ÈâÂþÎÝ

September 26-27, 2025 | New York City
Fordham University School of Law and ÈâÂþÎÝ

Scroll to the bottom for the List of Panelists

The 2025 International Access to Justice Forum is hosting 35+ panels of scholars, researchers, jurists, practitioners, reformers, court and dispute resolution experts from across the globe, to discuss exciting new research, theory, and policy developments in the global movement for civil justice. Panels cover a broad range of  work advancing access to justice through community empowerment and engagement, court reform,  diversion programs, law schools, tech and AI, and through human rights and democracy efforts. We welcome your participation in-person or as a member of the online audience.

Conference Details

The two day conference, hosted by ÈâÂþÎÝ and Fordham Law Schools, will be held in New York City on September 26th and September 27th.  

• Day One of the Forum will be held at ÈâÂþÎÝ Law School, located in the West Village in Manhattan
• Day Two of the Forum will be held at Fordham Law School, near Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center, also in Manhattan.  

Each day will feature a plenary session in addition to four sessions of 4-5 concurrent sessions.  We will provide breakfast, lunch and snacks each day.  Each day's programming will run from 9am-5pm.  Additionally, we will host a conference dinner in Chinatown on Friday, September 26.  This will require a separate fee.

The Friday September 26th plenary session at ÈâÂþÎÝ Law School, Innovations from the Top: The Role of Chief Justices in Advancing Access to Justice, will be a fireside chat with former Chief Justice Mutunga (Kenya) and former Chief Justice Hecht (Texas), moderated by Margaret Satterthwaite (Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at ÈâÂþÎÝ Law).

The Saturday plenary session at Fordham, Meeting the Moment: A Plenary Conversation on Access to Justice, Legal Empowerment and Democracy, features a discussion with Vivek Maru (Namati) and Rebecca Sandefur (American Bar Foundation, Arizona State University), moderated by David Udell (National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law). Speakers will share their respective visions as leaders of the legal empowerment and access to justice movements and will also engage in dialogue with attendees as we discuss together how best to apply all our tools to support the cause of democracy.

To foster collaboration and dialogue, the Forum is designed to be an in-person event, but selected panels throughout both days will be live-streamed. 

Conference Schedule

Friday, September 26th: ÈâÂþÎÝ School of Law

8:30-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-9:10 Introduction

9:10-10:15 Plenary Session: 

Innovations from the Top: The Role of Chief Justices in Advancing Access to Justice, a fireside chat with former Chief Justice Mutunga (Kenya) and former Chief Justice Hecht (Texas), moderated by Margaret Satterthwaite (Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at ÈâÂþÎÝ Law) 

10:30-11:45 Concurrent Panels - Session 1

• Impacts of Jailhouse Lawyers on A2J
• Measuring + Understanding People Centered Justice
• Debt Collection Lab Panel
• Methods of Measuring Legal Need + Distributing Resources

12:00-1:15 Concurrent Panels - Session 2

• Regional Alliances in Advancing People-Centered Justice in Africa + Ibero-America
• Strengthening Consumer Participation + Protections
• Fines + Fees
• Unequal Before the Law: Exploring Systemic Bias in Domestic Violence, Elder Abuse, and Indigenous Language Access
• Algorithmic Justice

1:15-2:15 Lunch Provided

2:15-3:30 Concurrent Panels - Session 3 

• A Recipe for Building Community Power to Advance Systems Change
• Right to Counsel + Models for Full A2J
• Pro Bono Work as A2J
• New Survey Measures, Methods and Insights for Legal Needs + Outcomes
• AI + A2J Overview: Pros/Cons

3:45-5:00 Concurrent Panels - Session 4

• Evidence + Promise of US Community Justice Worker Movement
• Democratizing A2J Change making – Expanding Community Participation
• Consumer Third Party Litigation Finance + A2J: New Developments
• A2J thru ADR + Diversion Programs

 

6:30 PM CONFERENCE DINNER in Chinatown (Separate Registration Required) 

Golden Unicorn - 18 East Broadway

 

Saturday, September 27th:  FORDHAM LAW SCHOOL 

8:30-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-10:15 Concurrent Panels Session 1

• Fostering Individual Agency and Community Engagement in Legal Settings
• Courts, Remedies, and Rights: Advancing Access to Justice Across Continents
• Barriers to A2J – Remedy, Discrimination + Access
• Legal Education, Bar Admission + A2J
• Court Data

10:30-12:00 Concurrent Panels Session 2 

• Transformative Trans disciplinary Legal Design
• Theoretical, Jurisprudential and Empirical Perspectives in Lawyerless Courts
• Gender-Based Violence – Central America + West Africa
• Integrating A2J into Law School Curriculum
• A2J + Eviction

12:00-12:45 Lunch Provided

12:45-1:50 Plenary Session

 Meeting the Moment: A Conversation on Access to Justice, Legal Empowerment and Democracy, between Vivek Maru (Namati) and Rebecca Sandefur (American Bar Foundation, Arizona State University), moderated by David Udell (National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law)

2:00-3:15 Concurrent Panels - Session 3 

• Power of Grassroots/Lawyer Collaboration to Advance A2J
• Legal Services – Customary Courts, Villages, Councils
• Enhanced Court Diversion Programs – Scalable Solutions
• Human Rights and Access to Justice: Removing Barriers instead of Filling Gaps

3:30-4:45 Concurrent Panels - Session 4

• Cross-State Partnerships: Advancing A2J Thru Legal Empowerment
• Community Empowerment/Engagement: Grassroots Pathways to Justice: Legal Empowerment and Community Organizing in Action
• A2J + Climate Change
• Public Interest Lawyering in the Age of Autocratization
• AI + Inclusivity

 

Register Now! 

