Dear Commissioners and Friends of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission,
I’m excited to share highlights from a busy and productive August and early September. In this Update, you’ll find news about the Commission’s recent activities—including the Executive Committee’s August retreat, the leadership team’s meeting with the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, and our September Commission meeting. Thank you for staying connected and for your continued commitment to advancing access to justice across Massachusetts!
Summer Retreat, Annual Report, and Meeting with the SJC!
The Commission’s leadership team and Executive Committee met in mid-August for their annual retreat where we reflected on the past year’s work and charted a course for the new program year beginning this month. Each standing committee representative reported on their committee’s activities, highlighting both challenges and accomplishments.
The group also reviewed the Commission’s 20th Anniversary initiatives, including recognition from the Massachusetts Bar Association at its Annual Dinner in May and from the Boston Bar Association at its Law Day event in June. Looking ahead, the Executive Committee and leadership team explored the possibility of hosting a symposium in November to conclude the anniversary year and began identifying priorities for the year to come. Among these are expanding opportunities for attorneys to provide pro bono services to individuals who cannot afford legal representation for their essential needs.
The Committee and leadership team also emphasized the importance of data collection to uncover racial disparities and other challenges in the trial courts. In addition, members discussed the Commission’s recent establishment of an AI Task Force to examine both the promise and perils of using artificial intelligence to support self-represented litigants. As you will recall, this new initiative responds directly to Chief Justice Kimberly Budd’s request that the Commission study this critical and emerging issue.
Finally, the Commission’s leadership team also completed and submitted its 2025 Annual Report to the Supreme Judicial Court in August and then met with the Justices in early September to discuss the Commission’s recent activities and future priorities. This meeting with the full SJC was a first for the Commission and we hope to make it an annual tradition. I hope you’ll take a minute to review the 2025 Annual Report when you have the time!
September Commission Meeting
In September, the Commission launched its 2025–2026 program year with a meeting at UMass Law in Dartmouth. After inspiring welcomes from both UMass Law Dean Sam Panarella and Commission Co-Chair, Judge Valerie Yarashus, attendees were treated to a presentation featuring several UMass Law students who shared highlights of their recent pro bono and public interest work. One student described efforts to ensure that parents are aware of a parent’s right to counsel in guardianship cases involving their minor children, as well as the process for securing that representation. Another group presented on their “Dirty Deeds” project, a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Essex County Registry of Deeds. The students researched historic property deeds containing racial restrictions, notified current owners, and helped them take steps to remove those restrictions from the record.
The Commission also heard from Commissioner Chris Oldi, Executive Director of South Coastal Counties Legal Services (SCCLS), and Jamie Gau, Managing Attorney of SCCLS’ New Bedford office, who spoke about the pressing legal challenges facing South Coast residents, including issues related to housing and immigration. Commission Co-Chair Lisa Goodheart reported on the 20th Anniversary Committee’s plans to cap off the anniversary year with a symposium offering a look ahead to the role artificial intelligence might play in the future to expand access to justice. Speaking of looking forward, Co-Chair Judge Yarashus also offered a glimpse into some of the Commission’s priorities for the new program year, including the work of the AI Task Force mentioned above.
What We’re Reading
Thanks to Commissioner Colin Harnsgate, an Assistant Attorney General in the AGO’s Consumer Protection Division, for sharing this New York Times article on the rise of consumer debt collection cases nationwide. Consumer debt cases are typically filed by businesses or debt collectors when borrowers fail to pay a debt, like a credit-card bill or a medical bill.
The article explains that debt collection lawsuits have surged post-pandemic as rising prices and increased credit use push more borrowers into delinquency. According to the article, another factor in the increase in debt collection cases is the end of government stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits that helped people pay their bills during the pandemic. Most defendants do not have lawyers, and, according to a study by Pew Charitable Trusts cited in the NYT article, about 70% of cases nationwide end in default judgments, allowing creditors to garnish wages or seize assets. Pew has studied the consumer debt crisis closely and published an excellent report on the issue in 2020, which was authored by former Commissioner Erika Rickard.
In Massachusetts, “Lawyer for the Day” programs and other pro bono initiatives provide assistance to unrepresented debtors in court, helping them understand their rights, complete forms, and sometimes represent them at hearings. The Commission has been working with the courts to publish updated information on mass.gov about Lawyer for the Day programs available to defendants in consumer debt cases. I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as that information goes live! Our Consumer Debt Committee, co-chaired by Colin and Alexa Rosenbloom, a Clinical Instructor in the Consumer Protection Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, helped secure Standing Orders related to these Lawyer for the Day Programs. It has also been advocating for simplification of debtor-facing court forms, improved coding of consumer debt cases so that racial disparities can be tracked and reduced, and changes in time standards so that defendants can have more time to obtain counsel and negotiate a settlement.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!
Warm regards,
Deb