2026 Poverty Law Conference: Full Schedule

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9:00am CDT

Expunctions and Nondisclosures: Barrier Removal for Victims

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Victims face several invisible barriers that make it more difficult for them to leave. Or if they have left, make it very difficult for them to stay away. This presentation can discuss how tools such as expunctions and nondisclosures, amongst others, can assist. The main tools we are going to discuss is going to be related to cleaning up a victims criminal history using expunctions and nondisclosures. Having a criminal history, even when a case was ultimately dismissed, can prevent someone from obtaining employment, housing, etc. and thus make it more difficult for victims to successfully leave. Expunctions would allow victims to erase eligible criminal records, and nondisclosures would allow victims to hide their criminal history. Similarly, victims can also use tools like name changes, occupational driver's license (ODL), etc. to help remove barriers that prevent victims from leaving an abusive relationship.

Speakers

Anwesha Sarkar

Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Jessica Picon

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Hello! I am a member of the LASSA team, we help survivors of sexual assault receive access to legal representation that is free for them! I enjoy what I do as I feel I am making a difference in the lives of my clients. I am currently handling family law cases, some housing cases... Read More →

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Classroom 202

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

9:00am CDT

The True Cost of Being "Poor" in Texas

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Classroom 203

Poverty in Texas extends far beyond low-income statistics. It is fundamentally an infrastructure problem where transportation gaps, broadband deserts, wireless coverage limitations, and language access barriers compound each other to create complete service inaccessibility.

This session reveals how these barriers compound to create complete legal service inaccessibility, even when programs like legal aid exist.

 Participants will leave with a framework for analyzing how infrastructure barriers affect their own programs' unmet need, data collection strategies to quantify geographic service gaps, and advocacy strategies for technology solutions that would equalize access to justice.

Speakers

Ashley Oborn

Director of Data Analytics, LSLA

Janice Rivera

Mary Molandes

Director of Case Management System Training, Lone Star Legal Aid

I'm a native of East Texas. I've worked for Lone Star Legal Aid for 25 years, with the last 20 years being the trainer for our case management systems. I also facilitate our Brown Bag Trainings and assist with compliance.

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Classroom 203

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

9:00am CDT

Where Do I Even Start and What Does This Even Mean?: Parsing Legal Processes and Procedures for the Pro Se Litigant

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Conference Room 301

Many low-income Texans—to say nothing of nonlawyers in general, regardless of their income level—face reading comprehension barriers that prevent them from fully accessing the civil justice system. TexasLawHelp is often the first place that people land when they’re trying to understand their legal matter. While Beacon Law tries to mitigate the potentially harmful effects the legal system can have on unhoused and indigent clients, their resources—like the resources of all legal aids—are limited. Beacon Law and TexasLawHelp come from slightly different places in legal aid, but both have a lot to share about making legal information accessible.

Explaining complex legal matters issues to legal aid clients presents a challenge. Many U.S. adults read at or below a 6th-grade level, and poverty is associated with lower literacy rates. Legal aid organizations must meet clients where they are—without watering content down to the point of inaccuracy or creating a process that’s too overwhelming for pro se litigants to proceed. The stressors that our populations face further complicate their ability to understand complex legal issues.

This presentation will explore ethical considerations and risks, and offer tools, best practices, and pointers for explaining legal concepts in clear, simple language in a way that empowers and educates. By the end of this session, participants will have a better understanding of the importance of plain language in poverty law, along with the legal and ethical considerations. We will teach strategies for putting this knowledge into action (whether in practice or by writing for the public).

Speakers

Martha Beard-Duncan

Managing Attorney, Texas Legal Services Center

Far West Texas native and longtime Austinite Martha Beard-Duncan is managing attorney of TexasLawHelp.org at Texas Legal Services Center. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University, earned her JD from the University of Houston Law Center, and majored in English... Read More →

Stephanie R. Marrone

Managing Attorney / Pro Bono Coordiantor, Beacon Law

Samuel Marsh

Sr. Staff Attorney, Beacon Law

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Conference Room 301

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

10:15am CDT

Bridging the Justice Gap: The Community Justice Workers of Texas Model in Action

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Classroom 203

Too many Texans are left to navigate legal challenges without the support they need. The Community Justice Workers of Texas (CJW) Program addresses this gap by training and empowering trusted individuals who are already working or volunteering within Community Partner Organizations (CPOs). These community members help share vital legal information and connect people to appropriate resources and services.

This session will highlight the collaborative efforts of Disability Rights Texas, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Lone Star Legal Aid, Texas Legal Services Center, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in tackling the statewide justice gap for low-income Texans. While the program has already achieved meaningful progress, it continues to grow, with the long-term goal of establishing CJWs across Texas to meet the increasing demand for accessible legal support.

Speakers

John Grieger

Managing Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

John Grieger has 34 years of bankruptcy law experience. A graduate of Northwestern University (BA-Spanish) and the University of San Diego School of Law, John returned to his native Chicago after law school and worked as a staff attorney for the Chapter 13 Trustee. After that... Read More →

Jacquelyn (Jackie) Davis

Director of Civil Litigation, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Inc

Being a first-generation lawyer
any aspect of poverty law practice

Sean Jackson

Executive Director, Disability Rights Texas

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Classroom 203

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

10:15am CDT

ClearPathTX - Statewide Expunction Project

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Classroom 202

This session will provide both legal education and a practical look at how technology can improve access tojustice by helping legal service providers scale record learing statewide:

1. Substantive Law – An overview of Texas expunction law, including common eligibility issues and practical considerations when screening cases.
2. Collaborative Efforts – How legal aid organizations, pro bono attorneys, and community partners work together through the SEP to expand access to record-clearing services.
3. Technology and Automation - An introduction to the automated expunction screening and document generation tool used by our project. We have hired a software vendor and anticipate new developments that we hope to demonstrate at the conference.

