News Release from Legal Services Corporation
Dickinson Wright Chairman Emeritus Dennis W. Archer will address the national Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Board of Directors when it meets in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on July 27.
Archer, who served on the Michigan Supreme Court and as mayor of Detroit, was the first African-American president of the American Bar Association (2003-2004). He will speak at the board’s luncheon on Friday, July 27, 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m., at the Sheraton Ann Arbor.
Suellyn Scarnecchia, a University of Michigan Law School Clinical Law Professor who served as Vice President and General Counsel of the University of Michigan from 2008-2012, will also speak at the luncheon.
The day before, at a forum held at the University of Michigan Law School, board members will hear from a panel featuring Hon. Denise Page Hood of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and four state chief justices. They will also hear from representatives of LSC-funded legal aid programs across the country, and from Michigan access to justice leaders.
Judge Hood, together with Chief Justice Mark Cady of Iowa, Chief Justice Cornelia Clark of Tennessee, Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride of Illinois, and Chief Justice Richard Teitelman of Missouri, will address LSC Board members about the role of legal aid for the poor in safeguarding the fair administration of justice. That panel will take place on July 26, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in 1225 South Hall, 701 South State Street.
The board will also hear from experts in service delivery, domestic violence, and resource development:
- On Thursday, domestic violence law experts will tell board members about innovative work being done by LSC-funded legal services programs in California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, and Wisconsin (July 26, 3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., in 1225 South Hall, 701 South State Street).
- Also on Thursday, a panel of Michigan equal justice community leaders will discuss how the state’s collaborative approach affects both the quality and efficiency of legal services, and how legal aid offices are coping with the dual challenges of growing demand and reduced funding (July 26, 4:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m., 1225 South Hall, 701 South State Street).
- On Friday, representatives of LSC-funded programs in Michigan, Missouri, and Georgia, and a consultant from the ABA Project to Expand Resources for Legal Services will update the board on successes and challenges related to resource development by legal aid programs. (July 27, 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m., Sheraton Ann Arbor).