ILAG 2023 – Challenges of Access to Justice

Welcome to the 2023 “Challenges of Access to Justice” ILAG conference website! On this webpage, you will find a host of information critical for the the event, including a digital program, conference papers and national reports, a participant list, logistics, and sponsorship information. Please use the information contained as a resource. We will be updating information on a rolling basis.

***Venue and Logistical information is located at the bottom of this page.***

Conference Booklets

Conference Program and National Reports (download)

Delegate Bios and Abstracts (download)

Conference Agenda & Papers + National Reports

Conference Papers are linked in the appropriate session. If a paper is missing a link, it has not yet been received by the conference organizers.

Wednesday, June 21

12.00-12.45pm – Registration

12.45-1.30pm – Welcome

1.30-2.30 pm – National reports

Santosh Snehi Mann – Empowering Indian citizens through Legal Aid

Isidro Garcia Mingo – Legal Aid in Jordan: Expanding Access to the Public System

Overall summary – Avrom Sherr

2.30-3.45pm – Session One: Measuring Access to Justice (Panel)

David B. Wilkins, Harvard Law School

Rebecca Sandefur, ASU

James Greiner, Harvard Law School

David Colarusso, Suffolk University Law School

James Teufel, Help Justice

3.45-4.00pm – Break

4.00-5.45pm      Session Two: Recent developments in the USA: What lessons for the wider world?

Catrina Denvir, Jessica Mant, Meredith Edelman and Alvx Mark – Exploring the Relationship between Age of Parenthood and Civil Justice Problem Incidence

Neil Steinkamp Tending to the Garden of Justice – Innovative Techniques for Fostering the Development of Thriving Justice Systems

Mallory SoRelle – Race, Class and Democratic consequences of Unequal Access to Justice

Elizabeth Chambliss: The Vanishing Rural Lawyer

Power Point Presentation

6.00pm – Conference Reception @ Harvard Law School

Thursday June 22

9.00-10.45am – Session Three A: SDG 16.3 and Access to Justice

Adrian Di Giovanni- Supporting Southern-led Research and Evidence to Close the Justice Gap

Vicky Kemp- Access to justice for child suspects drawn into an adversarial system of justice

Katie Kelso and Bianca Dufty – Early legal assistance in child protection

Mies Westerveldt – Access to Justice, a multi-layered concept

9.00-10.45am – Session Three B: Crime and Access to Justice

Sofia Libedinsky and Pablo Aranda Aliaga – Access to Justice and comprehensive services for victims of institutional prison violence

Andre Castro: The Red Room Case – A Landmark application of the Exclusion Rule in Brazil

Miri Sharon, Anat Horovitz & Yoav Sapir : The Challenge of Defending Indigent Clients in a World of Global Enforcement

Anika Holterhof and Wendy O’Brien -Human Rights-Based and Technology-Enabled Approaches to Enhancing Access to Legal Aid

Power Point Presentation

10.45-11.15 am – Break

11.15am-1:00pm – Session Four A: Helping those ineligible for legal aid

Bonnie Hough- Rising to the Challenge – California’s Self-Help Centers in Pandemic Times

Tatiana Grieshofer: Informational justice at risk: An empirical and textual analysis of information and advice provision in family court

Jin Ho Verdonschot, Carla van Rooijen, Susanne Peters, Corry van Zeeland: Steps
towards an evidence-based legal aid system

Mathius Huhtilainen and Tarja Koskela: Financial eligibility and Legal aid in Finland

11.15am-1:00pm – Session Four B: The Justification for Legal Aid

Louise Glanville and Martha Arkalis: What is the cost of not funding legal assistance?

Trevor Farrow and Marcus Pratt: Making the Case for Legal Aid.

Sunil Chauhan: Legal Needs in Rural India: Challenges and responses of legal aid authorities

Matthias Killian: Making it attractive to private lawyers

Power Point Presentation

1.00-2.00 pm – Lunch

2.00-3.30 pm– Session Five Unpacking the concept of Access in Access to Justice

Ab Currie: The First Step in People-Centered Justice

Power Point Presentation

Gabrielle Canny: The role of modern communications in providing legal assistance

Jane Cipants: Is access for all really access to justice?

