NLADA Messenger
July 2020
Registration is Open for NLADA's First All-Virtual Conference Experience

Next week, NLADA will hold its Holistic Defense and Leadership Conferences virtually from July 14 - July 16.

There are several timely sessions that will address how to conduct services during this time of remote working, social-distancing and racial protests. Notable plenary speakers include Jeffery Robinson, Director, ACLU Trone Center; Jonathan Rapping, Founder, Gideon's Promise and Ronald Simpson-Bey, NLADA Board member and Director of Outreach at Just Leadership USA.
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This three-day virtual learning opportunity will consist of three events:

  • The American Council of Chief Defenders Summer Conference
  • The Community-Oriented Defender Network Conference
  • The Black Public Defender Association Conference
Challenges to State Bars Rejected at SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected petitions for writs of certiorari in two cases challenging the constitutionality of integrated state bars. As a result, the Supreme Court will not hear the cases, and dismissals from lower courts will remain in effect. 

The two cases were originally filed in North Dakota (Fleck v. Wetch) and Wisconsin (Jarchow v. State Bar of Wisconsin). Both argued that either (1) requiring attorneys to join a state bar by itself violated their first amendment rights or, alternatively, (2) forcing attorneys to pay dues which partly supported so-called political activity of state bars violated their first amendment rights. In Jarchow, the so-called political activity included support for civil legal services and public defense. 

To stay up to date about civil legal aid policies and its dynamic landscape, subscribe to NLADA's Civil Updates.
Understanding Race and Social Dominance Webinar

Race continues to serve as a principal mechanism for determining how society distributes entitlements, opportunities, exploitation and punishments.

Social dominance theory reveals how racism works to maintain a hierarchy of social goods and privileges. If you missed the webinar, see the replay and learn about structural racism and ways to take action. Click here to see the recording.
Equal Justice Conference

We are excited to announce the dates of the  virtual Equal Justice Conference – August 11 – 13, 2020.

Join us for a variety of programming that addresses the significant issues of our times, including remarks by  Judy Perry Martinez, president, American Bar Association and a keynote address by  Andrea Young , executive director, American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. Please be on the lookout for more details, including registration information, coming soon!
Serving Fathers and Families

As the founder and CEO of Fathers & Families Support Center in St. Louis, MO, Halbert Sullivan and his team have served 17,000 fathers and 42,000 children, helping recently incarcerated fathers find jobs and get re-involved in their children' lives.

Earlier in his life, Sullivan spent 27 years in and out of prison, addicted to drugs and alcohol. Today he possesses a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis and runs a successful non-profit. It has become his passion in life to help others break the cycle of addiction and incarceration.

To learn more about Halbert Sullivan, hear about other NLADA clients or share you own story, subscribe to NLADA's Client Updates by becoming a member. Sullivan will also be speaking at the 2020 Community-Oriented Defender Network Conference on July 15. To hear him speak about how COVID-19 and race impact clients' reentry, register for the conference.
NLADA's COVID-19
Resource Center

The coronavirus pandemic continues to exacerbate existing legal challenges faced by low-income and vulnerable people in the United States. COVID-19 has also highlighted new issues.

NLADA's Resource Center provides information by issues most relevant to our members. We have added a new "Special Populations" section to provide more specific content for various impacted demographics. See our updated COVID-19 Resource Page.
Litigation & Advocacy Leaders Conference

We have postponed our in-person conference until next year.

We plan to gather in-person July 17-20, 2021 in Charleston, SC.

Owned and designed by this community of brilliant and dedicated advocates, we know that convening this group is exactly what we would be doing to address the issues of our day. We are currently evaluating options for an online mini-conference or convening. We will continue to provide updates as our plans develop over the coming months.
Upcoming Webinars

Increase your expertise with these upcoming webinars:


Art Auction Sneak Peek

Justyne Fischer is an award-winning printmaker whose work focuses on Social Memorials. ‘Suspicious Suicide’ features. in Fischer's own words, "Sandra Bland and the unexplained and suspicious circumstances surrounding her death in Texas police custody.”

Fischer generously donated this piece to NLADA's second annual social justice art auction. Explore our full catalogue of 50 extraordinary pieces . This year bidding - which will open later this summer - will be all online so that people all across the country will have a chance to incorporate these pieces in their homes and offices. For more information, please contact safeguardjustice@nlada.org .
Member Corner

As we approach the halfway mark for 2020, and look ahead to 2021, we are grateful to all of our members who have been with us during the past year as we work toward our common goal - advancing equal justice excellence – especially during these difficult times. We are proud to offer advocacy and support, and resources to our programs that support all of our members and equal justice across the country.

Every member strengthens our voice with federal agencies and other organizations, enabling us to push forward on the issues that matter to you. We hope you take pride in your NLADA membership (and take advantage of some of our  exclusive member benefits . We are so glad to have you with us and look forward to having you with us next year.

If you ever have any questions about your membership, your member benefits, or the different ways NLADA serves you, please don't hesitate to contact us at membership@nlada.org .

Thank you for being a member!