CHICAGO, May 2, 2013 – Missouri Chief Justice Richard B. Teitelman will be a keynote speaker for nearly 700 lawyers from throughout the country May 9-11 in St. Louis at the 2013 Equal Justice Conference, sponsored by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the National Legal Aid Defender Association.

Attending the conference and its more than 80 workshops and other events will be pro bono and legal services program staff, judges, corporate counsel, law school representatives, court administrators, private lawyers, librarians, paralegals and bar association leaders.

Sessions will focus on maximizing free legal services for poor and low-income individuals and families who need legal assistance. Topics include strategies for using technology for legal services delivery, building pro bono partnerships, providing help for self-represented litigants, representing clients in veterans treatment courts, and detecting and dealing with the existence of human trafficking in domestic violence cases.

Chief Justice Teitelman will speak at the luncheon at noon on May 10.

National civil justice community leader Ramón Arias, executive director of Bay Area Legal Aid in Oakland, Calif., will be the keynote speaker for the conference’s opening session at 8:30 a.m. on May 9.

The conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, 315 Chestnut St. More information about the event, including a detailed agenda, can be found online.

News reporters may attend the conference at no charge. For media credentials or other information, please contact Ira Pilchen, Ira.Pilchen@americanbar.org, 312-988-5743.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the world’s largest voluntary professional membership organizations. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service provides national leadership in policy, outreach, implementation and technical assistance activities designed to encourage, expand and improve pro bono activities and programs. It is also the sponsor of the National Pro Bono Week Celebration taking place in October 2013.

Founded in 1911, the National Legal Aid Defender Association is America’s oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel. For 100 years, NLADA has pioneered access to justice at the national, state and local level through the creation of our public defender system, development of nationally applicable standards for legal representation, groundbreaking legal legislation and the creation of important institutions such as the Legal Services Corporation. NLADA serves as the collective voice for our country’s civil legal aid and public defender services and provides advocacy, training, technical assistance and the NLADA Insurance Program to its members, who are comprised of legal professionals, institutions and the people they represent.