Matthew Burnett and Rebecca Sandefur: Mapping global access to justice research to support evidence-based policy and practice

3.30-3.45 pm – Break

3.45-5.30pm – Session Six: Where legal aid lawyers will come from in the future?

Cleber Alves and Livia Casseres – CHALLENGES FOR ETHNIC EQUALITY AND RACIAL DIVERSITY IN RECRUITING STAFF FOR LEGAL AID SERVICES IN THE FUTURE: – POSSIBLE IDEAS BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Colin Lancaster: Supply problems in Scotland

Power Point Presentation

Megan Longley: The Role of University Teaching Clinics in Access to Justice and Legal Aid

Catrina Denvir, Jacqui Kinghan, Jessica Mant and Daniel Newman: Access to Justice and the Future of Legal Aid – A census of legal aid providers in England and Wales

Power Point Presentation

6.00pm – Conference Dinner @ Harvard Law School

Friday 23rd June

9.00-10.45 am  – Session Seven: Holistic provision : The Way of the Future?

Hazel Genn – Addressing health inequalities through Health Justice Partnerships: NHS and Ministry of Justice policy and practice developments in England & Wales

Power Point Presentation

Maaike Langen – Delivering justice and fairness in people’s lives, looking beyond the usual suspects

Power Point Presentation

Sue James – Going to where the people are who need our help – legal empowerment and multidisciplinary innovation

10.45-11.15 am – Break

11.15am-1 pm – Session Eight: Technology and Access

Andrews Kananga – The Use of Mobile technology for legal aid delivery

Stefanie Lemke – Ensuring Equal Access to Justice: Is Legal Technology the Answer? Observations and Global Trends from Asia and Europe

Yu-Shan Chang – Not All Clients Are The Same: Exploring the Possibility of Legal Aid Service Innovation with Modern Technology

Power Point Presentation

1.00-2.00pm – Lunch

2.00-3.45pm – Session Nine: Technology as the problem?

Aneurin Thomas: AI and Access to Justice: Where are we and Where are we going?

Natalie Byrom: Justice Data Matters: Datafication and access to justice

Power Point Presentation

Riikka Koulu and Frida Westerling: Rethinking Access to Justice through digitalisation: User experiences of digital legal aid services

Stuart Kelly, Technology and the Future of Lawyers

3.45-4.00 pm                                                Where Next?

Who’s Coming?

Attendees as of June 1.

Travel and Venue Information

The 2023 Conference will be hosted at Wasserstein Hall, Milstein Conference Center (2nd Floor) on the Campus of Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA.

What is the conference venue’s street address? The conference venue’s street address is 1585 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
- Please note that we ask participants to enter Wasserstein Hall via the entrance on the corner of Massachusetts Ave and Everett Street (which corresponds to the address above) directly next to the “Harvard Coop”. Staff will be on hand to direct you to the Milstein Conference Center within Wasserstein Hall. All other doors at HLS are locked.
How do I get to (and around) Harvard? Find key information, including a campus map and travel instructions from the airport here.
How far are the primary conference hotels from the venue? We have also included a map below with the main conference hotels and the conference venue pinned. Both the Porter Square Hotel and Hotel 1868 are about a 15-20 min direct walk to HLS.
What about public transit around Cambridge/Boston? You can visit the public transit website to find point-to-point directions via the subway or bus routes (including travel time and specific fare information). The conference venue is a 10-15 min walk from either the Harvard Square Subway/T stop or the Porter Square Subway/T stop–both on the “Red” line. “Downtown” Boston (the Boston Common area) is around 15-20 mins on the subway.
What to do in Boston? June is beautiful in Boston! The City of Boston has a fantastic website dedicated to tourist tips, maps, and other information. Or just ask anyone from the Center/Harvard. We are always happy to provide tips and advice.
Always check Google Maps! We also encourage participants to use their Google maps for most up-to-date travel information, including directions to HLS, airports, downtown Boston, and more. Boston/Cambridge traffic, public transit delays, and the like can be unpredictable, so it is best to check Google.