The Supreme Judicial Court today announced the appointment of twenty-two members to the Access to Justice Commission, having reconstituted the Commission following its initial five-year term. The Commission will be co-chaired by the Honorable Ralph D. Gants, Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, and Attorney David W. Rosenberg, of Rosenberg, Schapiro, Englander, Chicoine and Leggett, P.C. The former Commission, ably led by its Chair, retired Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Herbert P. Wilkins, has an impressive record of accomplishment and laid a solid foundation on which the successor Commission can build.

          Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall said, "The Access to Justice Commission will provide leadership, vision and coordination to all entities involved in providing and expanding access to justice, especially to those unable to afford counsel. Both the legal community and the community at large have a responsibility to achieve equal justice for all persons in the Commonwealth. The membership on the Commission is therefore being expanded to include members of the business, medical and technological communities, and the Executive Branch. Other members will represent the judiciary, law schools, bar associations and bar foundations, and legal services and clients."

          The members of the newly-constituted Commission who have been appointed to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis are:

          Navjeet K. Bal, Esq., Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Revenue, and former Chairperson of the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center, a legal services hotline center in Boston

          Jacquelynne J. Bowman, Esq., Acting Executive Director, Greater Boston Legal Services, Inc., Eastern Legal Services Region representative and a member of the former Commission

          Honorable Cynthia J. Cohen, Associate Justice, Appeals Court, and Chair of the former Supreme Judicial Court Steering Committee on Self-Represented Litigants

          Honorable Pamela M. Dashiell, Justice of the Boston Municipal Court

          Anthony M. Doniger, Esq., Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C., Boston, former President of the Boston Bar Association, representative of the Boston Bar Association/Boston Bar Foundation, and a member of the former Commission

          Russell Engler, Esq., Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs, New England Law | Boston

          Honorable Dina E. Fein, Special Advisor to the Trial Court on Access to Justice Initiatives, First Justice of the Western Division Housing Court, Springfield, and a member of the former Commission

          Joel H. Feldman, Esq., Heisler, Feldman, McCormick & Garrow, P.C., Springfield, Central/Western Legal Services Region representative

          Robert B. Foster, Esq., Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster, P.C., Boston, representative of Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, and a member of the former Commission

          Honorable Kathryn E. Hand, Justice, Region 1, Southeast, District Court Department

          Brent L. Henry, Esq., Vice President and General Counsel, Partners Health Care System

          Sandra L. Jesse, Esq., Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc., former President, Boston Bar Foundation

          Ms. Ann Bailey Leavenworth, Office Administrator, Holy Family Catholic Church, Springfield, Client Representative to the Commission, and former Commission member

          Ms. Sue Marsh, Executive Director of Rosie's Place, a Boston service agency for homeless and disadvantaged women, and a member of the former Commission

          Richard McMahon, Esq., Executive Director, South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc., Southeast Legal Services Region representative, and a member of the former Commission

          Honorable Angela M. Ordoñez, Associate Justice, Probate and Family Court, Norfolk Division, Canton

          Honorable Steven D. Pierce, Chief Justice, Housing Court Department

          Allan G. Rodgers, Esq., Executive Director, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

          Jay T. Thiel, Esq., Northeast Legal Services Region representative

          James T. Van Buren, Esq., representative of the Massachusetts Bar Association/Massachusetts Bar Foundation, and a member of the former Commission