We hope you are all safe and well. Please mark your calendars for the 2021-2022 Commission meetings! As we enter this new Commission year, we welcome our incoming Commissioners and share both our 2020-2021 Annual Report and an article honoring the late Chief Justice Gants, former Commission Co-Chair. Please also note an upcoming program for community providers.
Save the Dates: Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission Meetings 2021-2022
Please mark your calendars for our 2021/2022 Commission meetings:
- October 21, 2021 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm
- December 20, 2021 from 10:00 – 11:30 am
- January 20, 2022 from 10:00 – 11:30 am
- March 24, 2022 from 10:00 – 11:30 am
- May 26, 2022 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Our October 21, 2021 meeting will be held via zoom. RSVP here. We will be in touch regarding whether future meetings are remote or in-person.
Welcome Incoming Commissioners
We are pleased to welcome six new Commissioners to the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. We thank them for joining us and look forward to working together.
Welcome:
- Rachel Biscardi, Esq., Supervising Attorney, Family Law Unit, Northeast Legal Aid
- Leticia Medina-Richman, Esq., Director, Central West Justice Center
- Lynne M. Parker, Esq., Executive Director, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation
- Victoria Santoro Mair, Esq., Shareholder, Meehan, Boyle, Black & Bogdanow, P.C.
- Mychii Snape, Esq., Managing Attorney, Consumer Protection Division, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
- Elizabeth A. Soule, Esq., Executive Director, MetroWest Legal Services
Thank you as well to our Commissioners continuing their service into 2021-2022. We look forward to a productive year.
The Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission’s 2020-2021 Annual Report
The Commission’s 2020-2021 Annual Report is available on the Commission’s website, under the Resources/Library tab. In response to the many difficulties created by the pandemic, the Commission and its members partnered with the Massachusetts courts, legal aid organizations, bar associations, law firms, and social services to develop new means of delivering legal assistance and legal information to those who needed it, at least mitigating many of the difficulties created by the pandemic. The Report provides summaries of the Commission’s work during this extraordinary year, with a focus on improving assistance to self-represented litigants, increasing funding for civil legal aid, and increasing services provided by private attorneys.
Thank you to all of our Commissioners and volunteers who made the successes of this year possible.
Judicial Heroes and Legends: “Fairness champions who left us too soon”
The National Judicial College is honoring the late Chief Justice Gants and late Iowa Chief Justice Cady this month as Judicial Heroes & Legends for their efforts to combat racial disparities in the justice system.
“Chief justices Cady and Gants shared many similarities, especially at the end of their lives. What made them two of a kind as judicial heroes was their determination to expose and correct unjust disparities and ensure fairness for all.” You can read the entire feature here.
Presentation for Community Providers about Dealing with Debt Resulting from Intimidation, Bullying, and Domestic Violence
On Wednesday, September 29, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., you are invited to a free presentation for community providers about how to recognize coerced debt, and what your clients can do to start repairing their credit or respond to a court suit. The presentation will be led by Kristen Bor-Zale, Equal Justice Works fellow at Greater Boston Legal Services.
Topics covered during the presentation include: Screening for financial abuse; Best practices when a debt is in collection; and Tips for defending a small claims action.
Register here. The presentation will be recorded; register to get the link.
Sponsored by the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. Since the pandemic started last spring, the MA Access to Justice Commission has offered several “community provider Q&As” on issues such as eviction prevention, immigration, and restraining orders. These sessions offer insights from local legal experts and highlight questions directly from community providers working directly on the front lines. Hopefully, these virtual events help develop and reinforce important community collaborations between legal and social services—never have we needed each other more!
Contact: Rochelle Hahn, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, rhahn@mlri.og or Ben Golden, New England Law, bgolden@nesl.edu