The Supreme Judicial Court announced the appointment of 22
members to the Access to Justice Commission, having reconstituted
the commission following its initial five-year term. The commission
is co-chaired by the Hon. Ralph D. Gants, associate justice of the
Supreme Judicial Court, and attorney David W. Rosenberg, of
Rosenberg, Schapiro, Englander, Chicoine and Leggett PC. Its first
meeting was held in late March.
The former commission was chaired by retired Supreme Judicial
Court Chief Justice Herbert P. Wilkins.
Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall said, "The Access to Justice
Commission will provide leadership, vision and coordination to all
entities involved in providing and expanding access to justice,
especially to those unable to afford counsel. Both the legal
community and the community at large have a responsibility to
achieve equal justice for all persons in the commonwealth. The
membership on the commission is therefore being expanded to include
members of the business, medical and technological communities, and
the executive branch. Other members will represent the judiciary,
law schools, bar associations and bar foundations, and legal
services and clients."
In addition to Gants and Rosenberg, the members appointed to
serve three-year terms on a staggered basis are:
Navjeet K. Bal, Esq., commissioner,
Massachusetts Department of Revenue, and former chair of the Legal
Advocacy and Resource Center;
Jacquelynne J. Bowman, Esq., deputy director,
Greater Boston Legal Services Inc., Eastern Legal Services Region
representative and a member of the former commission;
Hon. Cynthia J. Cohen, associate justice,
Appeals Court, and chair of the former SJC Steering Committee on
Self-Represented Litigants;
Hon. Pamela M. Dashiell, justice of Boston
Municipal Court;
Anthony M. Doniger, Esq., Sugarman, Rogers,
Barshak & Cohen PC, Boston, former president of the Boston Bar
Association, representative of the Boston Bar Association/Boston
Bar Foundation, and a member of the former
commission;
Russell Engler, Esq., professor of law and
director of Clinical Programs, New England School of Law;
Hon. Dina E. Fein, special advisor to the Trial
Court on Access to Justice Initiatives, first justice of the
Western Division Housing Court, Springfield, and a member of the
former commission;
Joel H. Feldman, Esq., Heisler, Feldman,
McCormick & Garrow PC, Springfield, Central/Western Legal
Services Region representative;
Robert B. Foster, Esq., Rackemann, Sawyer &
Brewster PC, Boston, representative of Massachusetts Legal
Assistance Corp., and a member of the former commission;
Hon. Kathryn E. Hand, justice, Region 1,
Southeast, District Court Department;
Brent L. Henry, Esq., vice president and
general counsel, Partners Health Care System;
Sandra L. Jesse, Esq., chief legal officer and
executive vice president, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Massachusetts Inc., former president, Boston Bar Foundation;
Ann Bailey Leavenworth, office administrator,
Holy Family Catholic Church, Springfield, client representative to
the commission, and former commission member;
Sue Marsh, executive director of Rosie's Place
and a member of the former commission;
Richard McMahon, Esq., executive director,
South Coastal Counties Legal Services Inc., Southeast Legal
Services Region representative, and a member of the former
commission;
Hon. Angela M. Ordoñez, associate justice,
Probate and Family Court, Norfolk Division, Canton;
Hon. Steven D. Pierce, chief justice, Housing
Court Department;
Allan G. Rodgers, Esq., executive director,
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute;
Jay T. Thiel, Esq., Northeast Legal Services
Region representative;
James T. Van Buren, Esq., representative of the
Massachusetts Bar Association/Massachusetts Bar Foundation, and a
member of the former commission.