10:00 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

Strategic Technology Leadership During Turbulent Times

Topic: IT Operations (TRACK)

In an era of unprecedented technological disruption and digital risks, legal aid leaders face more critical decisions about technology than ever before. This vital session will equip program leaders with practical, forward-thinking strategies to navigate these complex challenges. We'll delve into how to make strategic technology decisions under intense financial uncertainty, identify essential, cost-effective, and resilient technology investments, and explore innovative methods to sustain or improve service delivery with fewer resources. Attendees will also learn to balance priorities while protecting against cybersecurity threats, safeguarding client data, and advancing program infrastructure. The session will feature interactive discussions and peer insights on successful approaches, ensuring legal aid leaders are prepared to advance the delivery of justice in the rapidly evolving landscape.

Speakers: Robert Doggett, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA); Shelby Gaddy, Legal Services of the Virgin Islands; John Greiner, Just-Tech, LLC; Alison Paul, Montana Legal Services Association

10:00 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

From Feedback to Functionality: Redesigning Legal Help Websites for Accessibility and Impact

Topic: Self-Help (TRACK)

WashingtonLawHelp.org and OregonLawHelp.org recently underwent comprehensive redesigns to improve accessibility, usability, and language access. This session explores how community engagement, usability testing, and accessibility audits informed the rebuilds using a decoupled Drupal approach. Attendees will learn how the teams applied plain language and modular content design, built multiple navigation pathways, created a searchable library of 400+ forms with a customized form-packet tool, integrated document assembly and audio playback, and delivered a mobile-first accessible experience. Includes a live demonstration and discussion of strategies for content migration and accessible design.

Speakers: Keren Farkas, Oregon State Bar; Laurie Garber, Northwest Justice Project; Danielle Rebar, Northwest Justice Project; Kurt Trowbridge, Gravity Works Design + Development

11:30 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

Building Smarter Feedback Loops for Client Services

Topic: Data

Legal aid programs often struggle to measure meaningful outcomes. In this panel, Colorado Legal Services shares their Texting for Outcomes project — from pilot to implementation — using SMS, LegalServer, and SurveyMonkey to gather client feedback at scale. Lone Star Legal Aid will discuss automating satisfaction surveys through LegalServer workflows and analyzing results in PowerBI. Participants will learn about message strategies, data collection challenges, and actionable insights for improving client communication and program design through smarter feedback loops.

Speakers: Molly French, Colorado Legal Services; Mary Jo Molandes, Lone Star Legal Aid; Gretchen Slusser, Thred Partners; Nick Whitaker, Lone Star Legal Aid

11:30 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

Prompt-a-palooza: Practical + Ethical AI for the AI-Curious Legal Aid Pro

Topic: AI Beginner (TRACK)

This hands-on, myth-busting session is for every legal aid professional curious about AI. Learn how tools like ChatGPT and Copilot can support your work ethically and effectively—with no coding required. We’ll explore practical ways to use AI for brainstorming, project planning, outreach, and communication while maintaining confidentiality and avoiding bias. Attendees will try guided prompts, gain clarity about ethical use, and leave with realistic strategies to integrate AI assistance into daily workflows.

Speakers: Kenneth Elliott, South Carolina Legal Services; Kate Frank, New Haven Legal Assistance/CTLawHelp.org; Mike Sabbagh, Lakeshore Legal Aid; Katie Strickfaden, Lakeshore Legal Aid

2:00 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

From Showcase to Strategy: Lessons So Far in Building Chatbots for Legal Aid

Topic: AI Advanced (TRACK)

Learn from Lone Star Legal Aid’s experience developing three AI-powered chatbots — Juris, LSLA Ask, and Navi — built under an LSC Technology Initiative Grant. This strategy session focuses on lessons learned in prompting, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and balancing security with usability. Panelists will cover project management essentials, from cross-department coordination to milestone tracking and internal user testing, offering guidance for replicating chatbot solutions responsibly in other legal aid programs.

