Access to Justice Forum 2015
Former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale, Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and other leading jurists and lawyers from the Midwest gathered in Minneapolis July 16-17 for LSC's Board of Directors quarterly meeting.
The LSC Board convened two panels at the University of St. Thomas Law School on July 17. Swanson, LSC Board Chair John G. Levi, and Dean Robert K. Vischer of the University of St. Thomas Law School gave remarks before the panel discussions.
The first panel, which focused on the importance of access to justice to the judiciary, featured Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Judge Michael J. Davis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, and Justice Thomas L. Kilbride of the Illinois Supreme Court. Harvard Law School Dean and LSC Board Vice Chair Martha Minow moderated the panel.
The second panel examined the role of LSC-funded legal aid programs in the development of Indian Law.
Panelists included: Christopher Allery, Co-Executive Director, Anishinabe Legal Services; Rosalie Chavez, Manager, Santa Ana office and the Native American Program, New Mexico Legal Aid; Professor Richard B. Collins, University of Colorado Law School; John Echohawk, Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund; and Judge Ron Whitener, Tulalip Tribal Court. LSC Board member Gloria Valencia Weber, a professor at the University of New Mexico Law School, moderated the panel.
Rep. Emmer and Dean David Wippman of the University of Minnesota School of Law delivered remarks at a luncheon following the panel discussions.
Later in the day at the Dorsey & Whitney law firm (50 South 6th Street), Mondale, Minnesota State Bar Association President Michael Unger, and Dorsey &Whitney Managing Partner Ken Cutler delivered remarks at a reception for recipients of LSC’s Pro Bono Service Awards.