2026 Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat: Full Schedule

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7:45am PDT

Breakfast

Tuesday September 1, 2026 7:45am - 9:00am PDT

Room 301

Tuesday September 1, 2026 7:45am - 9:00am PDT
Room 301

9:00am PDT

Opening Remarks

Tuesday September 1, 2026 9:00am - 9:30am PDT

Room 301

Speakers

April Faith-Slaker

Executive Director, Texas Access to Justice Commission/SBOT

Tuesday September 1, 2026 9:00am - 9:30am PDT
Room 301

9:30am PDT

Developing the Relationships Between Legal Service Providers, Law Firms, Law Students, and Community Partners

Tuesday September 1, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am PDT

Room 301

This session will explore the relationship between legal aid providers, law firms, law students, and community partners. We will share details of our successful partnerships with law firms, law schools, and other community partners as well as annual events to foster networking.

Speakers

Chante Barnes Brantley

Founding Director & Clinical Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law - VanSickle Family Law Clinic

Holly Griffin

Managing Attorney, Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program

Marisela Martin

Community Engagement Coordinator, Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program

Rachel Elkin

Pro Bono Counsel, Haynes Boone

Tuesday September 1, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am PDT
Room 301

10:45am PDT

From URLs to IRL: Building and Sustaining Pro Bono Relationships Through Online Tools

Tuesday September 1, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am PDT

Room 301

Technology tools can streamline every stage of pro bono, from recruiting to training, and even case status updates. But pro bono teams worry that adopting digital tools could erode the personal relationships that make their programs successful. This session explores best practices for using these platforms to increase pro bono engagement while preserving strong pro bono relationships.

Speakers

Danielle Gobbo

Senior Manager of Community Growth, Paladin

Jessie Campbell

Directing Attorney - Pro Bono, Lone Star Legal Aid

I am the Directing Attorney for Pro bono. I love talking all things pro bono, but you will often find me talking about marketing and recruitment. I have been with Lone Star Legal Aid since December 2019. Prior to that, I was the Pro Bono & Outreach Director and staff attorney... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am PDT
Room 301

11:45am PDT

Lunch

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:45am - 1:00pm PDT

Room 301

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:45am - 1:00pm PDT
Room 301

1:00pm PDT

A CJW–Pro Bono Model: Exploring New Possibilities for Legal Access

Tuesday September 1, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT

Room 301

This session invites pro bono leaders into a strategic discussion about a CJW–pro bono model that could make some legal programs more continuous, community-responsive, and scalable. The concept is straightforward: trained community justice workers provide legal information, continuity support, and case coordination, while pro bono attorneys contribute discrete legal assistance at key points in a matter. By the time of the retreat, we anticipate being able to share initial observations from early testing of the model and use those to ground the discussion.

Rather than presenting a fixed model, this session will introduce the core concept, offer early reflections on what appears promising and what raises questions, and invite discussion about where the model may fit, what it would require, and what barriers it may face. We will ask participants to engage questions such as: What types of legal matters are best suited for this structure? How might volunteer attorneys respond to a model in which CJWs play a sustained case-support role? What infrastructure, supervision, technology, and ethical guardrails would be necessary? And how are community justice workers fundamentally different from traditional paralegals in the role they play, the relationships they hold, and the kind of access they can help create? Attendees will leave having helped test the concept, react to early implementation observations, and identify both promising applications and meaningful concerns.

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 →

Anne Chandler

Executive Director, Texas Immigration Law Council

Hi, I'm incredibly interested in how we can try bold strategies to help immigrants and refugees in Texas access basic civil legal services and immigration legal services. I am eager to see how we can work collaboratively to create legal structures that function and permit all individuals... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Room 301

2:15pm PDT

JusticeLaunch: A Framework for Developing and Branding a New Associate Program

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm PDT

Room 301

When Houston Volunteer Lawyers faced stagnant engagement among new attorneys, the organization shifted from individual recruitment to firm-level commitment—partnering with firms to ensure each participating associate accepted a pro bono case supported by structured mentorship. In three years, the program grew from 8 to 12 firms and engaged nearly 150 new attorneys.

Now, HVL is evolving the initiative into JusticeLaunch, a branded pro bono advocate network designed to elevate visibility, strengthen identity, and expand beyond firm-based cohorts.

This session will explore how to secure institutional buy-in, structure mentorship for new attorneys, and use branding and communications to build sustainable, high-impact pro bono programs. Attendees will gain practical tools and a strategic framework for strengthening and redesigning their own engagement initiatives.

Speakers

Brittany Krohn

Pro Bono Director, Houston Volunteer Lawyers

Kelly Wood

Communication and Outreach Manager, Houston Volunteer Lawyers

Kelly Wood is Houston Volunteer Lawyers’ first Communication and Outreach Manager. Her role was introduced to the organization to amplify HVL’s mission and impact through strategic storytelling and community partnerships. The driving force behind Kelly’s career is her love of... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm PDT
Room 301