Virtual Hearing: Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice in 2025

Sam Harden: Senior Innovation Manager

Sam is a lawyer, technologist, and a believer that technology can help bridge the access-to-justice gap. He likes to get his hands dirty and is constantly building and experimenting with ways to apply technology to law. He is frequent speaker about the intersection of law and technology. Sam previously worked as the Development Team Leader for the Florida Justice Technology Center as well as the Project Manager for the Florida Criminal Justice Data Pilot Project with Measures for Justice. He is licensed in Florida, where he previously practiced large loss litigation and criminal defense.

Sateesh Nori: Senior Legal Innovative Strategist

Sateesh Nori is a lawyer, law professor, and author. He is a Senior Legal Innovation Strategist at Just-Tech. For twenty years, he represented tenants across New York City at various legal services organizations. He was a commissioner of the 2019 Charter Revision Commission. He is currently a member of the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty. He co-created and co-teaches the Housing Rights Clinic at NYU Law. Sateesh is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and NYU Law. Sateesh was named a “Rising Star” by the New York Law Journal, one of “Queens’ Power 50,” and was featured as a “Legal Rebel” in the Spring 2021 ABA Journal. In 2023, he was a recipient of the New York City Bar Association’s “Legal Services Award.” He is also the author of “Sheltered: Twenty Years in Housing Court.” In 2024, he gave a TedX Talk called “How a chatbot can stop homelessness.”

Ronald J. Hedges: Principal of Ronald J. Hedges LLC

Ronald J. Hedges is the Principal of Ronald J. Hedges LLC. He served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the District of New Jersey for over 20 years. He speaks and writes on a variety of topics, many of which are related to electronic information, including procedural and substantive criminal law, information governance, litigation management, and the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence into existing information governance policies and procedures. He was a member of the artificial intelligence (“AI”) task forces of the New Jersey and New York state bar associations and is now a member of the permanent AI committees of both Bars. Ron is also a member of the Founders Circle of the Georgetown Law Advanced eDiscovery Institute.

• Ron is the lead author of a guide for federal judges on electronically stored information (link)

• Ron is also the co-senior editor of The Sedona Conference Cooperation Proclamation, Resources for the Judiciary, Third Edition (June 2020) and the 2022 supplement thereto (link)

• He is also the editor of various compendiums on electronic information in criminal investigations and proceedings hosted by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (link)

Scott B. Reents: Of Counsel Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Scott is a litigator who focuses on electronic discovery and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies to legal practice. Scott represents clients in a variety of litigation matters, regulatory matters and internal investigations. He oversees the Firm’s data analytics and e discovery work and speaks and writes about topics related to digital evidence and AI. Scott is co-chair of the New York State Court Modernization Action Committee and is a member of the New York Advisory Committee on AI and the Courts. Scott worked in the technology industry for 8 year prior to becoming a lawyer.

Aubrie Souza: Principal Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts

Aubrie Souza is a Court Management Consultant at the National Center for State Courts. She works on a variety of projects related to court access through technology. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School. Prior to joining NCSC, Aubrie held numerous roles at the law school’s Legal Innovation and Technology Lab to develop guided online interviews to assist self-represented litigants in creation of narrative pleadings and filings. She also served as a student defense attorney in the Suffolk Juvenile Defenders Clinic representing juveniles in the Boston Juvenile Court in delinquency cases. Aubrie currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Zachary Zarnow: Deputy Managing Director of the Access to Justice Team, National Center for State Courts

Zach Zarnow has focused his career on increasing access to justice. After graduating from Brandeis University, Zach spent two years in Eastern Ukraine as a Peace Corps Community Development Volunteer, where he developed civil society networks, established social enterprises and created anti-corruption initiatives. This experience drove him to enroll at American University’s Washington College of Law, where he focused his studies on access to justice, human rights and legal empowerment. Both during and after law school he held fellowships and positions with the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative, the Open Society Foundations, Public Justice, the American Association for Justice and the Council for Court Excellence. As the Deputy Managing Director of NCSC’s Access to Justice team, Zach is working on national level initiatives to increase access to justice, including working with various court systems to improve the experience of self-represented litigants through process improvement, technological innovation and system change. At NCSC, Zach is the co-creator and a co-host of Tiny Chats—offering free, digestible and creative short-form educational videos on topics about access to justice. He was also instrumental in securing $11 million in funding to support the Eviction Diversion Initiative and in its design, staffs the CCJ/COSCA Policy Committee and has authored numerous reports and resources on access to justice topics, including several interactive tools. Prior to joining NCSC, Zach was the Program Director at the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, where he ran the statewide grantmaking and program evaluation of legal aid organizations and was responsible for the development and management of the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network.

Jeffrey Cox: Director of Global Content Marketing at vLex, Chair of Board of Directors, Bay Area Legal Services in Florida

Jeff Cox is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Bay Area Legal Services and has served on the Board since February 2020 in several capacities, including as Chairperson Elect, Board Secretary, Chair of the Veterans Committee, Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, and as member of the Sustaining Law Firm and Stewardship Committees. Jeff is also the Director of Global Content Marketing for vLex, a global legal intelligence pioneer transforming how lawyers work through precision-engineered AI solutions and previously served as Senior Manager of Content Strategy at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. As an innovative lawyer, content strategist, and legal technologist, Jeff specializes in helping legal technology companies and law firms elevate their corporate and professional narratives, develop thought leadership campaigns, and enhance digitally delivered content centered on the use of technology, data, and AI to improve legal services delivery and the business of law.

Lisa Colpoys: Senior Consultant, AI Initiative, Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois

Lisa Colpoys is an experienced public service leader and innovator who has spent her career working to create and deliver new ways for people to solve their legal problems. She is passionate about transforming our courts and the practice of law through innovative ideas and the use of technology and improving and simplifying processes and systems. Currently she serves as Senior Consultant to the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois’ AI Initiative, where she works to introduce and encourage the exploration and use of Generative AI by legal aid organizations and professionals. Highlights of her career include launching and leading both Illinois Legal Aid Online, a ground-breaking legal services technology nonprofit, and Illinois Court Help, a tech-enabled service of the Illinois Courts that helps people navigate complex court processes. Lisa also led the Filing Fairness Project at Stanford Law School, served as consultant to the Michigan Justice for All Project, and was a legal aid attorney. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lcolpoys/

Randal Jeffrey: General Counsel, New York Legal Assistance Group

Randal has worked at NYLAG for over 25 years, first as a staff attorney in the Special Litigation Unit, then as a Unit Director, and now as General Counsel. As General Counsel, he advises NYLAG’s senior management on a wide range of issues and coordinates with outside counsel on select matters. Randal also serves as an in-house resource for all staff on matters of professional legal ethics and works with NYLAG’s Board on matters of nonprofit governance. He also coordinates NYLAG’s Generative AI Working Group. Prior to coming to NYLAG, Randal worked as a pro se law clerk with the Second Circuit’s Staff Attorney’s Office and was a Georgetown Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia.