Panel I – 09:45 AM – 11:00 AM

A Guide to Maintaining Integrity, Ethics and Effective Advocacy in Litigation Against a Self-Represented Party

-Moderator-

D.S. Gray,
Venable LLP
 

-Panelists-

Mel Hirshman,
Retired Solo Practitioner

Suzanne Bailey,
Multi Ethnic Domestic Violence Project 

Darlene Wright Powell,

Community Legal Services of Prince George's County

Distinguishing between unrepresented parties and self-represented litigants is important when facing pro se persons in court. Unrepresented parties may want counsel but have financial limitations or don't qualify for legal services whereas self-represented litigants often have agendas and don't trust that attorneys will get it done. The latter can be trouble. This engaging panel will examine the ethical issues such as not crossing the line into giving advice, handling negotiations while not taking advantage of the pro se party, offering effective advocacy, and handling harassment and inappropriate dialogue. It will also provide practical advice regarding the logistics of dealing with self-represented parties, including how to actually get answers, discovery, handling emotions v. substance, and how to handle unnecessary filings.

The Promise and Perils of ADR for Low Income Litigants

-Moderator-

Lydia Nussbaum,
University of Baltimore School of Law

-Panelists-

Lorig Charkoudian,
Community Mediation Maryland
 

Connie Kratovil-Lavelle,
Department of Family Administration, Administrative Office of the Courts

Professor Rob Rubinson,

University of Baltimore School of Law

Courts and litigants are increasingly using alternative processes for resolving legal disputes. For many people, these processes are an ideal substitute for litigation: the sessions often are confidential, informal, inexpensive, and the outcomes are determined voluntarily by the participants. But the very qualities that make these processes attractive can also create challenges for low-income litigants, especially those who are pro se. We will learn about the fundamentals of mediation, collaborative law, and community conferencing and explore the different contexts in which low-income people in Maryland can access these ADR processes through the courts, community mediation centers, and other service providers, including the benefits and risks to low-income litigants.

Representing Clients Who Are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind

-Moderator-

Ginina Stevenson

-Panelists-

Julie Ann Shafer,

Governor's Office of Deaf & Hard of Hearing

Debra Patkin,

National Association for the Deaf

This panel will explore the obligations of counsel in representing clients with hearing impairments and review best practices and available resources to ensure effective communication.

The Great Recession's Impact on Poverty in Maryland and Beyond - What It Means for Legal Services Providers 

-Moderator-

Judge Cathy Hollenberg Serrette,
Circuit Court for Prince George's County

-Panelists-

Lynette Boswell,
Baltimore City Planning Department

Karina Fortuny,
Urban Institute Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population

Sarah Jane Glynn,
Center for American Progress

Every day, providers of legal services, pro bono lawyers and judges encounter individuals and families who are living in poverty. This panel will focus on how poverty populations have been affected by the Great Recession with emphasis on specific populations – women, children, and immigrants and urban, suburban, and rural populations.  The panel will also discuss the implications of poverty changes to issues addressed by poverty advocates: child welfare, public benefits, affordable housing, displacement from housing by eviction or foreclosure, domestic violence, health care, and jobs. 

Immigrant Workers' Rights: An Overview of Wage/Hour Laws and Their Impact on Immigrant Workers and Farmworkers

-Moderator-

Lauren Worsek,
Seyfarth, Shaw LLP

-Panelists-

Andrea Vaughn,

Public Justice Center

Alexandra Rosenblatt,

Public Justice Center

Nathaniel Norton,

Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

Sheena Wadhawan,

CASA of Maryland

This panel will provide an overview of wage and hour laws and their impact on immigrant workers and farmworkers, with a focus on common employment situations that low-wage immigrant workers and farmworkers confront. The discussion will identify challenges to representing immigrant workers and share strategies to overcome those challenges. The panel will also include a review of health and safety issues and approaches to representing workers in unsafe working conditions. We will discuss joint employment theories of liability, independent contractor misclassification, and fighting employer retaliation against immigrant workers.

Credit Catch 22: Employment Discrimination Based on Credit History and Maryland's New Law Banning Credit Checks for Employment

-Moderator-

Maureen Essex,

Office of the Public Defender

-Panelists-

Jane Flanagan,

DLLR Assistant Attorney General

Jason Perkins-Cohen,

Job Opportunity Task Force

Jonathan Harris,

Public Justice Center

In passing the Job Applicant Fairness Act last year, Maryland became the fifth state to prohibit employers from using credit history as a basis to make employment decisions for most jobs. Credit checks are oftentimes inaccurate, and no correlation exists between credit history and job performance or propensity to commit fraud. Yet 60% of employers perform credit checks, which harm those who have lost work and fallen into debt during the economic recession. This panel will outline the new law, provide an update on DLLR's enforcement plan, and discuss other remedies workers can pursue—including Title VII and Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation. The panel will also briefly highlight EEOC employment discrimination litigation against employers using credit history in making employment decisions.

Panel II – 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

Innovations in Legal Service Provision in Rural Communities

-Moderator-

Antonia Fasanelli,
Homeless Persons Representation Project

-Panelists-

Sara Sommarstrom,
Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans

Eric Cordero (via Skype),

Alaska Legal Services Corporation

Adopt-a-Region Project

Adela Carlin,

Director of Community Engagement

Bill Jones,

ABA Center for Pro Bono

This panel will focus on innovative ways legal service providers in rural areas can use technology to connect with and better serve their client populations. It will also explore how urban-based programs can both reach out to and support rural programs and ways they can be creative in reaching clients where no rural services exist.