Speakers: Sourav Mohan, Lone Star Legal Aid; Ashley Oborn, Lone Star Legal Aid

2:00 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

Streamlining Brief Advice: Tech Tools for Consistency and Speed

Topic: Self-Help (TRACK)

Court help centers face growing demand for rapid service delivery. This session highlights Maryland Center for Legal Assistance’s custom tech tools — the Related Tab and Link Manager — that streamline brief advice, connect multiple consultations, and share forms more efficiently. Presenters will share how these tools improve service quality and protect confidentiality while boosting staff productivity, along with practical steps for replication and scaling.

Speakers: Russ Bloomquist, Maryland Legal Aid & Maryland Center for Legal Assistance; Lindsay Bramble, Maryland Center for Legal Assistance

3:30 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

From Strategy to Action: Building AI Capacity in Legal Aid

Topic: AI Beginner (TRACK)

AI is already transforming legal aid—but adoption takes more than tools. This session shares how four justice communities are building AI capacity through training, peer learning networks, and collaborative infrastructure. Panelists will discuss how to align AI use with core justice values, secure funding, and foster a culture of responsible innovation. Attendees will gain pathways for integrating AI confidently within their organizations.

Speakers: Bridgette Carr, University of Michigan Law School; Lisa Colpoys, Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois; Ellen Samuel, Just-Tech, LLC; mj Joyce Smith, State Bar of California

3:30 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

Modernizing Legal Aid Intake: Lessons from North Carolina and New York

Topic: Intake (TRACK)

Outdated intake systems often block access to legal help. This session highlights innovative projects from New York and North Carolina using AI-enabled intake portals to simplify access and referrals. Presenters will detail planning, stakeholder engagement, inclusive design, and collaborative governance models essential for building sustainable tech infrastructure. Participants will leave with actionable steps for redesigning intake experiences in their own states.

Speakers: Megan Hennings, Legal Aid of North Carolina; Rezwanul Islam, Legal Services of Long Island; Christina Reilly, Legal Aid Society of Mid-NY; Kelly Shaw-Sutherland, Just-Tech, LLC

9:45 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

Triage, Referral, and Intake the AI Way

Topic: Intake (TRACK)

Finding the right cases or the right lawyer for a litigant is a resource-intensive process. Applicants can spend hours on hold only to find out that they do not have a legal problem the program can help with. AI seems like it can help—but how? This session explores four projects that use AI large language models to assist with intake and referral, including: Mid-Missouri Legal Services’ use of AI for simple classification in online intake; Virginia Legal Aid Society’s voice-based intake powered by AI; Oregon State Bar’s Bar Referral Service with AI-generated follow-up forms; and Lemma’s WorkFlowDocs for interactive chat-based data collection via LegalServer. Presenters will discuss project effectiveness, challenges, human oversight, and best practices for responsible AI implementation in client intake.

Speakers: Kirsten Dunham, Mid-Missouri Legal Services; Keren Farkas, Oregon State Bar; David Neumeyer, Virginia Legal Aid Society; Quinten Steenhuis, Suffolk University Law School, Lemma Legal LLC

9:45 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

Knowledge Management Is Not All AI: Learn How to Work Smarter Using Tech Tools You Already Have

Topic: Pro Bono

While AI gets the spotlight, knowledge management remains the foundation of efficient legal aid operations. This session shows how your organization can leverage familiar tools—like Microsoft 365, Teams, and Copilot—to enhance collaboration and reduce inefficiency without new investments. Leaders from DLA Piper, Microsoft, and Legal Aid Chicago share practical strategies and real-world examples of how law firms and legal aid programs are partnering to maximize productivity, knowledge sharing, and access to justice through smart technology management.

Speakers: Elisabeth Cappuyns, DLA Piper; Annie Helms, DLA Piper; Vivian Hessel, Legal Aid Chicago; Erin Lettire, Microsoft; Jon Quist, Microsoft

11:15 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

Testing Custom Generative AI Applications for Safety and Quality

Topic: AI Advanced (TRACK)

Generative AI holds immense potential for access-to-justice innovation—but only if it’s safe and reliable. This session outlines proven methods for testing and validating AI legal tools before launch. Presenters will share Stanford Legal Design Lab’s framework for evaluating AI-generated outputs, automated testing and benchmarking for People’s Law School’s Beagle+ chatbot, and the performance testing of FETCH, a Lemma-built legal issue classifier for Oregon and Virginia Legal Aid programs. Learn how to create evaluation criteria, build testing datasets, and apply validation tools to ensure consistent, trustworthy performance.

