Members of Congress Join Leaders from Legal and Business Communities for Forum on Access-to-Justice Challenges

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Carl Rauscher
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WASHINGTON – Members of Congress and leaders of the legal and business communities will join the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) on April 27 from 1:30-3 p.m. EDT for a virtual forum on access to justice.

COVID-19 has heightened the need for civil legal aid for low-income families facing job losses, evictions, domestic violence and other problems stemming from the pandemic. LSC’s forum will highlight the wide range of responses from corporations and LSC-funded legal aid organizations providing services, support and relief during the pandemic.

Sen. Chris Murphy (CT) and Reps. Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and Darin LaHood (IL-18) will provide remarks. They will be joined by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, president of the Conference of Chief Justices, and Patricia Lee Refo, president of the American Bar Association. LSC Chairman John G. Levi will also deliver remarks.

The first panel will feature distinguished business leaders including Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and CEO, Merck & Co.and co-chair of LSC’s Leaders Council; David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-executive chairman, The Carlyle Group;John F. Schultz, chief operating officer and executive vice president, Hewlett Packard Enterprise; and Teresa Wynn Roseborough, executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, Home Depot. They will discuss the business community’s perspective on the importance of access to justice during the pandemic. LSC President Ron Flagg will moderate the panel.

Executive directors of four LSC grantees will join the second panel to discuss the pandemic’s ongoing impact on their staff, client population and the legal services they offer. Speakers include Hadassa Santini Colberg, executive director, Legal Services of Puerto Rico; Robert Doggett, executive director, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid; Leslie Powell-Boudreaux, executive director, Legal Services of North Florida; and Nick Smithberg, executive director, Iowa Legal Aid. Lynn Jennings, LSC’s vice president for grants management, will moderate the discussion.

LSC President Ron Flagg will deliver closing remarks.

The event will be livestreamed on LSC’s Facebook page.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974. For 50 years, LSC has provided financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. The Corporation currently provides funding to 130 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.  