Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission

Farewell Presentation to Gerry Singsen At the May 23, 2017 meeting of the Access to Justice Commission, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, Associate Justice and Commission Co-Chair Geraldine Hines, and Commission Co-Chair Susan M. Finegan, Esq. presented Antone G. “Gerry” Singsen with a special Access to Justice Award in recognition of Gerry’s […]

  Access to Justice Fellows Program End of Year Reception on Thursday, June 29 Please join us for the end-of-the-year reception for the Access to Justice Fellows Program at Mintz Levin, 1 Financial Center, Boston, MA next Thursday, June 29th at 5:00-6:30 p.m. (see details below).  The keynote speaker will be Chief Justice Ralph Gants […]

ACCESS TO JUSTICE UPDATE, JUNE 5, 2017   Last Commission Meeting of the 2016-2017 Year on June 13, 2017 at 3:00PM The last meeting of the Access to Justice Commission will take place in the Social Law Library on the fourth floor of the Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Plaza, Boston. The meeting begins at 3:00PM […]

THE 2017 MASSACHUSETTS JUSTICE FOR ALL PROJECT ISSUES A SURVEY This Update seeks your ideas and participation in the Access to Justice Commission’s Justice for All Project. The Project is funded by a special grant which seeks nothing less than to develop a plan that ultimately provides 100 percent access to effective assistance for essential […]

Next Commission Meeting March 23, 2017 The next meeting of the Access to Justice Commission will take place in the Social Law Library at the Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Plaza, Boston. The meeting begins at 3:00 and is open to the public.   Civil Appeals Pro Bono Clinic: Training and Reception March 2: The Civil […]

MAURA KELLY HIRED AS TRIAL COURT SENIOR MANAGER FOR ACCESS TO JUSTICE     Hon. Dina Fein, long the Special Advisor to the Trial Court on Access to Justice initiatives, announced at yesterday’s meeting of the Access to Justice Commission that The Trial Court has hired Maura Kelly for the position of Senior Manager for Access to Justice. […]

BOSTON MAYOR PROPOSES RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN  EVICTIONS. Nearly a decade after a task force produced “Gideon’s New Trumpet” calling for a right to counsel in eviction cases, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has taken the idea to heart and proposed a right to counsel as part of a package of legislation he will submit to […]

COMMISSION’S NEXT MEETING JANUARY 19, 2017. The next meeting of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission will convene at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, January19, 2017, in the Social Law Library on the fourth floor of the John Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Plaza, Boston.  Other meetings are scheduled for March 23, May 23 and June 13. […]

1. THE NEXT ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION MEETING WILL CONVENE ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, AT 3:00, in the Social Law Library on the fourth floor of the Adams courthouse located at One Pemberton Plaza, Boston MA. The meeting is open to the public. The major item on the agenda is an exploration of cases involving […]

Massachusetts was awarded one of seven Justice For All grants (also known to some of us as the 100% access initiative grants) from the Public Welfare Foundation.  It was a competitive process, with twenty-five states applying for such funding.  The grant proposal contemplated the development of a strategic action plan for improving access to justice […]