2025 Pro Bono Coordinator's Retreat: Full Schedule

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9:00am CDT

Opening Remarks

Tuesday August 26, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am CDT

Salon C

Speakers

Betty Balli Torres

Executive Director, Texas Access to Justice Foundation

April Faith-Slaker

Executive Director, Texas Access to Justice Commission/SBOT

Tuesday August 26, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am CDT
Salon C

9:30am CDT

Helping Immigrants - Leveraging Volunteers in a Shifting Legal Landscape

Tuesday August 26, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am CDT

Salon C

2025 is defined by massive changes in immigration law and policy. This session will highlight various efforts from legal service providers across Texas to leverage pro bono attorneys, community justice workers, law students and volunteers to help immigrants with their legal needs. We will highlight lessons learned and ways that legal service providers and community partners have come together to leverage resources to help immigrants access legal protections in a very fluid, shifting legal landscape.

Speakers

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 →

Robert Painter

Managing Attorney, Texas Immigration Law Council

Tuesday August 26, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am CDT
Salon C

10:30am CDT

Lifting the Veil: What Non-Profits Need to Know When Working with Firms on Direct Representation

Tuesday August 26, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am CDT

Salon C

Engaging pro bonos can increase your organization’s impact. It can also sometimes feel like more effort than it’s worth. This session will lift the veil on pro bono practices at firms and LSOs to give you tangible best practices for recruiting and mentoring pro bono attorneys for the greatest impact.

Speakers

Jessie Campbell

Supervising Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid

I am the Supervising Attorney for Compliance and Private Attorney Involvement. 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... Read More →

Emily Heger

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Tuesday August 26, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am CDT
Salon C

11:30am CDT

No Marketing Team? No Problem! Building an Online Presence with Limited Resources!

Tuesday August 26, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Salon C

Small firms and legal organizations often struggle with marketing due to limited resources, but a strong online presence is essential for visibility and engagement. This session will provide practical strategies and affordable tools to help you effectively market your services without a dedicated team. Learn how to create a content plan, leverage free and low-cost software, and maximize your impact with minimal effort. Walk away with actionable tips to enhance your firm’s digital presence—no marketing experience required!

Speakers

Tori Freeman

Project Coordinator, LAD SBOT

Ashley McCarthy

Project Coordinator, LAD - SBOT

Tuesday August 26, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Salon C

1:30pm CDT

Data-Driven Insights: Using Automation to Improve Client Satisfaction

Tuesday August 26, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT

Salon C

Utilizing our case management system to automate the sending of sending satisfaction surveys, thereby allowing our clients to submit real time comments on the services they were provided. Our data teams analysis will provide data points on which law types, counties, age, gender and language had the most responses thereby allowing us to focus on underserved areas.

Speakers

Mary Molandes

Director of Case Management System Training, Lone Star Legal Aid

I'm a native of East Texas. I've worked for Lone Star Legal Aid for 25 years, with the last 20 years being the trainer for our case management systems. I also facilitate our Brown Bag Trainings and assist with compliance.

Nick Whitaker

LSLA

Ashley Oborn

Director of Data Analytics, LSLA

Tuesday August 26, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Salon C

2:30pm CDT

VLS 101: Creating a Roadshow Presentation to Recruit, Orient, and Energize Volunteers

Tuesday August 26, 2025 2:30pm - 4:30pm CDT

Salon C

VLS staff has partnered with their board to create an easily adaptable presentation about our volunteer opportunities and staff support for volunteers that we have taken to firms, associations, and other groups. This presentation, which includes the voices of volunteers and judiciary members, has helped us effectively target, recruit, and onboard new volunteers and has led to a marked increase in volunteers for our organzation after the post-Covid slump. In this session, we’ll discuss putting together a presentation that effectively explains your volunteer opportunities and support, working with your board to pitch your organization’s presentation and target potential volunteers, as well as harnessing those volunteers in the moment with concrete requests for engagement.

Speakers

Alisa De Luna

Executive Director, Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas

Alisa De Luna joined Volunteer Legal Services as Executive Director in January 2020. Prior to joining VLS, she spent 9 years working with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) as an Executive Director in Williamson County and a Senior Director in Travis County. She honed her skills... Read More →

Susanne Pringle

Director of Legal Services, Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas

Tuesday August 26, 2025 2:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Salon C

2025 Pro Bono Coordinator's Retreat

From $153.84