Social Media and Other Evidentiary Issues

-Moderator-

M. Natalie McSherry,
Kramon and Graham

-Panelists-

John Prisbe,
Venable LLP

Katie Bosken,

Gebhart & Smith

Judge Lynne Battaglia,

Court of Appeals of Maryland

The panel will delve into the use of social media as a litigation tool and evidentiary issues in its use at trial.

How Compulsory is Compulsory: Disciplinary Trends in Education

-Moderator-

Angela Conyers Johnese,
Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition 

-Panelists-

Jennifer Barmon,

Office of the Public Defender

Amy Walters,

Maryland Disability Law Center

This panel will explore recent trends to expel children at a younger age and shift school discipline to the juvenile court system. Speakers will also address resources advocates can use to help children facing disciplinary issues in school.

Growing Impact Advocacy from Direct Service

-Moderator-

Shawn Boehringer,

Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

-Panelists-

Andrew Freeman,
Brown, Goldstein and Levy

Heather Gomes,
Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

Margaret E. Johnson,
University of Baltimore School of Law

How to find it, promote it, and make room for it, when clients are filling your waiting room every day.

Pro Bono Attorneys in Support of Community Nonprofits of  of 

-Moderator-

Aaron Merki,

Venable LLP

-Panelists-

Robin Jacobs,
Community Law Center

Mario Dispenza,
Volunteer Attorney, Community Law Center

Inez Robb,
Community Leader

This panel highlights the benefits of collaboration between community organizations, legal services providers, and pro bono attorneys.There are multiple ways in which pro bono attorneys can support community groups, whether by incorporating nonprofits, drafting bylaws and contracts, advising on tax matters or collections, or helping abate nuisances.The -Panelists- will discuss how volunteer attorneys can get involved in addressing the needs of the nonprofit community, provide a community perspective on how attorneys help nonprofits achieve their mission, and offer the insights of an active pro bono attorney. 

The Importance of Case Review - Best Practices

-Moderator-

Joe Dyer,

Seyfarth, Shaw, LLP

-Panelists-

Mitchell Y. Mirviss,

Venable, LLP

Roberta A. Ritvo,

DLA Piper

Michelle Swift,

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service

Jimmy Persels,
Retired Practitioner

This panel discusses the importance of case review to placement, and successful performance, of pro bono engagements. Representatives of the private bar will discuss the information they require in deciding to accept placements and how the quality and completeness of the case review affects how efficiently they can handle the engagement if accepted. Representatives of referral organizations and the private bar will discuss how the private bar has, and can, assist in the initial case review. Case review forms of various referral organizations will be available for distribution.

Panel III – 02:15 PM – 03:30 PM

Advancing the Human Right to Housing on the Ground in Maryland

-Moderator-

Gregory Countess.,

Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

-Panelists-

Matthew Hill,
Public Justice Center

Lindsay Warnes,
Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

Michelle Ewert,
Homeless Persons Representation Project 

This workshop will provide an overview of current advances, setbacks, and plans in the struggle to realize a human right to housing in Maryland. -Panelists- will discuss recent legislative initiatives including protections for tenants in foreclosure and tenants who experience source of income discrimination. -Panelists- will also discuss advocating for human rights in the courtroom, implementation of the Housing First and Permanent Supportive Housing models, and recent fair and affordable housing initiatives in local jurisdictions.

Criminal Records and Civil Benefits: An Intersection that Collides

-Moderator-

Elizabeth Julian,
District Public Defender of Baltimore City

-Panelists-

Professor Michael Pinard,

University of Maryland

Francis King Carey School of Law

Teresa Cooke,

Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

Caryn York,

Job Opportunity Task Force

This overview will discuss the rise in the use of criminal records in obtaining civil benefits and the impact of this use for minority communities. -Panelists- will illustrate the impact within the housing and employment arena, the abuses, and the possible remedies through both legislative reform and litigation.

Joint Meeting of the Court of Appeals' Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service and Local and Regional Pro Bono Committee Chairs

-Chair-

Ward B. Coe, III,

Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP
 

Court of Appeals' Standing Committee on
Pro Bono Legal Service

Join the Court of Appeals' Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service to share pro bono project ideas, resources, challenges, and the progress of various local pro bono committees across the state. Presentation by the Standing Committee, followed by a Q& A session. Open to any who would like to attend.

Workers' Rights:

Unpaid Wage Collection and Employing Creative Methods for Collecting in Maryland

-Moderator-

Sally Dworak-Fisher,

Public Justice Center

-Panelists-

Michael Hollander,

Community Legal Services, Philadelphia, PA

Alexandra Rosenblatt,

Public Justice Center

Jonathan Harris,

Public Justice Center

Uncollectable wage judgments have become a major obstacle for low-wage workers seeking to receive their due wages. This panel will discuss ways to use existing Maryland laws and court procedures to maximize workers' chances of collecting, both pre- and post-judgment. We will also highlight law reform efforts, including legislation that would allow a worker to place a lien on the property of his or her employer when not paid all wages due.

The Value of Social Work in Legal Services Delivery to the Poor

-Moderator-

Lori James-Townes,

Maryland Office of the Public Defender

-Panelists-

Dr. Caroline Burry,
Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

Leigh Maddox,
Civil Justice, Inc.

Kelly V. DaCunha,
Maryland Legal Aid Bureau

Mary Annette Wegner,
Office of the Public Defender for Anne Arundel County 

Social work adds value to a legal services delivery model both in the criminal and civil context. It can free-up attorney time to focus on legal issues and litigate and can provide a more holistic approach to solving client problems. This panel will explore the assistance that social workers can provide to legal advocates in both civil and criminal cases and how they can further the mission of the programs where they are placed; the unique ethical challenges faced by social workers and how they are overcome, and whether a social work component should be prioritized in defender and legal services programs in a time of shrinking revenue.