Rural Justice Task Force Field Hearing, October 25, 2022, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The day started with remarks from Chief Gary Batton of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the third-largest Native American tribe in the U.S. Later, panelists explored different strategies for shrinking the rural justice gap, including: (1) looking beyond lawyers to provide civil legal services (i.e., expanding roles for legal paraprofessionals, non-lawyer navigators and lay advocates); (2) recruiting and retaining more attorneys in rural America with business incubator programs and educational and financial Interventions; and (3) cross-sector collaboration at the community level to bring legal aid where it is needed most.
Welcoming Remarks
00: 00 • Ron Flagg, President of LSC
07: 38 • Rebecca Rapp, RJTF Co-Chair
12: 53 • Mike Levey, National Pro Bono Partner, Quarles & Brady
16: 06 • Stephanie Hudson, Executive Director, Oklahoma Indian Legal Services
17: 49 • Gary Batton, 47th Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
31: 29 Panel #1: Looking Beyond Lawyers to Shrink the Justice Gap: Legal Paraprofessionals and Non-Lawyer Navigators
• Moderator: Dean William Hubbard, University of South Carolina School of Law
• Nancy Ivarinen, Program Director of the Paralegal Studies Program at Whatcom Community College; Former Chair of Washington State Limited License Legal Technician Program
• Alison Paul, Executive Director, Montana Legal Services Association
• Hon. Kirsten Thompson, Senior Circuit Court Judge, Oregon Circuit Court; Chair, Paraprofessional Licensing Implementation Committee for the Oregon State Bar
• Hallie Bongar White, Dean, National Tribal Trial College; Executive Director, Southwest Center for Law and Policy
1: 40: 26 Panel #2- Recruitment and Retention of Rural Lawyers
• Moderator: Alison Paul, Executive Director, Montana Legal
Services Association
• Furonda Brasfield, Managing Attorney, The Law Office of
Furonda Brasfield, PLLC
• Sally Holewa, State Court Administrator, North Dakota Rural Recruitment Program
• Anthony Schutz, Director of the Rural Law Opportunities Program; Associate Dean for Faculty and Associate Professor of Law, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Taier Perlman, Staff Attorney, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
2: 40: 40 Panel #3- Community Partnerships that Increase Access to Justice in Rural Areas.
• Moderator: Nikole Nelson, Executive Director, Alaska Legal Services Corporation
• Jen Cuesta, Rural Pro Bono Program Attorney, Colorado Legal Services
• Christa Figgins, Director of Mission Advancement, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc.
• Helen Gratil, Beyond Opioids Project Director, Arkansas Legal Services
• Kate White, Access to Services Manager, Legal Aid of West Virginia