Leaders from the business and legal communities will join the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in New York City on July 26 for a forum on increasing access to justice.  

The event will include two panel discussions. Panelists from three cities that have made it a right for tenants to have a lawyer when facing eviction — New York City, Newark, and Kansas City — will share lessons learned from the process. LSC President Ron Flagg will moderate the discussion with Colleen Cotter, executive director, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland; Senior Judge Dennis Eckold, Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri; Khabirah Myers, coordinator, Office of Tenant Legal Services, City of Newark; and Raun Rasmussen, executive director, Legal Services NYC. 

The second panel will feature business and civic leaders sharing their insights on the importance of investment in civil legal aid. Leadership Council on Legal Diversity President Robert J. Grey, a member of LSC's Board of Directors, will moderate the discussion. He will be joined by Michael Bosworth, partner and deputy general counsel, Goldman Sachs; Deneen Donnley, senior vice president & general counsel, Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.; and Matthew Dornauer, chief legal officer, Heineken USA.  

Distinguished national leaders will also share remarks. They include Tanya Coke, director of gender, racial, and ethnic justice, Ford Foundation; Douglas Eakeley, founder and co-director, Center for Corporate Law and Governance, Rutgers Law School and a former LSC Board Chair; American Bar Association President Deborah Enix-Ross; LSC Board Chair John G. Levi; Michael Schmidtberger, chair of Sidley Austin LLP’s executive committee; and Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, New York Court of Appeal. The speakers will address the devastating impact of the justice gap on low-income Americans and efforts underway to increase access to justice.  

The forum will be held at 3 p.m. EDT at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, 320 East 43rd Street. It will also be livestreamed on LSC's Facebook page. 

Later that day, LSC will hold a Pro Bono Service Awards Reception to recognize the contributions of local lawyers and a law firm to four LSC-funded organizations in the area. Judge Lewis J. Liman, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, will deliver remarks. He will be joined by LSC Board Chair John G. Levi; Brad S. Karp, chairman, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; and Eric J. Friedman executive partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates.