1. At the March 23 meeting of the Access to Justice Commission, each Commissioner was asked to answer the question: “In the next two or three years, what is one specific thing I want the Commission to accomplish.” The answers are attached.
2. The next meeting of the Access to Justice Commission will take place on Wednesday May 26 at 3:00 p.m. in the 5th Floor Conference Room of the Social Law Library at the John Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Square, Boston. The meeting is public.
At the meeting, each of the Commission’s Working Groups will outline the goals they plan to achieve during the next two to three years, the strategies they will use, the timetable for their projects and an initial look at who might be joining their working group.
3. So far in the legislative process, MLAC’s funding is proposed to remain unchanged for FY 2011 at the same $9.5 million as in FY 2010. Prisoners Legal Services (formerly Mass Correctional Legal Services) is in the budget for $840,000 and Mental Health Legal Advisors for $707,599. The Governor’s budget proposes funding for CPCS that’s almost identical to the FY 2010 appropriation. However, CPCS overspent its budget by nearly $35 million in FY 2010 in order to fulfill its constitutional obligations.
4. Harvard Law School is very much in the access to justice news. Harvard Law Dean Martha Minow is now Vice Chairman of the Legal Services Corporation Board, distinguished Professor Larry Tribe is the Special Advisor on Access to Justice to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, former dean and current Solicitor General Elena Kagan is on the short list of candidates for nomination to the Supreme Court and Harvard Law Graduate, President Barack Obama, is the one who will make the nomination.
5. The comment period has ended regarding the SJC’s proposal for a $50 add on to the annual attorney registration fee. The Court has not indicated how quickly it will act on the proposal.
6 . LSC has approved the Letter of Intent from the Massachusetts Justice Project on behalf of a consortium of legal services programs for a $250,000 Technology Innovation Grant to add new content to the consumer oriented website www.masslegalhelp.org. The Commission supported the application. Next step: the full grant application, due May 21.
7. MLAC’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for 4:00 to 6:00 on Tuesday, May18, in the Conference Suite on the second floor of the Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Square, Boston.