2026 Poverty Law Conference: Full Schedule

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9:00am CDT

Navigating the Narrative: Trauma-Informed Interviewing Skills

Thursday September 3, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

This session will discuss the techniques and skills necessary for an interview to be conducted in a trauma-informed manner. The session will break apart a typical interview into discrete parts, highlighting what a trauma-informed interview consists of, and ask participants to assess an interview to determine what trauma-informed techniques were or were not used.

Speakers

Elizabeth Barrera-Sepulveda

MS, LPC with TRLA/LASSA Project/Social Work Team, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

Liz Barrera-Sepulveda is a licensed professional counselor and has worked with victim/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault for more than 25 years. She currently works with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid on the LASSA project, with the social work team and family law team.

She is trained in Trauma Informed Care and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma Focused-CBT and Motivational Interviewing. She has worked with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Austin SAFEPLACE, (n/k/a as the SAFE Alliance). She has worked and volunteered in the past at... Read More →

Stephanie R. Medellin

Family Clinic Staff Attorney, St. Mary's Center for Legal and Social Justice

Stephanie Medellin is the staff attorney for the Family Law Clinic at the Center for Legal and Social Justice at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Stephanie represents clients in divorce, adoption, name change, and probate cases in court. She also co-teaches clinic seminar... Read More →

Thursday September 3, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Classroom 202

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

10:15am CDT

Privilege, Not a Right: Everything That Can Go Wrong with a Texas Driver's License

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Classroom 202

This presentation examines the legal and practical strategies for clearing driver’s license suspensions and restrictions that create barriers to employment and stability. It outlines common causes of license holds, including unresolved ticket fines and fees, failure to appear, administrative suspensions, and more. This session provides a structured approach to identifying and resolving these obstacles efficiently.

Speakers

Justin T. Thompson

Senior Director - Legal Services, Beacon Law

If you're into music, let's talk about west coast jazz and bossa nova.
If you're into reading, let's talk about urban fantasy and dystopia.
If you're into DIY/home improvement, let's talk about Makita and DeWalt.

Stephanie R. Marrone

Managing Attorney / Pro Bono Coordiantor, Beacon Law

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Classroom 202

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

1:00pm CDT

Tax 101: How to Spot the Issues and Advise Like a Tax Attorney (Even If You're Not)

Thursday September 3, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT

Classroom 202

The program will provide the foundation necessary for an incoming LITC attorney or volunteer attorney to assess a client issue, prepare for consultation, review documentation, and determine available options for the client. Using a mock scenario, the course will cover available resources, IRS structure, reading a notice/letter and identifying its location on the Taxpayer Roadmap, researching the issue, and identifying alternative paths forward. Additionally, the mock scenario will cover filing status, EITC and CTC.

Speakers

Cory Williams

Attorney Fellow, Houston Volunteer Lawyers

Maricarmen Dollar

Staff Attorney, Houston Volunteer Lawyers

Joseph Barron

Attorney Fellow (Qualified Tax Expert), Houston Volunteer Lawyers

Thursday September 3, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Classroom 202

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

2:15pm CDT

Building Community-Based Legal Access: Lessons from the Economic Justice Initiative

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT

Classroom 203

The access to justice crisis in Texas is well-documented, but solutions at scale have been elusive. Community justice workers (CJWs), non-lawyer legal advocates who expand legal access in ways attorneys cannot alone, represent one of the most promising responses to the problem. In Texas, this model is already at work, and an anticipated licensure framework could soon expand what non-lawyer advocates are authorized to do. This session uses the Economic Justice Initiative (EJI), with 25+ CJWs and attorneys across 10 legal service partners, as a concrete case study in what building and running a CJW program requires. Presenters will share what the work has revealed about how CJWs make an impact, what a structured learning approach for CJWs looks like, how partner and community collaboration shapes the model, and what implementation has taught us about responsible program design in Texas.

Speakers

Cristian Sanchez

Economic Justice Director, Texas Immigration Law Council

Cristian is the Economic Justice Director at Texas Immigration Law Council where he leads the design and implementation of a program to expand access to civil legal services for low-income Texans through innovation, including Community Justice workers. He is doing this through standing... Read More →

Anthony Reyes

Amanda Davé

Project Manager, Economic Justice Initiative, Texas Immigration Law Council

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Classroom 203

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

2:15pm CDT

When Your Client Is Drowning: Trauma-Informed Communication in Bankruptcy Practice

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT

Classroom 202

Imagine drowning financially for two years. You've depleted your savings, destroyed your credit, and broken your body trying to stay afloat. You finally call an attorney—your last hope—but you're terrified they'll judge you as a failure. So you minimize the debt, you "forget" to mention the inheritance, you tell them what you think they want to hear. That's your client. They desperately need help, but shame won't let them ask for it honestly. They're not just seeking legal help—they're looking for someone who won't judge them, who will hear them, who can pull them to safety. But their trauma is so profound they can't tell you what you need to know to actually help them.

Research confirms this: over 60% of bankruptcy filers experience significant shame, and most struggle for 2+ years before seeking help. That trauma creates real barriers—clients minimize debts, omit assets, avoid difficult topics, and provide incomplete information. The result? Bad petitions, trustee problems, and malpractice exposure.

This session teaches you to recognize trauma responses in real time (defensive anger, avoidance, decision paralysis, people-pleasing), use specific language that builds trust instead of triggering shame, read verbal and non-verbal cues that signal hidden information, and deploy strategic questioning that surfaces critical facts your clients are terrified to disclose.

Through interactive polling and real case examples—medical debt, predatory lending, hidden assets—you'll learn immediately applicable communication techniques. The presenters practice bankruptcy and other areas of consumer law; one is a bankruptcy attorney with a master's degree in psychology. While the session focuses on bankruptcy practice, these trauma-informed techniques apply across legal aid practice with financially distressed clients.

You can't help clients who won't tell you the truth. This session shows you how to create the safety they need to tell you everything.

Speakers

Amy Allen

Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Amy Allen has been licensed since 1991 and is the Supervising Attorney for Housing, Consumer, and Public Benefits at the Fort Worth Office of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. She is a proud graduate of LSU and Bates School of Law at the University of Houston. Her primary areas of practice... Read More →

Samantha Kehl

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Samantha Kehl: Legal Aid Attorney by Day, Chaos Wrangler by Night

Samantha Kehl has been practicing bankruptcy law since 2008, and currently serves as Staff Attorney and Bankruptcy Practice Team Leader at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (LANWT), where she also works on a veterans grant helping veterans and their families. When she's not in court untangling... Read More →

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Classroom 202

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous