Leaders in Hawaiʻi’s legal, judicial, business, academic and social services communities will examine ways to increase services to the state’s most vulnerable citizens as part of the day-long 2015 Access to Justice Conference, scheduled for Friday, June 19, at the William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa.
The conference, “Narrowing the Justice Gap,” is free, except for lawyers who seek Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, and is open to the public.
The Access to Justice Commission was formed in 2008 by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court to look at ways to improve services to a wide range of groups without the resources to obtain legal services for themselves. Law school professors and students played an important role in analyzing the needs in Hawaiʻi early on. Now, annually, the law school hosts the conference that draws over 200 people each year, primarily from the legal community.
Conference details
The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. and will include welcomes by co-emcees Dean Avi Soifer and Hawaiʻi Justice Foundation Executive Director Robert LeClair, as well as Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald and Intermediate Court of Appeals Associate Judge Daniel R. Foley, who currently chairs the Hawaiʻi Access to Justice Commission.
From 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., keynote speaker Jonathan D. Asher, Colorado’s legal services executive director, will address today’s realities in seeking to provide justice for groups who often cannot advocate on their own behalf. The rest of the day features concurrent workshops on varied topics concerning access to justice for vulnerable people in Hawaiʻi.
In the plenary session from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m., retired Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Associate Justice Simeon Acoba, Asher, Foley and Recktenwald will discuss narrowing the access to justice gaps in Hawaiʻi, how individuals can assist and how the commission can meet some of the most recent challenges.
Conference topics
- Engaging the business community in access to justice
- What’s mediation got to do with access to justice?
- Cultural and linguistic barriers for Micronesians to access justice
- Using non-attorneys to close the justice gap
- Access to justice for individuals with neurocognitive disorder (dementia) and their caregivers
- Delivering pro bono services to rural communities, including legal assistance for natural disaster relief
- Access to justice for juveniles and foster children
- Addressing lack of representation for non-English speaking residents
- Landlord-tenant, homelessness and other housing Issues
- Technology and access to justice
- Incubator projects and loan assistance programs
- Bankruptcy law and consumer debt Issues
Read the William S. Richardson School of Law news release for more information.
—By Beverly Creamer