Speakers: Margaret Hagan, Stanford Legal Design Lab; Drew Jackson, People’s Law School; Quinten Steenhuis, Suffolk University Law School, Lemma Legal LLC

11:15 AM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

Practical Cybersecurity Roadmap for Uncertain Times

Topic: IT Operations (TRACK)

In times of uncertainty, protecting your organization’s data doesn’t require costly tools—it requires a plan. This hands-on session will help participants develop a practical cybersecurity roadmap that outlines manageable steps to strengthen organizational security. You’ll learn how to assess risk, prioritize tasks, and implement effective safeguards using existing tools and staff knowledge.

Speakers: Matthew Eshleman, Community IT Innovators; Anna Zambrano, Community IT Innovators

1:30 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

The Future of Intake is Here, and It Talks: How AI Voice is Changing Legal Aid Access

Topic: Intake (TRACK)

Every legal aid program faces limited staff and overwhelming demand. In 2025, agencies in Tennessee, Chicago, and North Carolina began using AI voice agents to conduct intake and triage independently. This forward-looking session discusses lessons learned from these pilots, key implementation challenges, live AI agent demonstrations, and integration with LegalServer. Hear from program leaders and developers about how voice-based AI can address intake bottlenecks, expand access, and protect client trust.

Speakers: Scheree Gilchrist, Legal Aid of North Carolina; Vincent Morris, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LASMTC); Cynthia Sadkin, Legal Aid Chicago; Mohini Tangri, Safe Haven AI

1:30 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

Beyond Aggregate Data: Transforming Legal Aid Reporting One Case at a Time

Topic: Data

Traditional funder reporting often hides nuance behind aggregate numbers. Maryland Legal Services Corporation, with Just-Tech and Datana, is leading a data modernization initiative to move from summary reporting to case-level insights. Presenters will discuss their multi-phase process—including standard templates, privacy protocols, technical support, and collaboration with grantees—and share challenges and successes in balancing flexibility with high data quality. Learn how to replicate this structured approach to data modernization within your own network.

Speakers: Athana Kontinos, Maryland Legal Services Corporation; Dave Pantzer, Maryland Legal Services Corporation; Kelly Shaw-Sutherland, Just-Tech, LLC; Gillian Villanueva, Datana

3:30 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom D

No Lights, No Camera, All Action… Easy AI Video Production with Preexisting Content

Topic: AI Beginner (TRACK)

Video is a growing tool for legal information delivery—but production costs and accessibility barriers persist. This session demonstrates how generative AI tools such as text-to-speech, language dubbing, and avatar generation are transforming legal education and outreach. Presenters will model how to produce multilingual, accessible videos in minutes, not hours, using existing content—all while maintaining professional standards and ethical care. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for integrating AI video tools into communication and training workflows.

Speakers: Jillian Beach, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass; Zane Jud, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LASMTC); Zachary Oswald, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LASMTC); Adam Stofsky, Briefly

3:30 PM CT

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Location: Texas Ballroom B

Bridging Old and New: Hybrid Approaches to Justice Access

Topic: Tech for Advocates

The best technology in legal aid doesn’t replace human connection—it enhances it. This session features success stories from legal aid organizations blending digital innovation with traditional client service to maximize impact. From hybrid outreach models to tech-assisted consultations, document automation, and project management, panelists share practical lessons for maintaining human-centered advocacy while streamlining operations. Learn how mixed approaches can extend reach without losing the empathy that drives access to justice.

Speakers: Laura Brown, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services; Andy Cole, West Tennessee Legal Services; Matt Flood, West Tennessee Legal Services; Morgen Morrissette, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO)