2021 Law School Conference Agenda

Please note: The views expressed by the Conference speakers and participants reflect their personal views and not necessarily the views of the NYS Permanent Commission on Access to Justice or the NYS Unified Court System.

Agenda - June 2, 2021

Time	Session
9:00am – 9:30am	Welcome and Opening Remarks [Transcript] Speakers: Dean Gillian Lester, Columbia Law School; Helaine Barnett, Chair, Permanent Commission on Access to Justice; Hon. Janet DiFiore, Chief Judge of the State of New York
9:30am – 10:45am	Keynote [Transcript] Keynote Speaker: Deborah Archer, President of the American Civil Liberties Union and Jacob K. Javits Professor of Law, Professor of Clinical Law and Co-Faculty Director, Center on Race, Inequality and the Law, New York University School of Law; introduced by Matthew Diller, Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law Plenary. *Creating the Collective Capacity for Systemic Change* [Transcript] Moderator: David Pozen, Vice Dean for Intellectual Life and Charles Keller Beekman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School Panelists: Lanessa L. Owens-Chaplin, Assistant Director, Education Policy Center, New York Civil Liberties Union and Reentry Program Director, Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County, Inc., Fareed Nassor Hayat, Associate Professor, City University of New York School of Law; Alejo Rodriguez, Chief of Curriculum and Storytelling, Zealous and Fellow, Center for Institutional and Social Change, Columbia Law School; John C. Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC Description: Law schools play a unique role in their communities and in the legal profession that allows faculty and students to address systemic injustices through work that challenges the status quo, while simultaneously educating students in using legal skills to effectuate change. Essential to this work is the participation of impacted communities and partnerships with practicing lawyers who work with those communities. In this plenary session, presenters will discuss how to work on systemic change through collective capacity building, allyships, and other collaborative impact models.
10:55am – 12:00pm concurrent	1A. Fighting Systemic Racism from Within: The Law School Anti-Racist Consortium [Transcript] Moderator: Mark C. Niles, Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Speakers: Jarienn James, Law and Justice Program Coordinator, New York Law School; Declan McPherson, Attorney and Alumnus, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University; David Simson, Student, New York University School of Law; Ellen Yaroshefsky, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, Howard Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics, and Executive Director of the Monroe H. Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Description: The Law School Anti-Racist Consortium (LSARC) is a coalition of law school faculty, administrators, staff, students, and graduates committed to building a culture of anti-racism in U.S. law schools and legal education. LSARC members will discuss the mission of the Consortium, highlight past and future programs, and engage in a conversation on practical ways to implement its mission over the next five years.
	1B. Inspiration, Incentive and Innovation: Courts, Law Schools and Community Partners Dismantling Racism in Our Legal System [Transcript] Moderator: Susan Sturm, George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility and Director, Center for Institutional and Social Change, Columbia Law School Speakers: Hon. Paula M. Carey, Chief Judge, Massachusetts Trial Court; Hon. Edwina Mendelson, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, New York State Unified Court System; John Bello, Court Administrator, Massachusetts Trial Court Description: Hear about the Massachusetts court system’s multi-year effort to dismantle racism from within their trial courts on every level. Learn how the New York courts are implementing the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Advisor on Equal Justice. Hear a conversation among leaders in these two court systems exploring what each system might learn from the other’s experiences to further their goals. Engage in a discussion about how partnerships among the courts, law schools, legal aid providers, and community organizations can help to eradicate racism in our justice system.
	1C. Community Economic Development and Systemic Racism [Transcript] Speakers: Todd Arena, Senior Staff Attorney, Community Economic Development Clinic, Albany Law School; Mike Haber, Clinical Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University; Anika Singh Lemar, Clinical Professor of Law, Yale Law School; Lynnise Pantin, Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School Description: This workshop will help attendees understand what Community Economic Development entails and how it helps communities fight systemic racism. The discussion will include examples of how CED clinics partner with communities to further their initiatives.
