Talk Justice: Episode 94

Guest Speakers

Mike Monahan is an experienced public interest attorney and veteran access to justice professional. Mike has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1989 and has for the past 27 years served a dual role as director of pro bono services for both the Georgia Legal Services Program and the State Bar of Georgia.

Jason Susalla is the Managing Attorney of Bay Area Legal Services’ Disaster Relief Team, a team focused on community engagement and direct legal services for disaster survivors. Jason began his supervisory role of the disaster relief team in 2018, while it was a project under the BALS’ Volunteer Lawyers Program. Currently, Jason focuses on legal aid’s integration into the disaster relief community, developing innovative partnerships, and oversight of a statewide hotline for disaster survivors.

Lesley Albritton is the Chief of Staff of Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC). Previously, she served as Project Director and Managing Attorney of the Disaster Relief Project at LANC. Ms. Albritton led LANC’s response to Hurricanes Matthew, Florence, and Tropical Storm Fred. Ms. Albritton serves on the boards of the NC Housing Coalition and the NCVOAD. She was named a 2019 Leader in the Law and is a 2024 recipient of the North Carolina 50 Most Influential Women Award.

Peter Dennis is the Regional Managing Attorney for Florida Rural Legal Services’ Fort Myers office, which covers Lee, Charlotte, Hendry, Desoto, and Glades Counties. Having worked both domestically and internationally, Peter has spent the majority of his career working with vulnerable, underserved populations, focusing on public interest law. A long time Florida resident, Peter received his BA in Political Science from the University of Florida and his JD from New York University School of Law.

Host

Ronald S. Flagg was appointed President of the Legal Services Corporation effective February 20, 2020, and previously served as Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel since 2013.  He previously practiced commercial and administrative litigation at Sidley Austin LLP for 31 years, 27 years as a partner. He chaired the firm’s Committee on Pro Bono and Public Interest Law for more than a decade.

Flagg served as president of the District of Columbia Bar in 2010-2011 and currently serves as Chair of the Bar’s Pro Bono Task Force.  He presently also chairs the board of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. He has also served as Chair of the District of Columbia Bar Pro Bono Committee, Chair of the Board of the AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly, as a member of the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, on LSC’s Pro Bono Task Force, and as a member of the Board of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the Board of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Foundation, and  the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission.

Flagg graduated with honors from the University of Chicago and cum laude from Harvard Law School. He began his career as a law clerk to Judge Myron L. Gordon, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and as attorney-advisor in the United States Department of Justice, Office of Intelligence Policy.