objectives, facilitating large and small groups, engaging in meaningful feedback processes, and producing insightful assessments and evaluations. Grounded in the spirit of a growth mindset, participants will gain confidence in handling uncomfortable situations that may arise during trainings and build capacity for recognizing and integrating principles of equity and inclusion.
The MIE New Executive Director Training offers new legal aid program leadership support and guidance in addressing today’s management challenges. With an agenda that touches topics such as the role of the director, leadership, communications, trust, culture change, race equity work, and financial management; participants have the opportunity to engage with peers, hear from experienced leaders, and think intentionally about the many diverse demands on a director’s time and attention. The training also provides space to workshop specific issues pressing for event attendees, learning from colleagues facing similar challenges. Attendees will leave the training with a new array of skills and perspectives, as well as a strong network of new executive directors who will continue to offer support in the future.
Wednesday November 13, 2024 8:00am - 5:00pm EST
Georgia 2, 3
NLADA’s Train the Trainer program is designed for both experienced and aspiring training professionals to equip them with the tools necessary to design, develop and implement impactful training programs in their organizations. The program covers the fundamentals of utilizing adult learning principles, developing learning objectives, facilitating large and small groups, engaging in meaningful feedback processes, and producing insightful assessments and evaluations. Grounded in the spirit of a growth mindset, participants will gain confidence in handling uncomfortable situations that may arise during trainings and build capacity for recognizing and integrating principles of equity and inclusion.
Participants will engage in exercises designed to promote their capacity to imagine, foster and support community collaboration to advance equal justice on the ground. Come out and engage in a reimagining of community-based leadership development. This two-part workshop will center incorporate the Leadership Practices Inventory.
Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:00am - 1:00pm EST
Atlanta 1, 2, 3
Stop by this year’s Exhibit Hall to meet and network with this year’s exhibitors. It will be open from 3 PM -5 PM and don’t forget to stop by each booth for to get their “autographs” for your exhibit hall game page in your program book. Then drop off your completed sheet at NLADA’s Membership booth to be entered into raffles throughout the conference. Winners will be texted and must be present to win.
Participants will engage in exercises designed to promote their capacity to imagine, foster and support community collaboration to advance equal justice on the ground. Come out and engage in a reimagining of community-based leadership development. This two-part workshop will center incorporate the Leadership Practices Inventory.
Wednesday November 13, 2024 3:30pm - 5:00pm EST
Atlanta 1, 2, 3
Stop by this year’s Exhibit Hall to meet and network with this year’s exhibitors. It will be open from 7:30 AM -5PM and don’t forget to stop by each booth for to get their “autographs” for your exhibit hall game page in your program book. Then drop off your completed sheet at NLADA’s Membership booth to be entered into raffles throughout the conference. Winners will be texted and must be present to win.
Stop by for refreshments and special showcase only raffles throughout the exhibit hall. The Exhibitor Showcase is sponsored by NLADA Mutual Insurance Co, a Risk Retention Group.
This session calls upon the legal aid community to shift language justice from the margins of our work to the center, inspired by a line from Black feminist author bell hooks. We will explore how to prioritize the experiences of people who are directly impacted by oppression based on language by weaving language justice principles into our organizations, including updating our language justice plans with an equity lens, supporting our multilingual staff, collaborating with skilled interpreters and translators, facilitating inclusive multilingual spaces, community education, and making language rights a priority in our systemic advocacy. We will touch on how a language justice approach intersects with trauma-informed lawyering and collaborations with a wide range of multilingual partners, through which we work together across language barriers toward a shared vision of justice.
