Law firm partner who played leading role in legal aid in Sacramento including creating the Legal Aid Society there.
Oral history details
| Storyteller: | Bruce Allen |
|---|---|
| Interviewer: | Geminiani, Victor |
| Date of interview: | Sep 3, 1991 |
| Where relates to: | California |
| Topics: | Civil legal aid: General |
| Law type: | Civil |
| Collection: | NEJL |
| Length: | 0:25:34 |
Full text of transcript
Download PDF: TranscriptSummary
In the interview, Bruce Allen discusses the establishment and early history of the Legal Aid Society of Sacramento County/Legal Aid Society of Northern California during the 1950s, and the support of the Sacramento County bar Association for the project. Allen recalls ongoing discussions about the types of cases the Society should handle (i.e., if they should handle divorce cases), and whether they should accept federal funding for legal aid. He discusses his involvement with the creation of the lawyer referral program, which used lawyer referrals as a source of funding for the legal aid program. He addresses the expansion of the program during the Great Society and highlights the importance of continued federal funding for legal aid programs (with federal funding, the Sacramento Legal Aid Society went from a budget of $20K to a $125K annual budget).
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