2026 Poverty Law Conference: Full Schedule

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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

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

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

Representing Unaccompanied Children (UC)

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

Conference Room 301

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to serving unaccompanied children in the immigration system.

The Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA) is an expert legal resource center created by the American Bar Association (ABA), dedicated to helping legal practitioners stay up to date on frequent changes in immigration law and policy related to unaccompanied children.

Panelists from KIND and CILA will conduct a detailed training on legal representation of unaccompanied children in removal proceedings and the humanitarian forms of relief available to them. Attendees will learn about how a child is designated an unaccompanied minor, the process of obtaining legal relief and the importance of providing valuable pro bono legal representation for a vulnerable child facing removal. The training will also review the practical and ethical considerations of working with children, while exploring interactive hypothetical case issues with the audience.

Speakers

Salma Hasan

Marisa Peterson

Laura Egan

Laura Egan is a Managing Attorney for Pro Bono and Communications with the Children's Immigration Law Academy (CILA). CILA is a project of the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration. She has been a part of the CILA team since 2019. Laura has practiced in two areas of... Read More →

Friday September 4, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Conference Room 301

Immigration Law