Rural Justice Task Force Meeting, October 2022

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