September 26-27, 2025 | New York City
Fordham University School of Law and New York University School of Law
The 2025 International Access to Justice Forum is hosting 35+ panels of scholars, researchers, jurists, practitioners, reformers, court and dispute resolution experts from across the globe, to discuss exciting new research, theory, and policy developments in the global movement for civil justice. Panels cover a broad range of work advancing access to justice through community empowerment and engagement, court reform, diversion programs, law schools, tech and AI, and through human rights and democracy efforts. We welcome your participation in-person or as a member of the online audience.
Conference Details
The two day conference, hosted by NYU and Fordham Law Schools, will be held in New York City on September 26th and September 27th.
- Day One of the Forum will be held at NYU Law School, located in the West Village in Manhattan
- Day Two of the Forum will be held at Fordham Law School, near Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center, also in Manhattan.
Each day will feature a plenary session in addition to four sessions of 4-5 concurrent sessions. We will provide breakfast, lunch and snacks each day. Each day’s programming will run from 9am-5pm. Additionally, we will host a conference dinner in Chinatown on Friday, September 26. This will require a separate fee.
The Friday September 26th plenary session at NYU Law School, Innovations from the Top: The Role of Chief Justices in Advancing Access to Justice, will be a fireside chat with former Chief Justice Mutunga (Kenya) and former Chief Justice Hecht (Texas), moderated by Margaret Satterthwaite (Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at NYU Law).
The Saturday plenary session at Fordham, Meeting the Moment: A Plenary Conversation on Access to Justice, Legal Empowerment and Democracy, features a discussion with Vivek Maru (Namati) and Rebecca Sandefur (American Bar Foundation, Arizona State University), moderated by David Udell (National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law). Speakers will share their respective visions as leaders of the legal empowerment and access to justice movements and will also engage in dialogue with attendees as we discuss together how best to apply all our tools to support the cause of democracy.
To foster collaboration and dialogue, the Forum is designed to be an in-person event, but selected panels throughout both days will be live-streamed.
Register Now!
In person registration is $250, and Virtual registration is $75. We encourage you to register now for the conference and dinner. Current NYU and Fordham Law students with school identification may attend the panels for free after registering.
For those traveling from outside of New York City, hotel information is available.
Conference Co-Chairs
From Fordham School of Law:
- Matthew Diller, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at Fordham School of Law and Distinguished Scholar In Residence at the Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law
- Bruce Green, Louis Stein Chair of Law and Director of the Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham School of Law
- David Udell, Founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham School of Law
- Paolo Galizzi, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Sustainable Development Legal Initiative and the Corporate and Social Responsibility Program at the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham School of Law
From NYU School of Law:
- Janet Sabel, Director of the Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law; Founding Director of the Center’s Access to Justice Initiative
- Margaret Satterthwaite, Faculty Director of the Robert & Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights and Director of the Legal Empowerment and Judicial Independence Clinic at NYU School of Law
- Sukti Dhital, Executive Director of the Robert & Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at NYU School of Law