OAA Title III funds for providing legal services to seniors come with unique programmatic requirements. Every grantee must conduct community education sessions, and structured outreach activities in addition to the direct representation they provide clients. When COVID struck, we struggled not only with how to represent seniors in isolation, but with how to satisfy our education and outreach obligations. We developed a weekly Zoom meeting protocol, in which we discussed legal developments and our service provision innovations. We updated our legal workers on COVID related employment issues, the housing moratorium, as well as newly relevant technical issues, such as virtual notarization of documents, and then presented on these issues at the weekly meetings. As COVID progressed and then waned, the meetings became a forum for encouraging inter-office cooperation and collaboration, promoting the diverse expertise of our members. We changed our meeting schedule to every two weeks, and then to the current schedule of once a month. The federal Aministration for Community Living (ACL) encouraged grantees to center its senior outreach around equitable principles, and we began discussing those as a team, and then implementing them as we progressed. This commitment and conversation was further developed when we sponsored the first firmwide in-person training meeting after COVID, featuring an interactive race equity exercise throughout extensive substantive and practical trainings. Our alignment-by-necessity of these deliverables, along with development our top/down effort to streamline these commitments has created a legal practice team which delivers impact work, strong support for individual representation, as well as critical policy work. Our mission and firm values are reflected in our progress toward equity-centered work. Our firm principles have become action points, and this has resulted in a rich work product created from existing firm resources.
We will discuss how NYLAG’s LegalHealth medical-legal partnership (MLP) improves the legal and health outcomes for NYC’s immigrant communities, including many recent arrivals. As the nation’s largest and one of the longest-standing medical-legal partnerships, we have historically rallied around immigrants who are forced to deal with complex legal and health issues. Through our extensive partnerships with various public safety net hospitals, private hospitals and outpatient community clinics, we unite legal care and health care, so the patient relies on one interdisciplinary team to collectively address their legal and health needs. Through LegalHealth’s MLP model, our attorneys and paralegals provide culturally competent and trauma-informed wrap around legal services for patients across a wide range of civil legal issues.
Our panel will highlight our successful pro bono clinics we have built over the past year to enhance outcomes for immigrants with cancer. Specifically, 96 immigrants with cancer and their families have received comprehensive pro bono assistance to legally extend the period of their authorized stay of their tourist visas due to medical necessity and were able to retain control of their decision making, should their illness progress, by assisting in the completion of advance directives. The need is significant and by collaborating with the private bar we have served more immigrant clients and removed social and economic barriers that traditionally have made it challenging for immigrant patients to receive these essential services.
Finally, we will share qualitative data from recent years, client narratives and case examples to illustrate how our medical-legal partnership model has positively impacted the legal and health outcomes for immigrant patients. We hope LegalHealth’s models for a medical-legal partnership and pro-bono firm collaboration can inspire public health and legal programming for people in different states with similar needs, heighten interest in multidisciplinary information exchange between healthcare and legal systems, and renew commitment to health and racial justice and a healthier society for all.
People with disabilities and Deaf people are arrested and incarcerated at vastly higher rates than people without disabilities. In fact, the majority of people behind bars have at least one disability. Although psychiatric disabilities (mental illnesses) are often centered in discussions about mass incarceration and criminal legal reforms, other types of disabilities – such as sensory, cognitive, and physical disabilities - have been overlooked.
In this interactive session, Kaitlin Kall of Activating Change will provide context to the mass incarceration of Deaf people and people with disabilities, highlighting key societal and system-based drivers of these disparities. With attendees, she will unpack some of the logistical and attitudinal barriers these communities face when they interact with the criminal legal system; challenges attorneys face in identifying and securing accommodations; and adjustments attorneys can make to better support and communicate with Deaf clients and those with disabilities. This session will conclude with some practical tools and strategies for enhancing the representation of clients who have disabilities and those who are Deaf.
Hi, I’m Kaitlin! I am a Project Director at Activating Change, a national nonprofit that works towards ending the criminalization, incarceration, and victimization of people with disabilities and Deaf people. Although I am not a lawyer, I have worked in criminal legal reform for... Read More →
Thursday November 14, 2024 2:30pm - 3:45pm EST
Georgia 11, 12
Data is often weaponized against our clients to promote dangerous stereotypes and fear-mongering, resulting in harmful outcomes for the communities we serve. In this presentation, representatives from New York County Defender Services’ Racial Justice Working Group will present ways in which PD offices can use internal and external data to reshape narratives around individuals accused of crimes and strengthen advocacy in litigation, mitigation, legislation, and public education in a race-conscious way.
