New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas Joins Jurists and Civil Legal Aid Leaders for Legal Services Corporation’s Access to Justice Forum

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, distinguished jurists, and leaders of the legal aid community will gather on Monday, October 17, for panel discussions on how to expand access to justice. The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is hosting the event in conjunction with its Board of Directors’ quarterly meeting.

Attorney General Balderas will join University of New Mexico Law School Dean Sergio Pareja and Legal Services Corporation Board Chair John G. Levi in making opening remarks for the forum.

The two panels will focus on ways to increase access to civil legal assistance for low-income Americans. The first panel, “The Importance of Access to Justice to the Judiciary,” will feature Chief Judge M. Christina Armijo, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico; Justice Eva Guzman, Supreme Court of Texas; Justice William W. Hood, III, Colorado Supreme Court; Judge William Johnson, Acoma Pueblo Tribal Court; and Justice Petra Jimenez Maes, New Mexico Supreme Court. Harvard Law School Dean and LSC Board Vice Chair Martha Minow will moderate the discussion.

The second panel, “Legal Services and Law School Collaborations to Expand Access to Justice,” will include Jennifer Barnes, Director of the Externship Program, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law; Pamela Bridge, Director of Litigation and Advocacy, Community Legal Services in Arizona; Beth Gillia, Director, Corinne Wolfe Children’s Law Center at University of New Mexico School of Law; and Ed Marks, Executive Director, New Mexico Legal Aid. LSC President James J. Sandman will moderate.

The panels will be held 2 to 5 p.m. at the University of New Mexico School of Law at 1117 Stanford Drive NE. The LSC Board will meet October 16–18 at the Hotel Andaluz, 125 2^nd Street NW. Details on the board and committee meetings may be found in a notice published on the LSC website: www.lsc.gov.

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 131 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.  