	1D. Immigration in Shifting Contexts: New State Funding and Litigating for Immigration Detainees Moderator: Beth Lyon, Clinical Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Experiential Education, and Clinical Program Director, Cornell Law School Speakers: Hollis DeAbreu Davis, Senior Immigration Attorney, Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project; Camille Mackler, Executive Director, Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative; Elora Mukherjee, Jerome L. Greene Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School; Laura Revercomb, Labor and Employment Attorney, Worker Justice Center of New York; Sana Singh, Student, Columbia Law School, Amelia Wilson, Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School Description: Attendees will discuss the rapidly changing immigration legal services landscape in New York State. Topics of focus will include new State funding and initiatives to expand access to justice for detainees. Good practices from across the country (in-person and tech-driven), as well as ongoing collaborations between law schools, legal services providers, and community organizations will be highlighted.
12:10pm – 1:15pm concurrent	2A. Mitigating Legal and Policy Impacts of COVID-19 on Communities of Color [Transcript] Moderator: Thomas Maligno, Executive Director, William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center and Director of Pro Bono and Public Service, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center Speakers: Elaine M. Chiu, Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights, St. John's University School of Law; Aaron Gladstone, Student, Community Economic Development Clinic, Fordham University School of Law; Vanessa Glushefski, Clinical Adjunct Faculty, University at Buffalo School of Law Description: Learn about the innovative efforts led by law schools, working with community partners, to mitigate the damages of COVID-19 on communities of color. In Buffalo, a new clinic focuses on COVID-related direct legal needs as well larger policy issues. At Fordham, students provide counseling, advice and representation to mutual aid societies established to address food insecurity. At St. John’s, an expanded pre-law pipeline provides meaningful educational summer experiences for young people, working with law students deploying anti-racism initiatives. And, at Touro, students assist in staffing a helpline, developed in collaboration with local volunteer agencies, to ensure that the pandemic-related legal needs of women, people of color and the indigent are being served. This session will elicit participant input and consider how law school COVID-responsive work can impact future access to justice
	2B. Housing Advocacy Through Clinics and Community Partners: Fast and Furious Demands, Towering Obstacles, and Teaching Moments [Transcript] Speakers: Michaela Azemi, Director of Pro Bono Services & Externships, Cornell Law School; Norrinda Hayat, Associate Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Civil Justice Clinic, Rutgers Law School; Sateesh Noori, Attorney-in-Charge, The Legal Aid Society, Queens Neighborhood Office; Sharon Stapel, Executive Director, Legal Hand, Inc. Description: Attendees will learn about the new and forceful ways community organizations, law schools, and legal assistance providers are collaborating to address systemic racism in housing matters. Panelists will share their unique approaches, including developing new technologies and service delivery models, garnering grant funds, and spearheading legislative change -- with students and community partners greatly enlarging the possibilities.
	2C. Marijuana Legalization: Reallocating Funds From the Police [Transcript] Moderator: Fareed Nassor Hayat, Associate Professor, City University of New York School of Law Speakers: Eli Northrup, Policy Counsel, Criminal Defense Practice, Bronx Defenders; LaMon Bland, Executive Director, We Rise to Legalize; Jordan Sudol, Student and Member, Formerly Incarcerated Law Student Advocacy Association, City University of New York School of Law; Alice Fontier, Managing Director, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem Description: Join organizers, students, and attorneys who organized for New York State's legalization of marijuana. The panel will focus on how this important legislation is a tangible step towards defunding the police, which includes addressing racial inequity in policing and prosecution, reallocating funding to non-carceral alternatives, and investing in over-policed communities.
	2D. Bridging the Digital Divide: Addressing Systemic Inequities Through Digital Inclusion [Transcript] Moderator: Conrad Johnson, Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School Speakers: Olivier Sylvain, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law; Annmarie Lanesey, Founder, CEO, Albany Can Code; Matthew D'Amore, Associate Dean, Cornell Tech, and Director, Law, Technology & Entrepreneurship Program, Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School; Veronica Dunlap, Director of New York Programs, Pro Bono Net Description: Digital inequities pose a significant barrier for communities of color to access essential services and resources including education, health care, economic opportunities, and the justice system. Innovative partnerships throughout New York are working to create digital inclusion through expanded internet connectivity, broadened availability of equipment and devices, and increased digital literacy through tool development, technical support, and education and training. Learn about these exciting projects and what is possible in your community.