We will explore how civil legal aid and law students can collaborate with Tribes to enhance access to justice within tribal court systems. Tribal courts face unique hurdles, including jurisdictional complexities, resource limitations, and cultural barriers. This session will delve into these challenges, highlighting how Skagit Legal Aid, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and the Native American Law Student Association at Seattle University Law School created educational pathways, mentorship programs, and collaborative initiatives designed to prepare and support new attorneys dedicated to practice in tribal communities.
Topics to be addressed in this presentation include: --How legal services providers can effectively build capacity in rural communities; --How the unique needs of rural communities can shape and direct legal advocacy and education efforts; --How to engage in cross-collaborative community education; and --How to scaffold translating legal advocacy into community self-advocacy.
The United States Justice Gap has reached an unprecedented 92%, steadily increasing over the past decade. With this alarming trend in the US, the urgency for innovative solutions has never been more critical. When legal aid organizations band together as a cohort to pilot a new project, the impact reaches even further. Alaska Legal Services successfully applied for LSC’s Disaster Relief funding on behalf of five tribally serving legal aids to support 12 new Community Justice Worker (CJW) paid positions. Join our workshop to learn directly from our cohort leadership team about the transformative impact as well as some challenges of expanding the 'Alaska Model'. Hear firsthand accounts from CJWs on the front lines, sharing their experiences and successes in delivering vital legal services in underserved communities. Discover how this collaborative effort is reshaping access to justice nationwide.
Program participants will be able to identify ethical and security risks concerning use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their law practice. The session will explore the fundamentals of GPT technology and demonstrate step-by-step how easy it is for attorneys to build and customize their own GPTs tailored to their specific legal needs.
Systemic advocacy is a crucial tool in the legal aid toolbox that can leverage the experience of our direct services attorneys, expand the impact of our advocacy, and effect meaningful social change across our client community. However, systemic work in legal aid is often challenging and requires a departure from standard structures, including service delivery models, organizational structure, and funding limitations. This panel will leverage the experience of advocates around the country to address the thorny challenges that arise in systemic advocacy. The experienced panelists will share challenges and strategies and will facilitate break out discussions on various systemic advocacy topics including strategic use of communications, co-counseling with pro bono partners, and incorporating systemic advocacy into the legal aid model. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to sign up for a systemic advocacy listserv to continue sharing knowledge after the conference.
This presentation is focused on our Kinship Care Project to provide kinship care legal services for DV and other families in crisis. By keeping children of DV survivors out of the state foster care system, we ensure lessened trauma and more stabilities for families affected by family violence and other critical situations that lower-income families face. We represent grandparents, relatives, and fictive kin to care for children during a family crisis.
In this workshop, participants will explore the innovative adaptations and transformative impacts of the Holistic Defense Model at the City of Atlanta Public Defenders Office in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic. The workshop will highlight how the office has united its legal and social services teams, ignited new strategies for client support, and fought against systemic barriers to achieve significant outcomes. Through case studies and real-world examples, attendees will gain insights into pioneering approaches that have reshaped the delivery of holistic services and enhanced client outcomes in Atlanta.
As people who have chosen to lend their hearts and minds to the cause of public defense, we often see ourselves as our clients' most vital and fiercest champion. But when it comes to the daily life of practice, all too often the scope and urgency of our clients' needs can prove overwhelming, especially in an under-resourced and over-extended work environment. We want to do more, but it feels like we are forever doing more with less. This session will focus on how re-aligning our work through a client-led lens can open up new, adaptable, and innovative ways of fighting for our clients’ needs both inside and outside the courtroom. We will outline a theory of collaborative defense, illustrating what successful interdisciplinary practice can look like, and showcasing some immediate things offices can do to strengthen their ability to operate as a client-led collaborative defender. We will conclude with a vision of what this new framework can do to expand how public defenders are valued and defined by both their governments and communities. We know we need to be doing more---so how can we start doing it and increase the support we get to grow?
