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Equal Justice University 2026
Venue: Embassy Suites- Mirabella C clear filter
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Thursday, August 27
 

8:30am PDT

Head and Heart in Advocacy: Brain Science, Stress, and Client Decision-Making
Thursday August 27, 2026 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Legal aid attorneys, advocates, and staff frequently represent clients experiencing high levels of stress, trauma, and instability, which can significantly affect communication, memory, decision-making, and engagement in the legal process. This training introduces the basic neuroscience of stress and its impact on client behavior, including how stress can impair reasoning, increase emotional reactivity, and contribute to inconsistent or avoidant behaviors often interpreted as resistance or noncompliance. This session also introduces practical, non-clinical emotional intelligence strategies to improve attorney-client communication, enhance advocate and staff support, reduce conflict, and support client participation. By integrating brain-based insights with effective communication techniques, attorneys will be better equipped to interpret client behavior, adjust their approach in high-stress interactions, and improve overall advocacy outcomes. This session is designed to be practical, interactive, and directly applicable to legal aid practices.
Speakers
AL

Adrienne Lees

Adrienne Lees is the Senior Prevention Coordinator at the TN Tech Center for Addiction Prevention & Support. She is a Certified Family Life Educator and a Certified Peer Support Specialist. Ms. Lees serves as Director of the Addiction Prevention & Support Coalition, manages a team... Read More →
MS

Matt Silvey

Mr. Silvey is a lecturer, attorney and Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Tennessee. His clinical experience includes community mental health, forensic social work in the public defense system, hospice care, and public guardianship, as well as psychotherapy practice... Read More →
Thursday August 27, 2026 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Embassy Suites- Mirabella C

10:15am PDT

2025 Tennessee Legislative Session
Thursday August 27, 2026 10:15am - 11:45am PDT
TN 2025 legislative session overview 
Speakers
LW

Lauren Webb

Lauren Webb is an attorney and seasoned government affairs professional with a proven track record of guiding legislation through the Tennessee General Assembly.  She brings deep expertise in state government, policy formation and strategy, government finance, and procurement... Read More →
Thursday August 27, 2026 10:15am - 11:45am PDT
Embassy Suites- Mirabella C

1:15pm PDT

The Professional Edge: Polishing Your Performance and Presence
Thursday August 27, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm PDT
This training will help attorneys identify professional behaviors, communication habits and workplace practices that strengthen credibility and trust with clients, colleagues, community partners, and the courts. The session will also include demonstrating effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills that reflect professionalism, cultural humility, and respect in client-facing and workplace interactions.  
The training will also teach strategies for maintaining a polished and professional presence while managing the demands of legal advocacy, client service, and cross-functional teamwork. The session will use practical techniques to enhance professionalism in common legal aid settings, including client meetings, court interactions, team collaboration, email communication, and community engagement and help the attendees create a personal action plan to strengthen workplace performance and professional presence in ways that support high-quality service and mission-driven impact.

Speakers
ES

Emma Sholl

   Emma Sholl is the Lead Health and Benefits attorney in the Nashville office of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. She supervises a team of two attorneys and three support staff that work on public benefits cases. She handles Medicaid, Medicare, Social... Read More →
RD

Robert Downs

Robert Downs is the Managing Attorney of the Knoxville Office of Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET). He has been an attorney with Legal Aid of East Tennessee since 2012. He had previously been the Deputy Director of Ligation of Advocacy for the Knoxville Legal Aid of East Tennessee... Read More →
VB

Vanessa Bullock

Vanessa Bullock is West Tennessee Legal Services’ Director of Special Projects, where she oversees grants providing holistic legal services to special populations, including the elderly and veterans. She also supervises several HUD-funded initiatives, including the Mid-South Housing... Read More →
Thursday August 27, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm PDT
Embassy Suites- Mirabella C

2:30pm PDT

Strategizing your Transition into Legal Aid Leadership
Thursday August 27, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT
This session will identify mindset shifts, competencies and responsibilities involved in moving from legal advocate to legal aid leader. This session will include the recognition of the differences between individual casework successes and leadership effectiveness in a mission-driven legal service environment and assess how supervision, delegation, communication and decision-making practices support a successful transition into leadership. There will be an ethics component that teaches how to develop supervisory skills to meet the obligations under the Rules of Professional Responsibility. 
 

Speakers
DW

DarKenya Waller

DarKenya W. Waller is the Executive Director of TN’s largest nonprofit law firm, Legal Aid Society of Middle TN and the Cumberlands. She is an outspoken advocate for domestic violence victims and a champion for all underserved communities on the local, state, and national level... Read More →
DH

Debra House

Debra House is the Executive Director of Legal Aid of East Tennessee. She has been with LAET for 33 years and has concentrated on her poverty law practice primarily in the areas of family and juvenile law. Deb is a member of the Knoxville and Tennessee Bar Associations and is the... Read More →
AH

Ashley Holliday

Ashley graduated with a BA in Communications from the University of Tennessee at Martin and earned her J.D. from Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Prior to joining WTLS in 2009, Ashley worked in private practice handling consumer bankruptcy and family law matters. Ashley is a member... Read More →
Thursday August 27, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT
Embassy Suites- Mirabella C

3:45pm PDT

Not Another Flyer: Outreach to Meet Clients Where They Are
Thursday August 27, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm PDT
One of the biggest barriers to legal access in our communities is the accessibility and dissemination of legal information and resources in ways that potential clients and community members can interact with. Through the use of new legal technologies, social media-based outreach, and the development of a court help desk, it will be easier than ever to deliver high-quality outreach without overextending your staff. By examining use cases implemented and tested by the Eviction Right to Counsel Program at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, participants will be able to walk away with tangible examples, answers to outreach questions led by dedicated outreach staff, and the know how to implement new outreach strategies to better serve their client communities. 
Speakers
ZJ

Zane Jud

Zane Jud is the Project Manager for the Eviction Right to Counsel (ERTC) pilot program at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. He began working at Legal Aid in 2022 after receiving his master's degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Bradley... Read More →
SQ

Sophia Quiroz Colby

Sofia Quiroz Colby is the Outreach Coordinator for Eviction Right to Counsel (ERTC) at Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS). She joined the ERTC team at Legal Aid in 2025 and graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor's in communication and a minor in... Read More →
Thursday August 27, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm PDT
Embassy Suites- Mirabella C
 
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