Time

Session

9:00am – 9:30am

Welcome and Opening Remarks [Transcript]

Speakers: Dean Gillian Lester, Columbia Law School; Helaine Barnett, Chair, Permanent Commission on Access to Justice; Hon. Janet DiFiore, Chief Judge of the State of New York

9:30am – 10:45am

Keynote [Transcript]

Keynote Speaker: Deborah Archer, President of the American Civil Liberties Union and Jacob K. Javits Professor of Law, Professor of Clinical Law and Co-Faculty Director, Center on Race, Inequality and the Law, New York University School of Law; introduced by Matthew Diller, Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law

Plenary. Creating the Collective Capacity for Systemic Change [Transcript]

Moderator: David Pozen, Vice Dean for Intellectual Life and Charles Keller Beekman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

Panelists: Lanessa L. Owens-Chaplin, Assistant Director, Education Policy Center, New York Civil Liberties Union and Reentry Program Director, Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County, Inc., Fareed Nassor Hayat, Associate Professor, City University of New York School of Law; Alejo Rodriguez, Chief of Curriculum and Storytelling, Zealous and Fellow, Center for Institutional and Social Change, Columbia Law School; John C. Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC

Description: Law schools play a unique role in their communities and in the legal profession that allows faculty and students to address systemic injustices through work that challenges the status quo, while simultaneously educating students in using legal skills to effectuate change. Essential to this work is the participation of impacted communities and partnerships with practicing lawyers who work with those communities. In this plenary session, presenters will discuss how to work on systemic change through collective capacity building, allyships, and other collaborative impact models.

10:55am – 12:00pm

concurrent

1A. Fighting Systemic Racism from Within: The Law School Anti-Racist Consortium [Transcript]

Moderator: Mark C. Niles, Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University

Speakers: Jarienn James, Law and Justice Program Coordinator, New York Law School; Declan McPherson, Attorney and Alumnus, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University; David Simson, Student, New York University School of Law; Ellen Yaroshefsky, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, Howard Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics, and Executive Director of the Monroe H. Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University

Description: The Law School Anti-Racist Consortium (LSARC) is a coalition of law school faculty, administrators, staff, students, and graduates committed to building a culture of anti-racism in U.S. law schools and legal education. LSARC members will discuss the mission of the Consortium, highlight past and future programs, and engage in a conversation on practical ways to implement its mission over the next five years.

1B. Inspiration, Incentive and Innovation: Courts, Law Schools and Community Partners Dismantling Racism in Our Legal System [Transcript]

Moderator: Susan Sturm, George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility and Director, Center for Institutional and Social Change, Columbia Law School

Speakers: Hon. Paula M. Carey, Chief Judge, Massachusetts Trial Court; Hon. Edwina Mendelson, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, New York State Unified Court System; John Bello, Court Administrator, Massachusetts Trial Court

Description: Hear about the Massachusetts court system’s multi-year effort to dismantle racism from within their trial courts on every level. Learn how the New York courts are implementing the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Advisor on Equal Justice. Hear a conversation among leaders in these two court systems exploring what each system might learn from the other’s experiences to further their goals. Engage in a discussion about how partnerships among the courts, law schools, legal aid providers, and community organizations can help to eradicate racism in our justice system.

1C. Community Economic Development and Systemic Racism [Transcript]

Speakers: Todd Arena, Senior Staff Attorney, Community Economic Development Clinic, Albany Law School; Mike Haber, Clinical Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University; Anika Singh Lemar, Clinical Professor of Law, Yale Law School; Lynnise Pantin, Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

Description: This workshop will help attendees understand what Community Economic Development entails and how it helps communities fight systemic racism. The discussion will include examples of how CED clinics partner with communities to further their initiatives.

1D. Immigration in Shifting Contexts: New State Funding and Litigating for Immigration Detainees

Moderator: Beth Lyon, Clinical Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Experiential Education, and Clinical Program Director, Cornell Law School

Speakers: Hollis DeAbreu Davis, Senior Immigration Attorney, Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project; Camille Mackler, Executive Director, Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative; Elora Mukherjee, Jerome L. Greene Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School; Laura Revercomb, Labor and Employment Attorney, Worker Justice Center of New York; Sana Singh, Student, Columbia Law School, Amelia Wilson, Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School

Description: Attendees will discuss the rapidly changing immigration legal services landscape in New York State. Topics of focus will include new State funding and initiatives to expand access to justice for detainees. Good practices from across the country (in-person and tech-driven), as well as ongoing collaborations between law schools, legal services providers, and community organizations will be highlighted.