County jails and state prisons across the country charge individuals serving time the supposed costs of incarceration. The laws authorizing these practices, referred to as “pay-to-stay,” have been subjected to little scrutiny by the courts and the public. But pay-to-stay fees threaten to entrap those subjected to the criminal system in substantial debt they will never be able to pay off. More advocacy around this issue is needed to elevate the stories of those who have been impacted and turn the tide of public opinion against these practices. Because legal aid attorneys and public defenders are often in the best position to encounter these fees—as part of sentencing or a civil collection action—they play a crucial role in challenging the practices surrounding their imposition and collection.
This session will focus on combatting pay-to-stay fees through affirmative litigation and challenging such fees when they are imposed as part of a criminal sentence. Using examples of litigation filed in Connecticut and Iowa, the panelists will discuss the litigation strategies that have been used to challenge the collection of fees. As pay-to-stay is often imposed as part of a criminal sentence, the panelists will also discuss potential defenses to its imposition, most notably the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, which is an under-utilized tool for combatting such fines. There will also be a discussion on the real harms caused by pay-to-stay, which will approach the topic from a litigation standpoint and may also discuss academic perspectives, depending on the availability of panelists
Public defenders, Legal Aid lawyers and pro bono attorneys have long faced the reality of trying to help clients with a legal problem while the client also struggles to secure housing, food, clothing, transportation, medical care and other necessities. Advocates are acutely aware that these life challenges often create barriers to effective legal representation. Nonetheless, Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(e) in most jurisdictions prohibits attorneys from providing financial assistance to clients in connection with pending or contemplated litigation. In 2020, the ABA adopted a new model rule 1.8(e), also known as “the humanitarian exception,” allowing public interest lawyers to provide such assistance in certain circumstances and a few states have followed suit. This session will discuss Rule 1.8(e), its application in the context of legal aid and public defender work, and the benefits and challenges related to implementing the humanitarian exception.
Shannon Lucas (she/her) is the Director of Advocacy for the Michigan Advocacy Program. As Director of Advocacy, Shannon works with MAP’s six LSC funded field offices to ensure quality representation, develop office work plans, and impact litigation projects. Shannon also manages... Read More →
Staff working in public interest settings, including civil legal service and public defender organizations, are significantly impacted by the tolls of this work. Burnout and vicarious trauma impact their ability to zealously represent the clients they serve. Typically, conversations revolve around the concept of "self-care," which often does not provide individuals with enough support to navigate these challenges. This presentation will not only explore the unique challenges that the staff of these organizations face but also provide skills and strategies to sustain public interest legal staff while doing this critical work.
This past year, attorneys from the Science and Surveillance Project and Civil Justice Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services began collaborating to tackle what we identified as a major uptick in prolonged phone seizures by law enforcement and prosecutors. With the increasing ease of accessing and extracting data from phones, criminal defendants face significant privacy risks that extend beyond the immediate inconvenience of losing their cell phones. These risks include potential use of data for prosecution, as well as more insidious threats such as the use of information in databases, AI, and predictive policing systems. Drawing on our experience from the Science and Surveillance Project and the Civil Justice Practice, we will share effective tactics and collaborative approaches to fortify protections for our clients' digital privacy. Our goal is to illuminate these risks for fellow public defenders and demonstrate that there are numerous avenues to challenge the seizure and retention of clients' data.
This interactive session will include reports on developments related to state/territorial legislative funding initiatives aimed at increasing resources for civil legal aid. Updates will be provided on the ABA's data collection process to support funding efforts and on potential federal funding that might be available at the state/territorial or local advocacy levels. Participants will be able to share developments in their states/territories in a roundtable format and learn from others about what has worked, and what has not worked, in raising state/territorial legislative funding and accessing potential federal funding.
Stop by this year’s Exhibit Hall to meet and network with this year’s exhibitors. It will be open from 7:30 AM -5 PM and don’t forget to stop by each booth for to get their “autographs” for your exhibit hall game page in your program book. Then drop off your completed sheet at NLADA’s Membership booth to be entered into raffles throughout the conference. Winners will be texted and must be present to win.
