Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael L. Bender and Judge William J. Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado will join supreme court justices from four other states on Monday, July 22, at a forum on civil legal aid at the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center in Denver.

The forum is being held in conjunction with the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Board of Directors’ quarterly meeting.

Joining Chief Justice Bender and Judge Martinez will be Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael G. Heavican, New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Petra Jimenez Maes, Wyoming Supreme Court Justice E. James Burke, and Utah Supreme Court Justice Christine M. Durham.

The panel will address LSC Board members and an audience of more than 100 attorneys, judges and other access to justice leaders from across the region. They will discuss the importance of access to justice to the judiciary.

LSC Board Member Robert J. Grey, Jr., a partner in the firm of Hunton & Williams, and former American Bar Association president, will moderate the panel, which will take place from 9:15-10:45 a.m. at the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center, Colorado Supreme Court Courtroom, 2 East 14th Avenue, in Denver.

The forum will also examine the state of civil legal services for low-income people in the Mountain West region. Legal Services Corporation President James J. Sandman will moderate a second panel of executive directors from LSC-funded legal aid offices, including Jon Asher of Colorado Legal Services, Jim Cook of Idaho Legal Aid Services, Anna Marie Johnson of Nevada Legal Services, Ed Marks of New Mexico Legal Aid, Anne Milne of Utah Legal Services, Inc., and Colline Wahkinney-Keely of Oklahoma Indian Legal Services. The panel will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Justice Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr. of the Colorado Supreme Court will speak at a luncheon following the panel discussions.

The LSC Board and its committees will meet July 21-23 at the Warwick Hotel, 1776 Grant Street, in Denver.  Details regarding the board and committee meetings may be found in a notice published on the LSC website.  Members of the public who are unable to attend may listen to open sessions of the board and its committees by telephone, using the instructions in the notice.