12:10pm – 1:15pm

concurrent

2A. Mitigating Legal and Policy Impacts of COVID-19 on Communities of Color [Transcript]

Moderator: Thomas Maligno, Executive Director, William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center and Director of Pro Bono and Public Service, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

Speakers: Elaine M. Chiu, Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights, St. John's University School of Law; Aaron Gladstone, Student, Community Economic Development Clinic, Fordham University School of Law; Vanessa Glushefski, Clinical Adjunct Faculty, University at Buffalo School of Law

Description: Learn about the innovative efforts led by law schools, working with community partners, to mitigate the damages of COVID-19 on communities of color. In Buffalo, a new clinic focuses on COVID-related direct legal needs as well larger policy issues. At Fordham, students provide counseling, advice and representation to mutual aid societies established to address food insecurity. At St. John’s, an expanded pre-law pipeline provides meaningful educational summer experiences for young people, working with law students deploying anti-racism initiatives. And, at Touro, students assist in staffing a helpline, developed in collaboration with local volunteer agencies, to ensure that the pandemic-related legal needs of women, people of color and the indigent are being served. This session will elicit participant input and consider how law school COVID-responsive work can impact future access to justice

2B. Housing Advocacy Through Clinics and Community Partners: Fast and Furious Demands, Towering Obstacles, and Teaching Moments [Transcript]

Speakers: Michaela Azemi, Director of Pro Bono Services & Externships, Cornell Law School; Norrinda Hayat, Associate Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Civil Justice Clinic, Rutgers Law School; Sateesh Noori, Attorney-in-Charge, The Legal Aid Society, Queens Neighborhood Office; Sharon Stapel, Executive Director, Legal Hand, Inc.

Description: Attendees will learn about the new and forceful ways community organizations, law schools, and legal assistance providers are collaborating to address systemic racism in housing matters. Panelists will share their unique approaches, including developing new technologies and service delivery models, garnering grant funds, and spearheading legislative change -- with students and community partners greatly enlarging the possibilities.

2C. Marijuana Legalization: Reallocating Funds From the Police [Transcript]

Moderator: Fareed Nassor Hayat, Associate Professor, City University of New York School of Law

Speakers: Eli Northrup, Policy Counsel, Criminal Defense Practice, Bronx Defenders; LaMon Bland, Executive Director, We Rise to Legalize; Jordan Sudol, Student and Member, Formerly Incarcerated Law Student Advocacy Association, City University of New York School of Law; Alice Fontier, Managing Director, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem

Description: Join organizers, students, and attorneys who organized for New York State's legalization of marijuana. The panel will focus on how this important legislation is a tangible step towards defunding the police, which includes addressing racial inequity in policing and prosecution, reallocating funding to non-carceral alternatives, and investing in over-policed communities.

2D. Bridging the Digital Divide: Addressing Systemic Inequities Through Digital Inclusion [Transcript]

Moderator: Conrad Johnson, Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

Speakers: Olivier Sylvain, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law; Annmarie Lanesey, Founder, CEO, Albany Can Code; Matthew D'Amore, Associate Dean, Cornell Tech, and Director, Law, Technology & Entrepreneurship Program, Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School; Veronica Dunlap, Director of New York Programs, Pro Bono Net

Description: Digital inequities pose a significant barrier for communities of color to access essential services and resources including education, health care, economic opportunities, and the justice system. Innovative partnerships throughout New York are working to create digital inclusion through expanded internet connectivity, broadened availability of equipment and devices, and increased digital literacy through tool development, technical support, and education and training. Learn about these exciting projects and what is possible in your community.

Permanent Commission on Access to Justice

2021 Law School Conference, Fighting Systemic Racism: Law School and Community Partnerships

Agenda - June 2, 2021