Press Release: 6/12/2025

Supreme Judicial Court Announces Access to Justice Commission Appointments

 



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



6/11/2025



MEDIA CONTACT



Jennifer Donahue and Erika Gully-Santiago



 Phone



Call Jennifer Donahue and Erika Gully-Santiago at (617) 557 - 1114



 Online



Email Jennifer Donahue and Erika Gully-Santiago at PublicInfo@sjc.state.ma.us



BOSTON, MA — The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) today announced the appointment of Lisa C. Goodheart, Esq., as Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission for a three-year term beginning on August 1, 2025. She will lead the Commission together with current Co-Chair, the Honorable Valerie Yarashus, Associate Justice of the Superior Court. Attorney Goodheart will succeed Marijane Benner Browne, Esq., who will step down at the end of July after serving four years as Co-Chair and a total of thirteen years as a member of the Commission.  



“Attorney Goodheart brings to this role extensive leadership experience, and we appreciate her willingness to take on this important position," said Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd. “I also want to thank Attorney Benner Browne for her many years of dedicated service to the Commission and to advancing access to justice in the Commonwealth."   



Attorney Goodheart is a partner at Fitch Law Partners LLP. Throughout her career, she has been deeply engaged in bar association activities and efforts to support the judiciary, including service as President of the Boston Bar Association; President of the Boston Bar Foundation; Chair of the Court Management Advisory Board; and Chair of the Judicial Nominating Commission. She has been a member of the Access to Justice Commission since 2020 and currently serves as Co-Chair of its Racial Equity and Justice Committee. She is a graduate of Williams College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.      



The SJC also announced the appointment of the following new Commission members:




  • Virginia Benzan, Director of Racial Justice Advocacy, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI). Attorney Benzan has previously served as a staff attorney in MLRI's immigration practice group; as director of the Immigration Clinic at Suffolk Law School; and as an Asylum Officer and Training Officer at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, among other roles. She is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Northeastern University School of Law.

  • Hon. Brandon Freeman, First Justice of the Chicopee District Court. Prior to his appointment to the District Court in 2022, Judge Freeman was an assistant district attorney in Hampden County and practiced as a sole practitioner representing defendants in criminal matters. He has also served as a hearing officer with the Board of Bar Overseers and on the board of directors of Hampden County Lawyers for Justice. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

  • Hon. Joanna Rodriguez, Associate Justice of the Juvenile Court. Prior to her appointment to the Juvenile Court in 2020, Judge Rodriguez served as acting general counsel for the Sex Offender Registry Board; as an independent contractor for the Committee for Public Counsel Services practicing in the District and Juvenile Courts; and as a family law facilitator for the Essex County Probate and Family Court, among other roles. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and the Massachusetts School of Law. 

  • Nathan Wong, a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS). Attorney Wong began his career with the Public Defender Division in Roxbury/ Dorchester before moving to the Worcester office in 2013. This year he started a three-year rotation position with the CPCS Criminal Defense Training Unit. He is a graduate of California State University Long Beach, the University of Akron, and Northeastern University School of Law.



In addition, the following members have been reappointed to the Commission: Hon. Julie Bernard, Associate Justice of the District Court (ret.), and Chief Executive Officer, Flaschner Judicial Institute; Professor Justine Dunlap, University of Massachusetts School of Law; Colin Harnsgate, Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office; Danielle Johnson, Director of the Office of Housing Stability, City of Boston; and J.D. Smeallie, retired litigation partner at Holland & Knight, former Executive Partner of the firm's Boston office, and former President of the Boston Bar Association. 



Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Access to Justice Commission was established by the SJC in 2005 to provide leadership, vision and coordination for the many organizations dedicated to improving access to justice for all persons in the Commonwealth who are unable to afford counsel for their essential civil legal needs. More information about the Commission and its activities is available on the Commission's website at https://massa2j.org/.