This session will address the rights of people with disabilities to access the courts and the inadequacies of established procedures to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals who need them in order to be able to fully participate in court proceedings. Two states, Washington and Illinois, have created a clear process to receive and process requests for reasonable accommodations that have provided clarity to both people who request accommodations as well as to court staff. The presenters will discuss both the established processes in Washington and Illinois in addition to their efforts at Cleveland Legal Aid to develop a similar procedure in Ohio through the creation of proposed statewide rules and advocacy, the drafting of uniform documents that can be used to request reasonable accommodations, and the development of systemic litigation efforts to force change. The session will also address the difficulties that people with disabilities face with respect to accessing the court system and requesting accommodations.
Three years into a first of its kind service project dedicated to removing the barriers associated with criminal records of the state of California’s veteran population, we will discuss, what has gone right and lessons learned in our continued efforts to merge race equity goals with the provision of legal services through pro bono support. This workshop will cover the nations first legal services project dedicated to Veterans of Color and discuss the ways we collaborate with Pro Bono Attorney’s and students to provide compassionate services to our nation’s forgotten heroes.
Gun violence has plagued urban areas across the U.S. for generations, disproportionately affecting Black and Brown, low-income communities, the direct result of systemic racism leading to the complete disinvestment in those neighborhoods currently devastated by daily shootings. Recent investments in gun violence prevention and intervention by the Biden Administration have made new funding available for gun violence prevention and intervention. Presenters will discuss the most common civil legal needs of gun violence survivors (of non-fatal shootings and homicides), funding available to support those services, research that supports that such services can contribute to reducing gun violence, and critical partnerships to reach this very underserved and vulnerable population. Other topics include: this work as a critical component of criminal justice reform; partnering with indigent defense organizations; the potential for federal civil rights litigation/systemic advocacy; and federal regulatory changes re: victims' compensation.
To date, 24 jurisdictions have enacted a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, but there has been virtually no attempt to litigate the constitutional right to counsel for such cases. While the Supreme Court has been hostile to the right to counsel in civil cases, the state courts have been more receptive under their state constitutions. Come learn about the history and landscape of such litigation, as well as whether it's the right time for a landmark case to be filed!
The criminal legal system continues to facilitate pro-government juries that contradict the essential component of the Sixth Amendment--a fair cross section of the community. This presentation will model how to educate communities about the importance of jury service, the impact of diverse juries, and the power of jury nullification.
The presentation will begin by exploring the historical and contemporary contexts of tribal sovereignty, emphasizing the unique legal and cultural landscapes that shape tribal communities and their justice systems. Understanding this background is essential for fostering meaningful and respectful partnerships.
The presentation will highlight the multifaceted importance of partnerships between tribal communities and organizations that serve tribal members. These partnerships can bridge gaps in resources, knowledge, and infrastructure, ensuring that tribal members have better access to justice, healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. By working together, tribal communities and their partners can develop sustainable solutions that are culturally relevant and tailored to the specific needs of each community. In some tribal justice systems, a public defender or civil legal aid attorney are not always guaranteed. Tribal members may be unfamiliar with the law and how to navigate the justice system pro se. Native Americans in urban settings may be geographically distant from their community, and building sustainable partnerships can help connect them to resources and services that are accessible through their community.
The presentation will feature several case studies and success stories that illustrate the tangible benefits of effective partnerships. These examples will showcase collaborative initiatives that have led to improved legal services, enhanced community health, economic development, and the preservation of cultural heritage. Through these stories, participants will gain insights into the practical aspects of building and maintaining successful partnerships with tribal communities.
This session will discuss best practices in designing training programs for community justice workers that have the ability to scale to meet community demand. It will focus on what the evidence shows us about effectiveness of training programs and why using low-barrier adult education models are needed to achieve scalability.
