SUPREME JUDICIAL
COURT ANNOUNCES MEMBERS
TO ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION
Boston—The Justices
of the Supreme Judicial Court recently announced the
twenty-one members of the newly established Massachusetts
Access to Justice Commission  . The Commission was created
by the Court on February 28, 2005, in response to a proposal
developed by the Massachusetts State Planning Board for
Civil Legal Services. The members, who were designated
by the various organizations and entities, represent
the judiciary, bar associations, legal services programs
and clients, and social service agencies.
The
Commission's goal is to provide leadership, vision,
coordination, and continuity to the many organizations
and interests involved in assuring access to civil justice
for low-income families and individuals in the state.
It is the successor organization to the Massachusetts
State Planning Board for Civil Legal Services.
Former
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Herbert P. Wilkins
was named as chairperson by the Commission. He also served
as chair of the Massachusetts State Planning Board for
Legal Services.
The
other members, who were appointed to serve three-year
terms on a staggered basis, are the following:
Judge
Peter W. Agnes, Jr., is an Associate Justice of the Superior
Court. He was a member of the Massachusetts State Planning
Board for Civil Legal Services.
Maxa
S. Berid, of Lowell, an attorney in private practice,
has served as Chair of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance
Corporation and President of Merrimack Valley Legal Services.
A former president of the Greater Lowell Bar Association,
Ms. Berid is a member of the board of the Massachusetts
IOLTA Committee.
Jacquelynne J. Bowman, of Stoughton,
is Associate Director of Greater Boston Legal Services.
She has chaired the Massachusetts Bar Association's
Access to Justice Council and the Public Policy Committee
of Jane Doe, Inc. and served as Commissioner of the American
Bar Association's Commission on Domestic Violence.
Judge
Dina E. Fein is Associate Justice of the Western Division
Housing Court. She was a member of the Massachusetts
State Planning Board for Civil Legal Services.
Robert
B. Foster, an associate at Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster,
serves as Co-Chair of the Real Estate Section of the
Boston Bar Association and as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts
Legal Assistance Corporation. He is a member of the Planning
Board in the town of Natick.
P.
Keyburn Hollister, of Gobel and Hollister in Pittsfield,
is former chair of the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee
and former president of the Berkshire County Bar Association.
She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation Board
of Trustees.
Bettina
M. Holton is a sole practitioner in Brockton. She is
an officer of the Plymouth County Bar Association and
member of the Board of Directors of the New Center for
Legal Advocacy.
Young
Soo Jo, of Worcester, is an attorney specializing in
disability issues and government benefits at the Legal
Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts.
Nancy
King is Executive Director of South Middlesex Legal Services.
She is a member of the Executive Board of the South Middlesex
Bar Association and a member of the Legislative Committee
of the Equal Justice Commission.
Robert
W. Lavoie is a real estate attorney with the Andover
firm Devine, Millimet & Branch. Mr. Lavoie serves
on the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission as the Amesbury
Commissioner and Vice Chair and is past president of
Merrimack Valley Legal Services.
Ann
Bailey Leavenworth, of Springfield, is an administrator
with Holy Family Catholic Church and a member of the
boards of Western Massachusetts Legal Services and the
Spanish American Union. She is a former client and has
served as President of the boards of two national organizations,
the Center for Law and Education and the Alliance of
Legal Rights.
Joy
McGrail, a resident of Ashland, was a client of South
Middlesex Legal Services. She is a member of the board
of the Federation of Children with Special Needs.
David
W. Rosenberg is founder of the Boston firm Rosenberg & Shapiro.
A former partner at Hill and Barlow and General Counsel
to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Mr.
Rosenberg has served as President of the Greater Boston
Legal Services Board of Directors and was the founder
and director of the Boston University Legal Aid Program.
Eileen
Ryan, of Gloucester, is a former client and the current
Vice President of the Board of Neighborhood Legal Services
of Lynn. An Air Force veteran, Ms. Ryan also is a member
of the Steering Committee of the Massachusetts Legal
Services Client Council and the boards of Action, Inc.
and Essex County Community Organization.
Richard
A. Soden is President of the Boston Bar Foundation and
a fellow of the Boston and American Bar Associations.
A partner in the Business Law Department of Goodwin Procter
in Boston, Mr. Soden formerly served as President of
the Boston Bar Association and the Massachusetts Black
Lawyers Association.
Leonard
Spinner, of New Bedford, is a client member of the Board
of Directors of the New Center for Legal Advocacy, designated
by the New Bedford Area AIDS Consortium.
Paula
J. Tolan, of Swansea, is a Program Manager of the Home
Assistance Program at Family Services Association of
Fall River. She has a master’s degree in social
work and is Director of Safe Havens, a federal grant
project.
James
T. Van Buren, of Fitchburg, an attorney in private practice,
is former president of the Worcester County Bar Association.
He chairs the Human Rights Committee of the North Worcester
County Association for Retarded Citizens.
Jamie
R. Williamson, of Holyoke, is Executive Director of the
Housing Discrimination Project. Ms. Williamson is a former
business owner and former Councilor-at-Large for the
city of Pittsfield.
Toni
G. Wolfman, of Cambridge, is Executive in Residence at
the Institute for Women in Leadership at Bentley College.
Ms. Wolfman is a former partner at Foley Hoag, where
she coordinated the pro bono publico program and founded
the domestic violence prevention project. She previously
served on the SJC’s Gender Bias Study Committee
and its Committee for Professional Responsibility for
Clerks of Court.
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