Product Description

MCLE is pleased to bring you its 7th Annual Legal Services Conference 2019, which draws together the Massachusetts legal services community. This year’s Conference focuses on how effective communications can advance advocacy goals, assist clients, and dispel myths around poverty. Legal aid and pro bono advocates throughout the state convene to discuss the impact of legal aid and the different avenues legal aid can take to make a difference.

Join us for a day of networking and learning with your fellow advocates. How can you use social media in your practice? Do you have an elevator pitch for your client? Your organization? Why do you need these things? Learn how to support your clients so they can tell their own story. Find out how the media can help (or hurt) a cause. How can you use data to support your client’s story? Experts from the University of Massachusetts Medical School Research Department share why numbers matter! Working journalists share what they look for in a story, what works in a pitch, and what doesn’t.

You don’t want to miss this opportunity to connect with your colleagues, celebrate your successes, learn from your existing challenges, and ultimately leave better equipped to assist your next client.

Agenda & Materials

• 9:00 am - 9:10 am

  Welcome and Introduction

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• 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm

  Who, What, Where, When & Why: How to Work Effectively with the Media

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  Amy M. Karp, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services , Boston
  Wendy Wolf, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services, Youth Advocacy Division , Boston
  Michael Glennon, Esq., Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten , Boston
  Lauren E. Russell, Esq., Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, Inc. (CLCM) , Lynn
  
• 9:10 am - 9:30 am

  Chief Justice Nechtem Remarks

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• 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm

  Break/Transition to Breakouts

  Brenda Westberry, Westberry Consulting
  Brenda Westberry, Westberry Consulting
  
• 9:30 am - 10:30 am

  “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde

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• 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

  Breakouts

  Dr. Antoinette Kavanaugh, , Chicago
  
• 10:30 am - 11:30 am

  Listening to the Experts: Voices of the Clients

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  ,
  Amy Ponte, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Children and Family Law Division , Fall River
  Hon. Gloria Y. Tan, Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Boston
  Mimi N. Wong, Esq., Commenwealth of Massachusetts, Sex Offender Registry Board , Brookline
  
• 1. Using Data to Amplify Effective Storytelling and Advocacy

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  Auditorium
• 11:30 am - 11:45 am

  Networking and Refreshment Break
• 2. Enhancing Advocacy Skills Through Storytelling

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  Upper Level
• 11:45 am - 1:15pm

  Workshops (choose one)
• 3. Creating Massachusetts Voices - A Statewide Communications Network to Elevate Civil Justice and Legal Aid

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  Lower Level

  Stacy Boothe, Massachusetts Dept of Children and Families, Northeast Region , Salem
  ,
  Hon. Carol A. Shaw, Hampden County Juvenile Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Springfield
  Dorothy Meyer Storrow, Esq., Law Offices of Dorothy Meyer Storrow , Gill
  
• • What’s Happening With the 2018 Crime Bill (Lower Level)

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  Since it took effect almost 18 months ago, various sections of the crime bill have drastically altered the way juvenile delinquency is dealt with in the courts. This panel will address what exactly is happening across the state with regard to things like judicial diversion, Wallace W., and expungement. For other issues, like the definition of delinquency and parental disqualification, we will also update participants about relevant proposed legislation. Participants will come away with concrete strategies for putting the bill into practice.

  Michael Glennon, Esq., Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten , Boston
  Lauren E. Russell, Esq., Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, Inc. (CLCM) , Lynn
  
• 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm

  Reception
• • Motivational Interviewing (Upper Level)

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  Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a directive, client centered interactive communication style designed to identify, explore and resolve ambivalence which facilitates positive behavior change. In this interactive, hands on workshop, participants will be exposed to the origins of MI, the change process and will practice micro skills of MI which will make it more likely that others will listen, be engaged and be ready to make changes.

  Hannah Baker, Esq., Department of Unemployment Assistance, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Boston
  Melanie J. Roberts, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services , Boston
  Steven R. Verronneau, MWV Multi-Media Forensic Investigative Services, Inc. , Fall River
  Brenda Westberry, Westberry Consulting
  
• • Motivational Interviewing (Upper Level)

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  Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a directive, client centered interactive communication style designed to identify, explore and resolve ambivalence which facilitates positive behavior change. In this interactive, hands on workshop, participants will be exposed to the origins of MI, the change process and will practice micro skills of MI which will make it more likely that others will listen, be engaged and be ready to make changes.

