2025 Equal Justice Conference: Full Schedule

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8:30am EDT

Supporting Students to Maintain the Pro Bono Pipeline

Friday May 16, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am EDT

Law students are an important part of the pro bono delivery pipeline. In this session, you will learn about how to engage students in pro bono delivery, including how to build partnerships to involve law students in pro bono and respond to urgent needs with law student assistance.

Speakers

Allison Constance

Director of Pro Bono Programs, Legal Aid of North Carolina

Allison Standard Constance is the Director of Pro Bono Programs at Legal Aid of North Carolina, a position she has held since 2023. She worked as Director of Pro Bono Initiatives at UNC School of Law from 2016-2023, where she also served as an adjunct professor. She began her career... Read More →

Marissa LaVette

Center for Pro Bono, American Bar Association

Assistant Staff Counsel, American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono

Deborah Schlosberg

Linda Seely

Pro Bono Counsel, Butler Snow, LLP

Linda Seely is a licensed Tennessee lawyer and listed Mediator. She served as the Director of the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section in Washington, DC until May of 2021 when she assumed her position at Butler Snow as Pro Bono Counsel. For 20 years, she served as Pro... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am EDT
Union Square 15 & 16

Sessions

10:00am EDT

Charitable Giving x Pro Bono. How Can We Help Make the Legal World Thrive?

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00am - 11:15am EDT

Union Square 15 & 16

Talking about money can be tough! This session delves into the intersection of pro bono work and charitable giving at law firms. Participants will discuss strategies to enhance impact, including meaningful partnerships, innovative post-pandemic fundraising modalities, and collective action to advance access to justice for underserved communities.

Speakers

Marnie Berk

Director of Pro Bono Programs, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

Marnie Berk, Director of Pro Bono Programs, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) Marnie Berk is the Director of Pro Bono Programs at NYLPI where she runs the organization’s Pro Bono Clearinghouse. Through partnerships with the private bar, she connects New York’s... Read More →

Diego Cartagena

President & CEO, Bet Tzedek

Diego Cartagena is the President & CEO of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a legal services agency founded by members of the Jewish community nearly 50 years ago and dedicated to providing free legal services to low-income individuals in Los Angeles County. Diego joined Bet Tzedek in 2012... Read More →

Molly Meltzer

Director, Pro Bono, Brooklyn Defender Services

Molly Meltzer is the Director of Pro Bono at Brooklyn Defender Services ("BDS") which provides holistic defense and an interdisciplinary framework in the areas of criminal defense, family defense, immigration, and civil matters. In her role as Director of Pro Bono she develops and... Read More →

Ben Weinberg

As Dentons’ Pro Bono Partner, Ben Weinberg helps manage Dentons’ substantial global pro bono program. Ben helps develop new pro bono initiatives with legal aid providers, nonprofits, and NGOs. He encourages and facilitates pro bono participation across Dentons and helps firm lawyers... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00am - 11:15am EDT
Union Square 15 & 16

Sessions

1:15pm EDT

Strengthening Guardianship Defense: Updated OAA Regulations and Legal Aid Innovations

Friday May 16, 2025 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT

Union Square 15 & 16

Legal aid providers can protect the rights of older adults by expanding guardianship defense programs and services. This session highlights the guardianship defense provisions in the updated Older Americans Act regulations and showcases the Guardianship Defense Cohort, a group of legal aid organizations that built capacity for this critical work.

Speakers

Jim Berchtold

Senior Staff Attorney, Justice in Aging

Jim Berchtold joined Justice in Aging as a Senior Staff Attorney in 2022 to focus on issues surrounding guardianship reform and improvement, including the intersection of guardianship and equity. Jim is especially passionate about advocating for policies that promote the appointment... Read More →

Emily Jackson-Miller

Program Director of Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project, Michigan Advocacy Program

Emily Miller is the Program Director of the Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project at the Michigan Advocacy Program, which is a statewide civil legal aid team focused on providing free legal assistance to survivors of abuse, assault, neglect, and exploitation. Previously, she worked... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Union Square 15 & 16

Sessions