This session is designed to build on the workshops we have done for the past few years on how to explain legal aid as constituent services to legislators and their staff. Now that many LSC grantees and other legal aid programs have begun to develop relationships with their federal and state legislators and staff, we want to identify ways to build on and expand those connections, e.g., provide trainings for district caseworkers; involve legislative staff in community outreach efforts. This will be an interactive conversation with the audience asking questions of a panel that includes LSC grantee Executive Directors and civil legal aid practitioners with experience meeting with and educating federal and state legislators and their staff. The panel will also address compliance with LSC lobbying restrictions applicable to LSC grantees in communicating with legislators.
The Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) annual Community Homeless Assessment, Local Education, and Networking Groups (CHALENG) Survey consistently identifies legal assistance as a top unmet need for homeless Veterans. Moreover, the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report highlights that justice-involved Veterans and Veterans experiencing housing instability are heavily impacted groups.
This presentation offers a comprehensive overview of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Legal Services for Veterans Program, designed to inform and engage legal aid professionals. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the key components and benefits of VA Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLP) and how these partnerships can significantly improve Veterans' overall health and well-being.
The session will also explain the newly authorized VA Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk for Homelessness (LSV-H) grant program. Attendees will learn how this funding can address legal issues that create barriers to stable housing for Veterans.
Lastly, our expert presenters will facilitate a discussion on best practices for collaboration between the VA and legal service providers. This includes exploring future funding opportunities and developing strategies for sustainable partnerships.
As AI, algorithms, and related technologies proliferate in the lives of low-income people seeking benefits, housing, work, and safety, advocates must fight the individual harms while also keeping in mind broader systemic protections available through legislative or executive action. With Congress slow to act, many states are actively considering or adopting measures to regulate AI's use. This session will discuss the general features of AI-related legislation, regulations, and agency guidance, how the proposals will or won't protect low-income communities, and what to look out for in similar discussions at the state or local level. Please note that this session is crafted with LSC-funded programs in mind and will not involve prohibited activities.
Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and severity across the United States. In 2023 alone, NOAA recorded 28 separate billion-dollar disasters, and 2024 will almost certainly prove to be another record-breaking year. Legal services organizations play a crucial role in supporting communities during and after disasters. This session will focus on essential preparations legal aid programs need to have in place before disaster strikes, going beyond basic Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP).
Litigating Racism is a workshop that educates participants on the intersection of race and the criminal legal system. Advocates will be given the historical context of racialized oppression in the American criminal legal system. Understanding the historical context of racism will frame the lens in which each participant should analyze each phase of the criminal legal process and each actor in the criminal legal system (i.e, prosecutor, police, probation officer).
For example, participants will be educated on police militarization and the occupation of police forces in black and brown communities. This information will then help frame how defenders should review criminal complaints and argue for their client's release or when they argue motions during suppression hearings. Understanding the history of police occupation will help defenders reframe the narrative from "high crime neighborhood" to "highly policed community".
This work shop does not only serve to educate and inform but also to teach practical skills. It is not enough to simply acknowledge racism in the context of the criminal legal system. Attorneys must argue that the system is racist. But how do you do that? This workshop examines how defenders can apply those principles in a practical way. Participants will learn how they can make arguments that incorporate race in their bail review hearings, suppression hearings, trial and sentencing.
The Holistic Defense Project is a partnership between the AK Public Defender Agency and Alaska Legal Services Corporation that provides past and current public defender clients with a team of professionals to assist them with social service and legal needs. The HD project is a multidisciplinary team of professionals who strive to help clients address the underlying problems and circumstances that brought them to the legal system in the first place. ALSC's Community Justice Workers--locally embedded, culturally appropriate and community connected legal helpers work directly with lawyers to offer wrap around services to PD clients, putting them in a better position overall and less likely to come back into contact with the justice system.
This panel aims to break the mold of normalized perfectionism by sharing real-life experiences of 1) caving in negotiations, 2) missing an opportunity for testimony, 3) making a filling error, and 4) losing at trial. Each panelist will share lessons learned from cases they did not win. New attorneys need to know that the practice of law is just that, that we all learn and grow from our losses – oftentimes even more than we do from our wins.
The panel will share how each of their practices changed after their losses. The lessons learned go beyond any specific practice area and focus on being client-centered, trauma-informed, prepared, and brave. Part One: Panelist share their losses and what they learned Part Two: Practice learning and vulnerability. Attendees will be split into small groups to share with each other a loss and how they applied the lessons from that loss to their practice.
