2021 Winter IOLTA Workshops

All registrants will receive a unique link to the Workshop via email directly from Remo, the hosting platform.  Please be sure to check your junk/spam folders if you do not see a message on February 4th.  Anyone that registers on or after February 4 will be contacted on February 9th.   If you do not receive your link, please contact either Annie Kuhlman or Tamaara Piquion for assistance acquiring your individual link.”

More Information about Remo: https://remo.co/conference

ALL Times are CST

Schedule (pdf version)

February 11

10:00 AM - 10:15 AM 

Welcome and Introduction

Understanding the wide variety of federal funding sources that are administered by the states can feel overwhelming.  Our grantees may not know about the availability of all of these funds or may not have been successful in making the case that civil legal aid is a good fit for the funding.  For years, Karen Lash has shared information with governmental agencies to show that increasing opportunities for education, employment, housing, health care, and improving public safety and family stability are more effective, efficient, and fair when they include legal aid.  This panel will provide an overview of her work and examples of success from three states where IOLTA programs and other partners have worked to increase federal pass through funds.

David Houghton, Chair, ABA Commission on IOLTA
Jennifer Bentley, President, National Association of IOLTA Programs 

10:15 AM - 12:15 PM

Walking the Talk: DEI Best Practices for Funders of Legal Services

During 2020, racial justice captured national attention, especially given nationwide protests following the slayings by law enforcement of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 illness, deaths, and adverse economic consequences among people of color. In response, many agencies, organizations, and institutions began to examine their internal and external Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices and how these policies are reflected in their engagement of and service to the public. Civil legal service providers play an important role in the effort to advance equal justice but, sadly, funders of these services often fail to provide a culture that values and embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as encourage these values among their grantees. This two-part session will address the internal and external DEI best practices that help grant-makers and their grantees to build a diverse and equitable workplace and create welcoming, inclusive, and dynamic organizational environments.

• Pt. 1. Why Race Equity Matters (Regardless of Your Organization’sDemographics) – Part one will assist all funders to engage in an introspective assessment of their own accountability in creating and maintaining an environment that values, practices, and advances DEI and racial justice by developing and implementing policies to create positive and transformative internal change and produce more equitable grantmaking practices.

• Pt. 2. Incorporating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Your Grantmaking. Part two of the session will cover how grant makers can apply a DEI framework when funding legal services that will assist grantees to address disparities in access to justice opportunities and outcomes experienced by historically marginalized groups.

Speakers:
Ellen Hemley, Vice President of Advocate Resources and Training, Shriver Center on Poverty Law;
Kimberly Merchant, Director, Racial Justice Institute, Shriver Center on Poverty Law

12:15 PM - 1:00 PM 

Lunch Break - There will be no programming during this time, but the virtual room will be kept open to allow attendees to network freely if they desire. Attendees are encouraged to use this time as an opportunity to drop in on a table to catch up with old friends or make some new connections.

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM -  Breakouts

Breakout #1  How to Be Tough When Times Are Tough: Managing bank compliance and relationships in a dead interest rate environment

This plenary will discuss how programs can manage bank compliance to benefit them even during an economic downturn. We will also discuss fundamentals of data management implementation, including helpful tips to get banks to send interest remittance reports and interest earned electronically along with other tools programs can use in this remote working environment.

Speakers:
James Blythe, IOLTA Compliance Manager, Pennsylvania IOLTA Board
Lushawn Phillips, IOTA Manager, Florida Bar Foundation
Stephanie Sandner, Chief Financial Officer, Arizona Bar Foundation

Breakout #2 “The Phoenix of 2021 – Rising from the Ashes of 2020”

It was an intense year, but we made it through! Join us as the panelists look at positive outcomes from the many difficult experiences of 2020. Topics include building new with funders and other civic organizations, implementing new and improved procedures and processes, and learning and utilizing new tools. Come ready to share changes that have emerged from the crisis that can help us grow and become stronger organizations. We are more than survivors, we are Thrivers! We. Are. IOLTA.

Speakers:
Katherine Asaro, Executive Director of NC LEAF and a Senior Staff Attorney and the Disaster Legal Services Program Director at the NC Pro Bono Resource Center
Deborah Seltzer, Deputy Director, Maryland Legal Services Corporation
Betty Torres, Executive Director, Texas Access to Justice Foundation

2:05 PM - 2:55 PM

“Workshopping the Workshop” De-Brief and regroup to discuss breakout session

Attendees will move back into the interactive table sessions to discuss and de-brief on the concepts they’ve learned during the breakouts. Panelists will be on hand to answer questions and further engage with attendees. The goal for the portion of the workshops is to provide an opportunity to share what you’ve learned from these sessions with each other and encourage ideas and discussions of how that can be implemented to benefit your organizations.

2:55 PM - 3:00 PM

Thank you and Closing Remarks

David Houghton, Chair, ABA Commission on IOLTA
Jennifer Bentley, President, NAIP

*Programs will be recorded. Attendees will be able to view any program they are unable to attend live after the Workshops