​Attorney General of Maryland ​Anthony G. Brown

Access to Counsel in Evictions ​Task Force

​​​​Maryland Attorney General's Access to Counsel Task Force header image​

The Task Force was created in the 2021 legislative session by HB18, the passage of which made the Maryland General Assembly the second state legislature in the country to provide statewide access to counsel in eviction proceedings for income-eligible tenants.  
The Task Force is responsible for: 

  • studying potential funding sources,
  • making recommendations to improve the implementation of the access to counsel program, including necessary policy and statutory changes, and

  • evaluating the provision of services provided as a result of the program.

Contact the Task Force at [email protected]

​Announcement: 

The Task Force is seeking applicants for a tenant member to represent the Task Force. The tenant member will be required to participate in virtually held meetings. For more information, contact the Task Force at [email protected].​

​​Resources

​Reports

News​

Date​
Title
1/5/2022 Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force Releases Annual Report
11/17/2021 Task Force Asks Governor Hogan to Dedicate Federal Funds to Initial Implementation of Access to Counsel in Evictions Program
8/17/2021 Attorney General Frosh Announces Members to the Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force​

Meetings

Task Force meetings are currently being held via videoconference unless otherwise noted.  For information about joining the meetings, or if you are interested in receiving email notifications about future meetings of the Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force, please email [email protected]. ​

Upcomin​​g Meetings

No meetings scheduled at this time.

​​Past Meetings​

Date & Time​​​​​​​
Agenda
Video
Meeting Materials
Wednesday, November 2​0, 9am to 10:30am AGENDA
 VIDEO
Wednesday, November 13, 9am to 10:30am
 AGENDA VIDEO
Wednesday, November 6, 9am to 10:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Wednesday, October 30, 9am to 10:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Wednesday, October 23, 9am to 10:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Wednesday, October 16, 9am to 10:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Wednesday, October 9, 9am to 10:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Wednesday, October 2, 9​am to 10:30am
 AGENDA VIDEO​​
Thursday, October 19, 2023 – 10:00am - 11:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 10am to 11:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Thursday, October 12, 2023, 10am to 11:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Tuesday, October 10, 2023, 10am to 11:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Thursday, October 5, 2023, 10am to 11:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Tuesday, October 3, 2023, 10am to 11:30am AGENDA VIDEO
Monday, October 31, 2022, 11:00am – 12:30pm AGENDA VIDEO
Thursday, October 20, 2022, 12pm- 1:30pm AGENDA VIDEO
Thursday, October 13, 2022, 12pm- 1:30pm AGENDA VIDEO
Monday, October 3, 2022, 12pm- 1:30pm AGENDA VIDEO
September 20, 2022, 12pm- 1:30pm AGENDA VIDEO
May 9, 2022 at 8am AGENDA VIDEO
December 9, 2021 from 4pm-7pm AGENDA VIDEO
November 15, 2021 from 4-5:30pm AGENDA VIDEO
November 10, 2021 3:30-5:30pm AGENDA VIDEO
October 22, 2021 from 12-1:30pm AGENDA VIDEO Meeting Materials
October 12, 2021 from 12-1:30pm AGENDA VIDEO Meeting Materials
October 11, 2021 from 10am-12pm AGENDA VIDEO Meeting Materials
October 8, 2021 from 9-10:30am AGENDA VIDEO Meeting Materials
October 7, 2021 from 11am-1pm AGENDA VIDEO
September 20, 2021 from 8:30-9:30am AGENDA VIDEO

Members

By statute, the Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force consists of 15 members appointed by the Office of the Attorney General. 

​​ Name​​
 Task For​ce Role
 Affiliation
Reena ShahTask Force ChairMaryland Access to Justice Commission
LaTonya AbromTenant representativeMontgomery county resident
Jason ButlerTenant representativeBaltimore county resident
Nicholas KatzCommunity group representativeCASA of Maryland
Open Seat
Tenant advocacy group representative
Luke LancianoLandlord representativeBernstein Management
Matt HillCommunity group representativePublic Justice Center
James JohnsonLandlord representativeHendersen-Webb, Inc.
Kelley O'ConnorJudiciary representativeMaryland Judiciary
Pam OrtizJudiciary representativeMaryland Judiciary
Open - see announcement above
Tenant representative 
Lisa SarroCommunity group representationArundel Community Development Services, Inc.
Michelle Siri ​​​​MLSC representativeMaryland Legal Services Corporation
Vicki SchultzDesignated organization representativeMaryland Legal Aid
Mark ScurtiMSBA RepresentativeMaryland State Bar Association​

Staff​​

The Task Force represented by AAG Kira Wilpone-Welborn, and is staffed by Louise Flavahan and Tara Miles​ of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.

​Committees

To focus on specific aspects of the Task Force's work, the Chair of the Task Force created three committees. Those committees, comprised of both Task Force members and other key stakeholders from across the State, met regularly to consider the primary areas within the Task Force's purview: outreach and assessment, implementation, and funding. 

Co​​​mmittee Members

Upcoming M​​eetings

As with Task Force meetings, committee meetings are open to the public and announced in advance.  There are no meetings scheduled at this time.    

Past Meet​​​​ings

Committee​
Date & Time
AgendaMinutesMeeting Materials
Outreach and Assessment CommitteeDecember 3, 2021 at 10:30am AGENDA MINUTES
Implementation CommitteeDecember 1, 2021 at 1:00pm AGENDA MINUTES
Funding CommitteeNovember 30, 2021 at 3:00pm AGENDA MINUTES
Implementation Committee
November 24, 2021 at 1:00pm AGENDA MINUTES
Outreach and Assessment CommitteeNovember 19, 2021 at 10:30am AGENDA MINUTES
Implementation CommitteeNovember 17, 2021 at 1:00pm AGENDA MINUTES
Outreach and Assessment CommitteeNovember 12, 2021 at 10:30am AGENDA MINUTES
Outreach and Assessment CommitteeNovember 5, 2021 at 10:30am AGENDA MINUTES
Implementation CommitteeNovember 3, 2021 at 1:00pm AGENDA MINUTES Meeting Materials
Outreach and Assessment CommitteeOctober 29, 2021 at 10:30am AGENDA MINUTES
Funding CommitteeOctober 27, 2021 at 9:00am AGENDA MINUTES

​​​Attorney General's COVID-19 Access to Justice Task Force

The COVID-19 Access​ to Ju​stice Task Force ​was a partnership between the Maryland Attorney General's Office and the Maryland Access to Justice Commission​​, developing strategies and solutions addressing the significant civil legal challenges facing ​Marylanders in the wake of COVID-19.  The Task Force is now under the auspices of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission​.​​​​