Dear Commissioners and friends of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission,
Spring has allegedly arrived in New England—which means it’s time for a thrilling game of “Will It Snow or Will I Need Sunscreen?” While we dodge surprise snow squalls and rejoice over the return of potholes the size of small ponds, we’re also embracing the season of renewal, growth, and (of course) access to justice! Below are some snapshots of what’s been going on in the Massachusetts access to justice community over the past month.
February Meeting Recap
Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the Commission’s virtual February meeting! The meeting featured an update from Commissioner Rochelle Hahn about the re-launch of the Mass Pro Bono Website. Commissioner Gordon Shaw also introduced a new on-line tool developed by Community Legal Aid to help parents assign temporary caregivers for their children. And the main event was a review and discussion of the newly released 2025 Judicial Guidelines for Civil Cases with Self-Represented Litigants.
Commission Website Updates
Have you checked out the Commission’s website recently? In addition to adding a new “20th Anniversary” logo (which is also prominently featured at the top of this newsletter!), we’ve been busy adding content to the “Resources” section, which now includes two new sections: “Civil Legal Data Collection” and “Race and the Civil Justice System.” The new civil data section includes a 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR) on Access to Justice through data and research as well as “Data on Disparities in Civil Matters in Massachusetts Courts,” which was compiled by New England Law professor and former commissioner, Russell Engler. The Race and the Civil Justice System section contains materials from the Commission’s own 2023 program on “Court Data on Race and Ethnicity in Civil Cases” as well as materials on racial justice from outside sources. We’re continuing to add new content frequently so please check back often!
What We’re Reading
Earlier this month, Law 360 spotlighted the New York City Bar Association’s Shelter Advocacy Project. The project, which is run by the NYC Bar Association’s pro bono arm — called the City Bar Justice Center — aims to tackle urgent day-to-day issues creating barriers for people who are homeless, such as storage facility disputes, shelter placement challenges, and housing voucher delays. As in Massachusetts, homelessness in New York City is on the rise and is driven by a variety of factors including economic hardship, rising eviction rates, and an influx of newly arrived migrants. Learn more about the Shelter Advocacy Project here.
Upcoming A2J Conferences
For those of you interested in learning more about access to justice and technology, Suffolk University Law school is hosting its annual Legal Innovation and Technology Conference on April 7th. To learn more about what is happening nationally in the area of access to justice, the American Bar Association (ABA) and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLDA) are hosting the 2025 Equal Justice Conference in San Francisco from May 15- May 17.
That’s it for now. Please feel free to send me information about any updates you might want to share in next month’s newsletter and, in the meantime, enjoy all that spring has to offer!
Warm regards,
Deb