In person registration is $250, and Virtual registration is $75. We encourage you to  for the conference and dinner. Current  ÈâÂþÎÝ and Fordham Law students with school identification may attend the panels for free after registering.

For those traveling from outside of New York City, hotel information is available.

  

Conference Co-Chairs 

From Fordham School of Law:

• Matthew Diller, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at Fordham School of Law and Distinguished Scholar In Residence at the Center on Civil Justice at ÈâÂþÎÝ School of Law
• Bruce Green, Louis Stein Chair of Law and Director of the Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham School of Law
• David Udell, Founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham School of Law
• Paolo Galizzi, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Sustainable Development Legal Initiative and the Corporate and Social Responsibility Program at the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham School of Law

From ÈâÂþÎÝ School of Law:

• Janet Sabel, Director of the Center on Civil Justice at ÈâÂþÎÝ School of Law; Founding Director of the Center's Access to Justice Initiative
• Margaret Satterthwaite, Faculty Director of the Robert & Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights and Director of the Legal Empowerment and Judicial Independence Clinic at ÈâÂþÎÝ School of Law
• Sukti Dhital, Executive Director of the Robert & Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at ÈâÂþÎÝ School of Law

Panelists

• Revai Makanje Aalbaek
• Sandra Ambrozy
• Sergio Anzola
• Natalia Antolak-Saper
• Andrew Ashbrook
• Danouchka Assoumou
• Susanne Augenhofer
• Stacie Ayukawa
• Cayley Balser
• Arturo H. Banegas Masia
• Jennifer Barnett
• Aissatou Barry
• Benjamin Barton
• Saloni Bhogale
• Md Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan
• Pamela Bookman
• Larisa Bowman
• Darren Breeden
• Matthew Burnett
• Kerryn Butler
• Ericka Byram
• Naomi Campbell
• Sarah Carver
• Gabriela Cartagena
• Casey Chiappetta
• Stefania Cirillo
• Kim Diana Connolly
• Logan Cornett
• Antonio Coronado
• Hayley Cousin
• Kate Davies
• Jean de Dieu Sikulibo
• Kevin De Liban
• Nicholas Diamond
• Diana Didia
• Matthew Diller
• Marina Dias
• Mathilde Doucet
• Eve Dougherty
• Rebecca Edwards
• Oswaldo Ernesto Feusier
• Nicole Fidler
• Daria Fisher Page
• Lisa Foster
• Marcello Gaboardi
• Estephania Giaccone
• Eduardo Gonzalez
• Elizabeth Hand
• Catherine Hastings
• Rose Higgins
• Brian Highsmith
• Hannah Hill
• Danielle Hirsch
• Haya Zahid Hossain
• Lisa Hoyes
• Grace Hulseman
• Maciej Huliki
• Katherine Hughes
• Bonnie Hugh
• Diana Imbert
• Lesley Johannsen
• Claire Johnson Raba
• Lauren Jones
• Matthew Keeley
• Irene Kwon
• Eva Langbehn
• Gervonni Leggett
• Tom Lininger
• Lynn Lu
• Themba Mahleka
• Varsha Mahadeva Aithala
• Yolanda Mansfield
• Teresa Marchiori
• Rachel Margolis
• Julieta Marotta
• Alyx Mark
• Bridget McAloon
• Rachel McCarthy
• David McClendon
• Hugh McDonald
• Garth Meintjes
• Anastassiya Miller
• Melissa Mortazavi
• Jagna Mucha
• Arthur Muiru
• Nikole Nelson
• Ana Neves
• George Newhouse
• Sateesh Nori
• Oded Oren
• J Leigh Oshiro
• Laura Ospina
• Annie Pineda
• Andrew Pilliar
• Anouk Pinaud
• Ben Polk
• Jhody Polk
• Emily Taylor Poppe
• Paul Prettitore
• Jenna Prochaska
• Md Hashibul Alam Prodhan
• Farha Qureshi
• Jeff Reichman
• Judith Resnik
• María Daniela Rivero 
• Kathleen Rubenstein
• Georgina Rychner
• Janet Sabel
• Ryan Sakoda
• Mandy Salley
• Rebecca L. Sandefur
• Margaret Satterthwaite
• Anthony Sebok
• Jules Rochielle Sievert
• Amrit Singh
• Dougie Smith
• Jacqueline Sofia
• Adejare Somorin
• Amanda Victoria Souza
• Mandy Salley
• Jessica Steinberg
• Neil Steinkamp
• Nicole Summers
• Honny Sylvester
• Eshetu Yadeta Temesgen
• Judge Samuel Thumma
• Hester Tittmann
• David Udell
• Juliet-Nil Uraz
• Tyler Walton
• Amy Widman
• Ellen Wingo
• Kathryne Young
• Haya Zahid
• Zach Zarnow
• Lorena Zenteno Villa
• Greg Zlotnick