This presentation will provide an in-depth look at the current landscape of lawyer discipline, with a spotlight on matters affecting legal-aid practitioners. The presentation outlines key aspects of the ABA Model Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement, which serve as a foundation for state regulations, as well as a practical guide to state specific disciplinary procedures. The presentation will highlight the procedures in Michigan, through investigation by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission (AGC), which may lead to public hearings by the Attorney Discipline Board. The discussion will highlight common issues leading to disciplinary actions, including neglect, failure to respond to investigation requests, and mishandling client property. Further, the presentation will address the unique challenges faced by legal services providers, particularly in maintaining client communications and confidentiality and highlighting the need for competence and effective caseload management. The presentation will provide practical advice to lawyers in responding to grievances, including to promptly address grievances to avoid disciplinary issues and cooperation with defense counsel in responding to grievances. It also highlights several frequently asked questions about the grievance process, including revealing client confidences and privileged information, threats of a grievance, immunity for communication with disciplinary authorities, and mandatory reporting. Lastly, the presentation will include hypothetical scenarios to illustrate challenges in client communication, scope of representation, and vetting information provided by clients. Key takeaways focus on the importance of communication, thorough documentation, and ongoing training to mitigate risks of disciplinary action.
The MIE Roundtable provides a forum for legal services executive directors and managers to share management concerns and receive peer support and assistance in an informal and confidential setting. This session allows participants to share their most difficult challenges and pressing decisions, and to benefit from the best thinking of their colleagues who share similar concerns and have experience and learning to share, moving the community as a whole forward toward better management and thus better services to clients.
Hot topics from the FTC, including briefings on some of the top cases case affecting lower income consumers and sharing information about the FTC’s multi-lingual consumer and business resources, self-help tools like our refreshed consumer.gov website, Identitytheft.gov, the agency‘s Consumer Advocate Center program for legal services providers, and consumer alerts on scam topics like renters’ issues.
This session will feature four LSC panelists discussing the content and application of LSC’s new Program Letter 22-3 which seeks to provide more detailed guidance to LSC grant recipients on how they can maintain objective integrity and independence from organizations that engage in LSC restricted activity. The session will be moderated by the Director of LSC’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement with the goal of helping attendees understand the history and background information of the regulation, the factors that LSC examines when it conducts a program integrity review, and best practices LSC grantees can implement to ensure program integrity.
Initially a project seeking to match clients facing eviction with housing and public benefits advocates, Manhattan Legal Services' "Housing Benefits Project" has evolved into a holistic approach to housing and economic justice, combining robust eviction defense with access to public benefits, social work support, pro bono collaborations, and impact advocacy to address systemic barriers to accessing government benefits. The result is an ongoing working relationship with our clients that survives the eviction case and seeks economic stability for our clients and their families.
This session will explore legal needs at the intersection of race, language, and poverty, in the face of growing technology and artificial intelligence around automated models and language services. We will review the current state of access to justice for vulnerable groups and discuss best practices in addressing barriers impacting linguistically marginalized communities and the role new technologies could and should play. In light of recent federal developments and guidance, presenters will share a broad range of community based, administrative, and litigation strategies in utilizing civil rights laws to advance language rights, as well as collaboration and capacity building efforts with government agencies.
CA has seen an explosion of Guaranteed Basic Income pilots. These pilots provide recipients cash to be used for any reason for a specific amount of time. Guaranteed Basic Income is not means tested and does not require recipients to comply with program rules in order to receive the money. In CA, these pilots are funded by private interests/ nonprofit organizations and/or government. This presentation will provide an explanation of what guaranteed basic income is, how it can help fight systemic racism, and discuss how civil legal aid attorneys can help with the creation, design, and operation of these projects in a way that can protect GBI recipients and their existing government benefits.
