February 5, 2026

Five new members named to Access to Justice Commission

BY Mass. Lawyers Weekly

The Supreme Judicial Court recently announced that five new members were appointed to the Access to Justice Commission.

The new members are Kate Barry, senior attorney in the Family Law Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services; Abeer Massri, managing attorney of the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence; Samuel (Sandy) Moskowitz, a longtime shareholder at Davis Malm in Boston; Melanie L. Todman, senior counsel at Mass. General Brigham; and Rose Webster-Smith, executive director at Springfield No One Leaves.

Barry has practiced family law at both Greater Boston Legal Services and at Northeast Legal Aid, and teaches a course on domestic violence and the law at Boston College Law School. She has received GBLS’s Reginald Heber Smith Award, as well as the Women’s Bar Association Emerging Women’s Leader Award, and has been recognized by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly among the Top Women of Law.

Massri leads a team of attorneys, law students, and pro bono volunteers who provide legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence, with a focus on the needs of Asian immigrant communities. She previously was a senior immigration and family law attorney at the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts and legal director of Urban Refugee App, where she led a team of law students and professionals dedicated to improving humanitarian aid.

Moskowitz was a shareholder at Boston law firm Davis Malm for nearly 23 years, focused on condominium law, title issues, real estate litigation and development. He remains associated with the firm as he transitions into retirement in 2026. He is a past chair of the Massachusetts Equal Justice Coalition, and was a longtime member of the board of directors and executive committee of GBLS. In 2006, he received an Adams Pro Bono Publico Award from the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for his leadership in creating and operating the Boston Bar Association’s lawyer-for-the-day program in the Boston division of the Housing Court.

Todman was a partner and associate at Nelson Mullins and Nutter prior to joining Mass. General Brigham. She currently is treasurer and a member of the board of directors for Lawyers Clearinghouse, and previously was board chair for the Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

Webster-Smith began working at SNOL, a grassroots member-led organization that organizes Western Massachusetts residents impacted by the housing crisis to defend against displacement, when she was contesting a foreclosure eviction from her own home. She was a junior organizer with the organization before becoming executive director. She also works with Community Legal Aid in support of the lawyer-for-the day program in the Western Division of the Housing Court.