The Equal Justice Conference is offered annually by the American Bar Association and the National Legal Aid Defenders Association.
Participants include executive directors, fundraisers, voluntary Bar association leaders, pro bono directors, private attorneys and law school professors. What they have in common is a commitment to access to justice for all.
This year’s conference was May 4-6 in Pittsburgh, and hundreds of attendees participated in a range of workshops and networking opportunities.
Topics included diversifying funding of legal services, designing effective pro bono projects, using technology to bring legal guidance to rural areas, utilizing the resources of law firm pro bono departments, serving vulnerable populations, developing career pro bono advocates beginning in law school and many more.
Dozens of professionals from various facets of the legal community attended from Florida, including Jim Kowalski, president and CEO of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Karen Millard, professor and pro bono director for Florida Coastal School of Law, and myself.
Access to civil legal assistance for all people is critical to the integrity of our judicial system. It stabilizes local economies and families and ensures that the voices of both sides of a matter are heard.
Civil legal representation is not merely an important social service. It is a critical part of our judicial branch. It is intrinsic to our system of justice which, to remain strong, requires zealous representation on both sides of a dispute whether criminal or civil in nature. The rule of law can be preserved only if all voices are heard.
It’s incumbent on our community to preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution and the values on which our country was founded.
The Legal Services Corp., the agency that provides funding to many legal services organizations across the country, is on the list of agencies slated to lose funding from the federal government.
Providing civil legal services for people who cannot afford them is not a partisan matter. All who value the rule of law and fairness are called on to support civil legal services for low-income people. It’s what we pledge and is at the very core of what we believe” “liberty and justice for all.”
Attorneys interested in pro bono involvement and/or reaching out to elected officials to help ensure civil legal services for all are maintained are encouraged to contact [email protected] and communicate support on defendlegalaid.org.