Attorney General Merrick Garland and other speakers joined leaders from 130 organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and other advocates for access to justice at a forum and gala Tuesday celebrating LSC’s 50th Anniversary.   

The forum and dinner at the Omni Shoreham brought together the nation’s foremost justice leaders, who spoke of their belief in the rule of law, but also underscored that the American ideal of equal justice under the law has not yet been realized for low-income Americans.  

In a Tuesday afternoon session, John Grisham sat down for a conversation about his early career as a lawyer in Mississippi and how it influenced his current advocacy and philanthropy. 

Martha Minow, Board Chair of the MacArthur Foundation and 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard University

Laura Stein, EVP and General Counsel of Corporate & Legal Affairs, Mondelēz International

Derek Douglas, Former Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of IonQ Inc.

Maacah Scott, Assistant General Counsel for Chicago White Sox

David Levi, Professor of Law and Judicial Studies, Duke University School of Law

John Levi, LSC Board Chair

Rebecca Pallmeyer, Chief Judge of the Northern District of Illinois

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)

Hon. Michael Massengale, former Justice of the First Court of Appeals in Houston

Hon. Dimple Malhotra, Judge of Travis County Court 4 in Texas

Hon. Brett Busby, Justice of the Texas Supreme Court