Speakers

Jeff Reichman

January Advisors

Jeff Reichman is the founder of January Advisors, a data science consulting firm that works with nonprofits, researchers, legal aid organizations, public sector agencies, and philanthropy.

Angel G. Williams

Managing Attorney - Statewide Expunction Project, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Classroom 202

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

10:15am CDT

If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit…The Impact of Unjust Legal Financial Obligations and a Model for Justice Court Ability to Pay Determinations

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Junior Ballroom

Across the country, unjust fines and fees burden millions of Americans. Rather than serving justice, these legal financial obligations trap people in poverty and prolong their involvement with the criminal justice system. Despite laws on the books that require ability to pay assessments, Texas is no exception. This is especially true in our justice courts, where defendants have no right to counsel and are often unaware of their right to have the judge determine their ability to pay and then sentence appropriately. In this session, Lisa Foster, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, and Judge Steven Duble, Harris County Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1, Place 2, will present on: 1. The impact of unjust fines and fees on individuals, families and communities, 2. The positive outcomes of having effective ability to pay determinations, and 3. How Harris County Justice of the Peace Court 1-2 is seeking to create a model ability to pay assessment process – one that is fair, efficient and effective.

Speakers

Lisa Foster

Fines and Fees Justice Center, Fines and Fees Justice Center

Lisa Foster is the Co-Executive Director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending the unjust and harmful imposition of fines and fees in the criminal legal system. A retired judge, Lisa is also the former director of the Office for Access to Justice... Read More →

Judge Steve Duble

Justice of the Peace, Harris County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1

Steve Duble has been the Justice Peace for Harris County Precinct 1, Place 2 (located in downtown Houston) since January 1, 2023. Since taking office, he has taken bold action to increase access to justice. He earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University in 1986... Read More →

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Junior Ballroom

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

10:15am CDT

Legal Tech Projects: How to Plan, Procure, and Manage Legal Tech Vendor Projects

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Conference Room 301

Managing legal tech vendor projects requires structured planning and ongoing oversight. This session outlines a practical approach to the procurement lifecycle, starting with assessing project viability and securing stakeholder buy-in. We will cover how to draft focused RFPs that define requirements rather than solutions, evaluate vendor proposals, and manage the vendor relationship through completion by monitoring progress and addressing scope creep.

Speakers

Martha Beard-Duncan

Managing Attorney, Texas Legal Services Center

Staci Maloney

Elliott Fontenette

Managing Attorney, TLSC

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Conference Room 301

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

11:30am CDT

Be a LEGO: What Legal Deserts Teach Us About Building Community Partnerships

Friday September 4, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Classroom 203

A staple in the toy industry is the building blocks known as LEGO – designed to connect, build, and bring structures to life through creativity and ingenuity. Similarly, this session will teach legal advocates how to be a "LEGO", using lessons learned from serving communities in a legal desert to demonstrate practical, adaptable strategies used by TxILC’s Economic Justice Initiative (EJI) fellows for connecting clients to both legal and non-legal resources to bridge the access to justice gap through their work in family law and domestic violence in rural areas. With limited resources and an expansive area to cover, the ultimate question that EJI and the fellows aim to address is how do we best serve our clients with their legal and non-legal needs in a meaningful and intentional way, extending client impact past their case. “What Legal Deserts Teach Us About Building Community Partnerships” will discuss how the community justice worker (non-attorney advocates) framework is being used to address family law and domestic violence cases in rural communities, and teach legal advocates in the session, through hands-on and collaborative activities, strategies on how to identify imminent needs in the community, how to identify key partners that can help address those needs, and how to facilitate sustainable yet flexible support systems specific to each community for attendees to take with them. The approaches shared are designed to be replicated across a range of settings where advocates face challenges in linking clients to meaningful support.

Speakers

Johana Soileau

EJI Legal Access Fellow, Texas Immigration Law Council

Johana Soileau is a graduate of UT Austin with her Bachelor of Arts in Government and Sociology. She has spent many years dedicated to service and empowerment of underrepresented communities through non-profit work, education, mentoring, and now the legal field. Her philosophy is... Read More →

Lisa Davila Lang

Attorney Fellow, Texas Immigration Law Council

Lisa Davila Lang is a first-generation attorney. She began her professional journey in healthcare, earning her Certificate in Vocational Nursing from Western Texas College in 1995, and later her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from West Texas A&M University in 2014. Lisa pursued her... Read More →

Friday September 4, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Classroom 203

Multidisciplinary/ Miscellaneous

2026 Poverty Law Conference

From $306.69

Tickets

Success you have shared X tickets.

2026 Poverty Law Conference

9:00am CDT

Anwesha Sarkar

Jessica Picon

9:00am CDT

Ashley Oborn

Janice Rivera

Mary Molandes

9:00am CDT

Martha Beard-Duncan

Stephanie R. Marrone

Samuel Marsh

10:15am CDT

John Grieger

Jacquelyn (Jackie) Davis

Sean Jackson

10:15am CDT

Jeff Reichman

Angel G. Williams

10:15am CDT

Lisa Foster

Judge Steve Duble

10:15am CDT

Martha Beard-Duncan

Staci Maloney

Elliott Fontenette

11:30am CDT

Johana Soileau

Lisa Davila Lang

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