Agenda - April 17, 2025
Time | Session |
|---|---|
1:00pm – 1:20pm
| Welcome and Opening Remarks Moderator: Beth Lyon, Clinical Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Experiential Education, and Clinical Program Director, Cornell Law School. Speakers: Chantal Thomas, Vice Dean and Radice Family Professor of Law, Cornell Law School; Hon. Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Judge of the State of New York and the NY Court of Appeals; Hon. Edwina G. Richardson, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, Office for Justice Initiatives, NYS Unified Court System; Hon. Elizabeth A. Garry, Presiding Justice, NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department. |
1:20pm – 1:55pm
| 1. The State of Rural Access to Justice Moderator: Matthew Diller, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, Fordham University School of Law; Kim Diana Connolly, Professor of Law, Vice Dean for Innovation, Interdisciplinarity and Community Impact, University at Buffalo School of Law. Panelists: Hannah Haksgaard, Law Professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law; Taier Perlman, Practicing Attorney and Co-Author of Interventions to Ameliorate the Access-to-Justice Crisis in Rural New York; Rebecca Fuentes, Advocate for Workers and Immigrant Rights, Former Organizer of the Workers Center of Central New York. Description: This panel will provide an overview of the unique access to justice challenges in “legal deserts” - rural communities and other areas with extreme shortages of practicing lawyers and other resources for vulnerable populations. It will focus on promising ways to address these challenges. |
2:00pm – 2:55pm | 2a. Expanding Access to Justice: Law School Initiatives and Collaborations Moderator: Lori O’Brien, Executive Director at Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. (LawNY) Speakers: William Niebel, Managing Attorney of the Tenants Advocacy Program, Adjunct Professor of Law, Cornell Law School; Christopher Northrop, Director of Rural Practice Maine University School of Law. Contributor: D’lorah Hughes, H. Wendell Cherry Associate Professor of Law and Director of Clinics and Externships, University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law. Description: Join us for an engaging panel discussion on innovative law school efforts that expand access to civil legal aid. This session will showcase successful collaborations between law schools and civil legal aid programs, as well as standalone clinics and programs. Panelists will share best practices and explore how these programs enhance experiential learning for law students while addressing critical legal needs in underserved communities. |
2:00pm – 2:55pm
| 2b. Practice in Rural Courts: A View from the Bench and Bar Moderator: Hon. Kathleen Hogan, NYS Court of Claims Judge, Acting Supreme Court Justice, Fourth Judicial District. Speakers: Hon. Thomas Sheeran, Town Justice for the Town of Lewiston, President, NYS Magistrates Association; David Kagle, Managing Attorney for the Housing Program of the Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.; Andrea Mooney, Trial and Appellate Attorney for the Child, Retired Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. Description: This panel will address the unique challenges that low-income litigants face in rural courts and provide insight into ways access to justice barriers can be overcome, drawing upon judicial and practitioner perspectives and experiences. |
3:00pm - 3:55pm
| 3a. Pipeline Models: Inspiration from Across the Country Moderator: Anthony E. Varona, Dean and Professor of Law at the Seattle University School of Law, Dean Emeritus and M. Minnette Chair in Law at the University of Miami School of Law. Speaker: Alix Rogers, Director of Career and Professional Development, Belmont University College of Law; Hon. Zachary R. Walden, Trial Court Judge in Tennessee; Shawn Leisinger, Associate Dean for Centers and External Programs and Professor of Law at Washburn University School of Law; Brooke Meckler, Director of Community Engagement at Equal Justice Works. Description: This session will highlight innovative rural lawyer pipeline models from across the country that pave the way for legal careers in the areas that need them the most. This panel will discuss the best ways both to guide eager law students and engage experienced lawyers on how to make new and meaningful contributions. |
3:00pm - 3:55pm
| 3b. Technology and Rural Access to Justice Moderator: Raymond H. Brescia, Associate Dean for Research & Intellectual Life and Hon. Harold R. Tyler Chair in Law & Technology, Albany Law School. Speakers: Hon. Jeff Hogue, Director of Operations and Community Relations at LegalServer, Town Justice for the Town of Varick, President of the Seneca County Magistrates and Court Clerks Association; Victor Quintanilla, Professor of Law and Val Nolan Faculty Fellow, Affiliated Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law; Nic Rangel, Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York; Quinten Steenhuis, Practitioner in Residence and Adjunct Professor, Legal Innovation and Technology Lab, Suffolk University Law School. Description: Join us for a panel and interactive discussion about not just the potential that technology holds to advance the access to justice landscape in rural America but also the potential pitfalls, practical challenges, and ethical risks associated with its use. Panelists will highlight innovations that expand legal information, support pro bono efforts, and strengthen legal services infrastructure in underserved areas—while reflecting on what equitable, responsible implementation really requires. |
4:00pm - 4:50pm
| 4. Access to Justice in Indian Country Moderator: Michael Sliger, Adjunct Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Federal Indian Law Practicum, Cornell Law School. Speakers: Joseph Heath, General Counsel for the Onondaga Nation, Adjunct Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Federal Indian Law Practicum, Cornell Law School; Hannah Haksgaard, Law Professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. Description: The panel will introduce the concept of Indian Country and how the access to justice and “legal desert” lenses apply in this context. The panelists will describe their work addressing access to justice for indigenous peoples, including developing a law school-based Federal Indian Law Practicum and conducting a study of South Dakota Indian Country lawyers. The panel will discuss the Indian Child Welfare Act and the current difficulties Indigenous nations and their citizens experience when Indian children’s cases land in NY Family Courts, particularly in rural upstate New York counties. |
4:50pm - 5:00pm
| Closing Remarks Moderator: Dena Bauman, Director of Externships & Pro Bono Scholars, Lecturer of Law, Cornell Law School. Speakers: Hon. Kathleen Hogan, NYS Court of Claims Judge, Acting Supreme Court Justice, Fourth Judicial District; Janet Sabel, Co-Chair of the New York State Unified Court System Permanent Commission on Access to Justice. |