Participatory defense is a community organizing model that aims to empower people facing charges and their families to transform the landscape of power in the courtroom. Participatory Defense is guided by three principles: • FAMILY and COMMUNITY STRENGTH can play a pivotal role in stopping and reducing incarceration for a loved one and a community. • Families and communities can be even more powerful when taking the role of ORGANIZER AND AGENT OF CHANGE, rather than service recipient. • By working on individual cases, communities can BUILD THE MOVEMENT of directly impacted peoples to hold the actors of the court accountable, make systemic change, and ultimately end mass incarceration.
This workshop will focus on how communities can build partnerships with public defender offices that can lead to systemic impact well beyond individual cases. Participating in cases and being able to “look under the hood” of the courts shows where community power can also be flexed to change policies and bring loved ones home, whether that be wrongful charging practices, mandatory sentences or even ensuring that public defenders are given the budgetary resources to do what the community needs them to do.
In a slight pivot of perspective of who can be the systems changers and what they can do — the millions who face prison or jail and their communities, those waiting in line at court everyday — could shift from being fodder of the criminal justice system, to those fated to bring the era of mass incarceration to its rightful end.
A panel of LSC and non-LSC legal aid attorneys from three states will present on SSA Anti-Alienation violations in state criminal court debt practices. Specifically, the panel will focus on how these practices violate federal anti-alienation rules and the litigation and advocacy strategies that have been used to address these violations in their states. Panelists will be from Arkansas, Iowa, and Virginia legal aids.
Public defenders and civil legal aid attorneys should be partners in the fight to ameliorate the devastating consequences of the criminal court system. Unfortunately, we are often siloed from one another. How do we consider the potential housing and employment consequences of various outcomes in criminal cases? How can we use those tangible consequences in negotiations with the state and for mitigation purposes? Navigating intentionally coercive systems in which the concept of "choice" is a farce, we must use an integrated approach whenever possible to adequately advise people we represent about the various outcomes. In this workshop, we will explore these concepts and provide examples of the ways we work together in this fight.
NLADA’s Beacon of Justice Awards honor members of the private bar who are tireless advocates for equal justice. In 2024, applicants addressed Civil & Human Rights -- civil rights defined as guarantees of equal social opportunities and equal protection, regardless of race, religion, or other personal characteristics based on laws, and human rights as guarantees and protections based on one’s rights as a human being.
These panelists, representative of the class of law firms winning 2024 Beacon of Justice Awards, will discuss their firm’s pro bono work, highlighting the civil & human rights work for which they were honored earlier this summer. NLADA President & CEO, April Frazier Camara, will moderate what will be an informative and inspirational conversation.
This panel will make the case that prioritizing technology and data is an investment toward achieving your mission, an opportunity to leverage untapped talent within your organization, and a concrete step toward advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in our professional community.
The panel will feature an executive director, a former paralegal and a former office manager who both evolved into in-house technology experts, and an attorney turned technology consultant. The panelists will advocate for adopting a broad lens to assess who can be a great “tech person” and share concrete advice on how to craft new in-house tech and data roles that set everyone up for success.
The panel will also share the successes of a volunteer-driven mentorship program which supports the professional development and advancement of legal technologists of color.
Stop by this year’s Exhibit Hall to meet and network with this year’s exhibitors. It will be open from 7:30 AM- 11 AM and don’t forget to stop by each booth for to get their “autographs” for your exhibit hall game page in your program book. Then drop off your completed sheet at NLADA’s Membership booth to be entered into the last raffle of the conference. Winners will be texted and must be present to win.
This session will focus on the most common concerns noted by Office of Compliance and Enforcement staff during recent oversight visits and desk reviews and most commonly identified/referred by the Office of Inspector General. There will also be a discussion of OCE oversight tools and the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on Private Attorney Involvement and Fund Balance waivers. Grantees will be asked to share their experiences with OCE oversight tools through polls and/or interactive discussions.
Discover the critical role of a thriving pro bono program in delivering effective legal services. Gain insights into transforming your pro bono initiatives to enhance effectiveness and expand client services. Explore strategies for all stages of program transformation, from initial steps to rebuilding pro bono into a cornerstone of legal service delivery success.
