Statewide Leadership Conference

Washington State Legal Services Providers - 030140

Abstract Number: 030140

July 2003

Under the auspices of Washington's Access to Justice Board, the equal justice community held a three day leadership conference in February 2003. This conference brought together the management and supervision personnel of staffed legal services programs, specialized legal services programs, the volunteer attorney programs, the state Bar Association, the State IOLTA Foundation, and other identified leaders in the state's access to justice movement. The goal of the conference was to identify creative solutions to complex problems related to collaboration, funding, partnership values, and barriers to effective participation in an institutionalized access to justice network. Participants explored ways to increase ongoing communication among providers, identify gaps in service delivery and collaborative strategies to address them, reduce institutional barriers to communication and collaboration among providers, increase awareness of need for strategic resource sharing and development, and more. The Conference was facilitated by Ellen Hemley, an experienced equal justice community facilitator. The conference led to the creation of three ongoing work groups dedicated to:

1. reviewing the Hallmarks for ongoing relevancy to equal justice movement in Washington;
2. developing uniform guidelines for regional planning and coordination efforts throughout the state; and
3. exploring salary and benefits comparability among the various components of the equal justice network.

The Leadership Conference participant group established a listserv to facilitate ongoing communication. The primary participants in the Conference and subsequent Work Groups are the Northwest Justice Project, Columbia Legal Services, the 24 local Volunteer Lawyer Services programs throughout the state, the specialized service providers, Legal Foundation of Washington (IOLTA program); and Washington State Bar Association. For more information, access the regional planning efforts report below. Washington State's Access to Justice website is available at: http://www.waaccesstojustice.org/.

Contact Information:

Joan Fairbanks
Washington State Bar Association, Access to Justice Manager
Access to Justice Board
2101 Fourth Avenue, Ste. 400,
Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: (206) 727-8282
Fax: (206) 727-8319
Joanf@wsba.org

Additional Information:

• Regional Planning and Coordination Guidelines Report ( 94k)

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