  Hannah Baker, Esq., Department of Unemployment Assistance, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Boston
  Melanie J. Roberts, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services , Boston
  Steven R. Verronneau, MWV Multi-Media Forensic Investigative Services, Inc. , Fall River
  Brenda Westberry, Westberry Consulting
  
• • Children in the Courtroom and on the Stand CHILD WELFARE (Auditorium)

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  A lively panel discussion among at least one former foster child, a judge, a social worker, and practitioners. The discussion will focus on how to empower children, youth, and young adults involved in child welfare matters by bringing them into court to participate and to testify at evidentiary and non-evidentiary hearings, and trials. Panelists will discuss the law around the child’s right to participate and give evidence in their case, bringing the child into court, talking with them about attending, and preparing them. Panelists will discuss practical considerations and outline the law on accommodations and due process requirements. We will hear from a former foster child about how very important it was for them to come to court, to have their voice heard, and to hear about how decisions were made that significantly affected their life. The panel will address how the youth voice can be the most important in the courtroom, how it can help shape the case, and how to provide accommodations and support to the client both in court and afterward. We will hear specific instances of how it worked, and how it could be done better.

  ,
  Amy Ponte, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Children and Family Law Division , Fall River
  Hon. Gloria Y. Tan, Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Boston
  Mimi N. Wong, Esq., Commenwealth of Massachusetts, Sex Offender Registry Board , Brookline
  
• 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm

  Lunch (on your own)
• 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

  Workshops (choose one)
• • Pathway to Speedy Reunification (Lower Level)

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  In the past year, the Juvenile Court has begun to roll out its new Pathways initiative around the state. One of Pathways’ goals is that “children who can safety return home will do so sooner, thus reducing their trauma[.]” Judge Carol Shaw, who first implemented Pathways as a pilot project in Springfield, will provide an overview of the initiative and its goals. Presenters will then discuss how Pathways, along with some new initiatives at DCF, can be used to achieve earlier reunification of families. The presenters will discuss how the court, DCF, and attorneys for parents and children can promote early reunification through active engagement with families, safety planning, and provision of services and supports. We will provide tips for engaging families and ensuring their voices are heard in the decision making process.

  Stacy Boothe, Massachusetts Dept of Children and Families, Northeast Region , Salem
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  Hon. Carol A. Shaw, Hampden County Juvenile Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Springfield
  Dorothy Meyer Storrow, Esq., Law Offices of Dorothy Meyer Storrow , Gill
  
• • Navigating Social Media in Child Welfare and Delinquency Cases (Auditorium)

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  Have you ever struggled to get facts into evidence that are already all over facebook? Ever been confronted in the courtroom with a printout of your client's confession on what they thought was a private snapchat account? Or have you ever spent a fruitless hour googling your client in a desperate attempt to make contact? If so, this panel is for you! You will learn about legal standards and techniques for admitting and defending against social media evidence in delinquency and C&P cases, as well as some tips for informal discovery and out of court uses of social media.

  Hannah Baker, Esq., Department of Unemployment Assistance, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Boston
  Melanie J. Roberts, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services , Boston
  Steven R. Verronneau, MWV Multi-Media Forensic Investigative Services, Inc. , Fall River
  
• • Being Heard (Upper Level)

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  Being Heard: Delinquency/Youthful Offender cases are focused on youth yet we rarely hear from our clients or young people who are effected. Can we change the narrative and protect those that come before the court? This workshop will have you think about ways you can give power to young people in the court and think about ways you help young people have their voice heard.

  Hon. Kerry Ann Ahern, Essex Juvenile Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Salem
  Sandra Hilario, Middlesex County Juvenile Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Cambridge
  Ziyad S. Hopkins, Esq., Youth Advocacy Division, Committee for Public Counsel Services , Quincy
  Charlene Luma, LICSW, Suffolk County District Attorney's Office , Boston
  
• 4:00 pm - 4:15 pm

  Networking and Refreshment Break
• 4:15 pm - 4:45 pm

  Fairness and Due Process: Engaging Children and Families

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  Hon. Jay D. Blitzman, , Watertown
  
• 4:45 pm

  Reception

Cochairs

Featured Speaker(s)

Faculty