CELEBRATING OUR CLE DAY PRESENTERS AND LOOKING AHEAD TO THE PRO BONO SUMMIT
By Legal Services of North Dakota
Each year, Legal Services of North Dakota( LSND) is proud to offer a free Summer CLE Day alongside the State Bar Association of North Dakota’ s Annual Meeting, and this year was no exception. On June 10 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, LSND brought together attorneys, judges, court personnel, and behavioral health professionals for a full day of programming focused on some of today’ s most consequential issues in North Dakota civil legal aid. This year’ s sessions covered specialty courts, the intersection of mental health and the law, and stalking within domestic violence and family law cases. We’ re grateful to the practitioners who made it possible.
SPECIALTY COURTS: A GROWING LANDSCAPE
The day opened with a panel on specialty courts in North Dakota, a rapidly expanding area as communities develop collaborative, treatment-focused models to address substance use, mental health, domestic violence, and justice-involved populations. Attendees heard directly from the people running these courts every day: Jess Throlson, manager of Specialized Dockets, provided an overview of the landscape and an update on emerging mental health court initiatives; Kim Higgs, Veterans Treatment Court( VTC) coordinator, spoke about the VTC; Sara Quirk, juvenile court officer, represented the Juvenile Treatment Court; Jana Theisen and MarDee Spurgeon offered insight into the Adult Treatment Court; and Judge Kristi Pettit Venhuizen and Ashley Thompson discussed the Domestic Violence Court.
MENTAL HEALTH AND THE LAW: A CANDID CONVERSATION
The second session tackled one of the most challenging dynamics in civil legal aid – serving clients who are simultaneously navigating the legal system and inpatient or behavioral health treatment. From discharge planning and confidentiality to rural access barriers and decision-making capacity, the discussion helped attorneys better understand what clients are experiencing and how to collaborate effectively with healthcare providers. Thank you to Melissa Lennon, director of business development at Altru Inpatient Behavioral Health, and Robin Landwehr, DBH, LPCC, integrated care director at Spectra Health, for their candor and expertise.
STALKING, PROTECTION ORDERS, AND FAMILY LAW
The day closed with a practical and timely discussion on stalking, a form of abuse that is often minimized or misunderstood within legal proceedings. Presenters covered North Dakota’ s recent inclusion of stalking as a basis for Domestic Violence Protection Order relief, the connection between stalking and lethality risk, and how stalking allegations intersect with divorce and custody disputes. Thank you to Andria Pinkerton, senior director of legal services at Community Violence Intervention Center, and Jess Roscoe, domestic violence supervising attorney at LSND, for leading this important conversation.
We’ re grateful to every presenter who gave their time and expertise, and to all who attended and engaged throughout the day.
SAVE THE DATE: ANNUAL PRO BONO SUMMIT, OCT. 28 IN BISMARCK
LSND’ s Annual Pro Bono Summit returns on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck, offered in both in-person and virtual formats. We’ d love to see a strong in-person turnout because there’ s real value in gathering with colleagues who share a commitment to improving access to justice in North Dakota.
We’ re honored to have Justice Jerod Tufte delivering the keynote address. Justice Tufte will speak on the work of the lawyer licensing task force and how it is filling unmet legal needs through pro bono service, which is a timely and important conversation for our legal community.
The summit will also feature sessions on issues that hit closest to home for North Dakotans who lack access to legal help: elder scams and financial fraud, human trafficking, and housing instability. These are areas where pro bono attorneys can make a direct, meaningful difference in people’ s lives, and the summit is designed to give attendees the knowledge and connections to do exactly that.
If you have questions or would like to get involved, please reach out to Zachary Tomczik, director of pro bono and bar engagement, at ztomczik @ lsnd. org. We hope to see you in Bismarck on Oct. 28!
30 THE GAVEL