IAALS Expands Advisory Board and Committee with National Reform Leaders

In this unprecedented time, IAALS continues in its work to ensure everyone who needs it has access to justice we can believe in. Our mission is critical, now more than ever. The challenges facing our legal system will be compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we must ensure that states, courts, and the legal profession can adapt and be responsive to the needs of the people. And, we can’t do it alone. We rely on a tremendous group of partners who help guide our work, and we are thrilled to announce three new advisors.

James J. Sandman, President Emeritus of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), joins our Board of Advisors in July. Sandman helmed LSC, the United States’ largest funder of civil legal aid programs for low-income people, from 2011 through 2020. Previously, he practiced law with Arnold & Porter for 30 years and served as the firm’s managing partner for a decade. He is a past president of the 100,000-member District of Columbia Bar and a former general counsel for the District of Columbia Public Schools. Sandman now chairs the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Legal Needs Arising Out of the 2020 Pandemic.

Kathryn A. Reilly, Partner at Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell, also joins our Board of Advisors in July after assuming the role of Chair of our Law Firm Council. She represents clients in complex commercial, class action, and antitrust litigation, including in such highly regulated industries as healthcare, telecommunications, and energy. She also serves on the firm’s five-member management committee. Reilly will succeed Gregory J. Kerwin on the Law Firm Council and Board of Advisors. Kerwin is Partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and has been an integral partner for IAALS for many years. We are very grateful for his service.

Joey Orduña Hastings, JD, Chief Executive Officer of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), joins our Family Justice Advisory Committee this spring. The NCJFCJ provides all judges, courts, and related agencies involved with juvenile, family, and domestic violence cases with the knowledge and skills to improve the lives of the families and children who seek justice. Orduña Hastings previously was assistant county manager of administration and finance for Washoe County, Nevada, and was district court administrator and clerk of court for the Second Judicial District Court in Nevada. She joins Jeff Hall, Trial Court Administrator for the Deschutes County (OR) Circuit Court, as the newest members of this expert committee dedicated to reframing family justice.

IAALS works in collaboration with the best minds in the country to generate new ideas and implement solutions on the ground that will have the most impact for the most people. We are excited to count these new advisors among us as we look to the future of our legal system.