Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET
Part of the webinar series AI, Access to Justice & UPL: Shaping the Future of Legal Services.
In the final webinar in our series, we'll explore actionable reforms and future directions based on the IAALS report findings. This session bridges theoretical understanding with practical implementation strategies. In conjunction with a presentation of the IAALS report, we'll examine various reform models outlined in the report, with special emphasis on those most relevant to our series' themes of access to justice and legal innovation. Regulators will find particular value in our discussion of concrete opportunities for meaningful reform within existing frameworks. We'll also identify critical outstanding research questions that merit further investigation by the legal community. The session concludes with practical preparation for upcoming workshops, including specific guidance on developing prosecutorial frameworks that balance innovation with consumer protection. This final webinar serves as both a culmination of our series and a launching point for continued collaboration toward a more accessible legal system.
Speakers:
Lucy Ricca, Executive Director, Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession
Lucy Ricca is the Executive Director of the Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession. Before starting this role, Ricca was the Director of Policy and Programs for the Center and served as the Executive Director from 2013-2018. Ricca is a national expert in efforts to reform regulation of the legal profession to increase innovation, market diversification, and access to justice. She served as the first Executive Director of the Utah Office of Legal Services Innovation, a new regulator of legal services launched by the Utah Supreme Court. She was also a Special Projects Advisor at IAALS, advising on the Unlocking Legal Regulation project. Ricca has written on the regulation of the profession, the changing practice of law, and diversity in the profession. Ricca clerked for Judge James P. Jones of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Before clerking, Ricca practiced white collar criminal defense, securities, antitrust, and complex commercial litigation as an associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Jessica Bednarz, Director of Legal Services and the Profession, IAALS
Jessica Bednarz is the Director of Legal Services and the Profession at IAALS. In this role, Bednarz is responsible for leading the vision and strategy of IAALS’ work around innovation, regulation, reform, and evolution in the areas of the delivery of legal services and the legal profession more generally. Bednarz joined IAALS in 2023 after working at The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF). During her eight years with the CBF, Bednarz worked on a wide range of access to justice issues. Her most recent work includes overseeing the CBF’s legal incubator program called the Justice Entrepreneurs Project, launching Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice in Colorado, staffing the Chicago Bar Association & Chicago Bar Foundation Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law and Innovation focused on regulatory reform, and creating practice resources such as the CBF Pricing and Limited Scope Representation Toolkits.
Brian Oten, Associate Director and Chief Ethics Counsel, North Carolina State Bar
Brian Oten is the Associate Director and Chief Ethics Counsel at the North Carolina State Bar. Oten joined the North Carolina State Bar staff in 2007 as Deputy Counsel, where he litigated disciplinary hearings and managed complex grievance matters for 11 years before moving to his current position. He clerked at the Supreme Court of North Carolina and at the Federal District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Asheville), and he has served as an Adjunct Professor at both the University of North Carolina School of Law and Campbell University School of Law, teaching legal writing and professional responsibility. He is also the current chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Specialization (2023-2026).
Jessica Yates, Attorney Regulation Counsel, Colorado Supreme Court
Jessica E. Yates is Attorney Regulation Counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court. Ms. Yates oversees the regulation of attorneys and licensed legal paraprofessionals (LLPs), including admissions, registration, mandatory continuing legal and judicial education, discipline, diversion, and inventory counsel matters, as well as the regulation against the unauthorized practice of law. Prior to her appointment by the Colorado Supreme Court, Ms. Yates was in private practice as a partner at Snell & Wilmer LLP, focusing on appeals and litigation. She clerked for the Honorable David M. Ebel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She earned her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006. Ms. Yates transitioned into law from a career in public policy and public administration, which focused on management and regulatory and funding issues for health and human services programs.
Moderator:
Jeff Ward, Director, Duke Center on Law & Tech
Jeff Ward teaches Contracts as well as courses at the intersection of law, emerging tech, and ethics such as Frontier A.I. & Robotics: Law & Ethics and Future of Contracts at Duke Law. In his role as Director of the Duke Center on Law & Tech, he oversees programs that include the Duke Law Tech Lab, a pre-accelerator program for early-stage legal tech companies; Duke Law By Design, which uses design methodologies to help ensure that new technologies ultimately empower and ennoble all people and expand access to quality legal services; and RAILS, a network dedicated to Responsible AI in Legal Services. He is a Faculty Affiliate at both the Initiative for Science & Society and the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke, where he teaches Legal, Ethical, and Societal Implications of Artificial Intelligence and other courses.