The Rise in Debt Collection Cases in the Trial Court: Race, Equity, and Access to Justice (In-Person Program)

The Racial Equity and Justice Committee, the Consumer Debt Committee of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, and the Flaschner Judicial Institute will hold a conference highlighting the rapid increase in consumer debt cases in Massachusetts and its impact on court users and our courts. The program will document the demographic disparities that have been reported in consumer debt cases, and best practices that have been developed to increase equity and access to justice in consumer debt cases. Attendees will learn the history of small claims proceedings in Massachusetts, how consumer debt cases are treated in these courts, and some of the special challenges and court rules in consumer debt cases.

The program will include a keynote address from Professor Frederick Wherry. Professor Wherry serves as Princeton University’s Townsend Martin Class of 1917 Professor of Sociology and Vice Dean for Development and Inclusion. He founded the Debt Collection Lab (debtcollectionlab.org) and the Dignity + Debt Network (dignityanddebt.org) where he works on issues of economic justice. He is also writing a book, What Debtors Deserve (under contract at Crown Publishing), that examines the rise of mass debt, which now rivals mass incarceration in scale, and exposes predatory tactics. The program will be held in-person, with virtual access as well. For those who attend in person, we will also have the option to continue the conversation and network offsite after the program concludes.

Agenda

12:30 pm Introductions
Hon. Julie J. Bernard (Ret.) – Co-Chair of the Racial Justice and Equity Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Chief Executive Officer of Flaschner Judicial Institute
Alexa Rosenbloom – Co-Chair of the Consumer Debt Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Director of the Consumer Protection Clinic of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School
April Kuehnhoff – Member of the Consumer Debt Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Senior Attorney at the National Consumer Law Center

1:00 pm Panel 1: Consumer Debt Proceedings in Massachusetts
Asha White – Associate Justice of the Superior Court
Matt Brooks – Member of the Consumer Debt Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Managing Attorney of the Consumer Rights Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services
Richard Omar – Kream & Kream Attorney
Jenifer McKim – Senior Editor of Investigations and Equity & Justice at GBH News in Boston
Moderated by Theo Tierney – Member of the Consumer Debt Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Consumer and Bankruptcy Staff Attorney at Volunteer Lawyers Project

2:10 – 2:30 pm Break

2:30 pm Keynote by Professor Frederick Wherry
Vice-Dean for Faculty Development and Inclusion in the Office of the Dean of Faculty and the Townsend Martin, Class of 1917 Professor of Sociology at Princeton University

3:00 pm Panel 2: Ongoing Work and Best Practices
Ariel Madaro – First Assistant Clerk Magistrate
Erika Rickard – Pew Director of Courts & Communities
David Udell – National Center for Access to Justice Executive Director
Colin Harnsgate – Co-Chair of the Consumer Debt Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
Moderated by Mychii Snape – Member of both the Racial Equity and Justice Committee and the Consumer Debt Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Deputy Bureau Chief of the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office

4:15 pm Program Closing Remarks
Hon. Julie J. Bernard (Ret.) – Co-Chair of the Racial Justice and Equity Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and Chief Executive Officer of Flaschner Judicial Institute