2025 Equal Justice Conference

Supporting law students to pursue paths to legal services is critical. Many diverse students enter school pursuing this path but get lost along the way. We will explore how legal services, law schools and stakeholders provide financial support and encouragement to help students make a commitment to access to justice.

Back by popular demand, the Ethics Quiz show will allow attendees to show off their knowledge about legal ethics issues facing legal aid and pro bono lawyers. Using reality-based scenarios and the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, quiz show emcees experienced in the field will challenge attendees with practice-based scenarios on subjects including ethical use of artificial intelligence tools, working with allied legal professionals and pro-bono lawyers, confidentiality concerns, immigration issues, working with allied legal professionals, and disability and language access issues.

Learn how legal aid organizations use data, including case management system data, to inform litigation and non-litigation advocacy efforts and the allocation of scarce program resources. The Legal Services Corporation’s Civil Court Data Initiative, which increases the availability of data and analytics to legal aid organizations will be highlighted.

Much like many of our colleagues across the country, our office grapples with vicarious trauma, stress, and anxiety which has exponentially increased post Covid-19. New Mexico Legal Aid (NMLA) will collaborate and present with Assistance Dogs of the West to introduce several approaches to mitigate trauma and other visible and invisible disabilities. Approaches will include group counseling, mental and physical health, and peer support dogs working to help mitigate secondary trauma in professionals such as attorneys, paralegals, administrative staff and first responders in law enforcement.