For all persons on this website, following are: name; geographical areas where most professionally active; and date of death if deceased. Below the bio summary are any lists (in bold face) in which the person is included. Click on the name to see the person’s oral history and more details.
Law firm partner who played leading role in legal aid in Sacramento including creating the Legal Aid Society there.
In Memoriam
Oral history on his career as lawyer, ethics teacher, Fed. Court Study Comm.; legal counsel to KY Dept. of Public Advocacy; US Supreme Ct. Ltg.
NLADA Board/Staff
National, NM
Directed New Mexico Legal Aid. Chaired NM Civil Legal Services Commission. Longtime consultant on legal aid to ABA, NLADA and numerous state/local organizations. Started with OEO Legal Services.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, OEO Legal Services staff
MA, OH
Longtime Executive Director of Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati. Started at the Boston Legal Assistance Project.
Reggie
CO, National, Rural
Longtime Executive Director of Colorado Legal Services who was on many ABA committees and also special counsel to LSC President Helaine Barnett.
ABA Leader, LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, Reggie, SCLAID Board/Staff
GA, National
Senior positions with OEO Legal Services, LSC, NLADA. Later on LSC Board for nine years.
ABA Leader, LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, OEO Legal Services staff
MA, Rural, VT
Innovative longtime director of Vermont Legal Aid. Developed custom case management system. Previously with Central Mass Legal Services.
NLADA Board/Staff
First Director of the Legal Services Program (LSP) within OEO). Then Executive VP of LSC. Was also President of NLADA.
In Memoriam, LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, OEO Legal Services staff
AK, WA
Directed Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid. Previously with Columbia Legal Services, Spokane Legal Services, and Alaska Legal Services Corporation.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, Reggie
National, NY
President of LSC for six years. Previously spent 37 years with Legal Aid Society in NYC and headed its civil division. Later a leader in legal aid in NY state.
ABA Leader, ATJ Commission Board/Staff, LSC Board/Staff
AL, National
Leading African American attorney in Alabama who chaired the board of Legal Services of Alabama, and chaired a key committee of the LSC board at a crucial time in its history.
LSC Board/Staff, Reggie
Seminal figure who worked on both civil and criminal matters. Leader with United Planning Organization, and CRLA on farmworkers. Clinical programs at universities.
In Memoriam, NLADA Board/Staff
CA, National
Worked with CRLA during Reagan years. Chief lobbyist for LSC creation act. Later first director of the Fair Political Practices Commission established in the wake of Watergate.
MS, National
Founder and/or leader with LSC, NLADA, Mississippi Center for Justice, and Voices for Civil Justice.
LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, Reggie
Was with Legal Services of Northern California as staff attorney and then director.
Longtime staff at Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law. Expert on public benefits law.
National
Chaired U.S. CFTC. Co-founder of National Women's Law Center. SCLAID member. Chaired ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
ABA Leader, SCLAID Board/Staff
President of the Shriver Center in Chicago starting in 2007. Played a key role in the organization's path of not taking LSC or other government money.
MA, TN
Director of Greater Boston Legal Services who also worked for West Tennessee Legal Services. Member of SCLAID. Chair of MIE.
SCLAID Board/Staff
Directed Legal Aid Society of Louisville, KY for three decades.
In Memoriam
Directed ABA Division for Legal Service. Chief counsel to ABA SCLAID committee.
SCLAID Board/Staff
IL, National
Senior positions with Cook County public defender office. Vice President of Defender Legal Services at NLADA.
NLADA Board/Staff
Seminal figure who with his wife Jean Camper Cahn authored landmark 1964 article for the Yale Law Journal proposing national system of legal services to the poor. He founded Antioch School of Law and Time Bank.
In Memoriam, OEO Legal Services staff
AZ, FL, KY, National, Rural, TN
Worked in numerous state and national organizations supporting civil legal aid and related issues, including KY, TN, DC, and AZ. Arizona-based consultant who improved recruitment and retention of civil legal aid staff.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff
Led Community Legal Services in Philadelphia to national prominence. NLADA board member. Excellent manager.
NLADA Board/Staff
Intl, MA
Cofounded the Legal Services Institute at Harvard Law School where she was Assistant Dean for Administration of the Clinical Program. Involved in innovative programs.
National
VP for Strategic Alliances at NLADA and secretary to the Board of Directors.
NLADA Board/Staff
AR, National
LSC Board chair 1978-1981. Arkansas Law School in Fayettesville. Previously taught criminal law and managed legal aid clinic at University of Arkansas. Submitted funding for what became Ozark Legal Services.
LSC Board/Staff
CA, IL, NV
Longtime director of Orange County Legal Aid. Previously with Clark County Legal Services (Las Vegas), the National Senior Citizens Law Center, and the Cook County DA (Chicago). Very innovative.
Senior position at Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law. Later with MD Attorney General's office and CEO of Council of Better Business Bureaus.
Reggie
Deputy director in Legal Services Corporation Region 1 from 1974-1982.
LSC Board/Staff
IN, ME, OH
Directed Legal Aid Society in Cleveland. Previously with Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and then-Legal Services Organization of Indiana.
NLADA Board/Staff
Longtime director of Winston-Salem Legal Aid office.
ME, National
LSC board member. Served on Maine Supreme Court 1993-2007. Championed legal services for the poor.
ABA Leader, ATJ Commission Board/Staff, Judge, LSC Board/Staff
Litigation Director at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. Winner of the ACLU Pioneer Award. National leader in employment law for the poor, especially those with criminal records.
MD, National
Directed Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland. Chair of Project Advisory Group. Member of SCLAID.
SCLAID Board/Staff
CA, MI
Directed Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA). Previously with Legal Services of Eastern Michigan, and National Senior Citizens Law Center.
National, NJ, NY
LSC board chair. Board member of NYC Legal Aid Society. Trustee of the Community Law offices in East Harlem. Board chair of Legal Services of NJ.
LSC Board/Staff
DC, National
Georgetown law professor. Specializes in the fields of poverty, welfare, juvenile justice, and constitutional law.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff
National
One of the initial staff leaders of the OEO Legal Services. One of the architects of the design and development of LSC.
OEO Legal Services staff
National
In 1975 became the first president of the LSC, where he served for three years. Had career as law school dean, university president, and other varied posts.
LSC Board/Staff
Republican Congressman from Illinois involved in OEO Legal Services and Legal Services Act. Later LSC board member then interim LSC president.
In Memoriam, LSC Board/Staff, Member of Congress
Leader in the Access to Justice Movement who was the longtime director of the Office of Legal Services of the State Bar of California. Previously directed the Public Interest Clearinghouse.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff
National, NY
Private practice partner at Harrison Tweed's firm. Chaired NYC Legal Aid Society. President of LSC. Early leader against HIV discrimination.
LSC Board/Staff
National, NY
Directed National Center for Law and Economic Justice in New York City for more than four decades.
NLADA Board/Staff, Reggie
Law partner of President Nixon, whom he served in White House, where Garment championed Legal Services Act through enactment.
In Memoriam
Longtime director of the Michigan Advocacy Program, parent of Legal Services of South Central Michigan. since 1983. Previously with the Center for Urban Law and Housing and Michigan Legal Services.
NLADA Board/Staff
NY, TN
Worked for Legal Services of Middle Tennessee and Greater Upstate Law Project (NY). Involved with national org of state support centers.
Long time executive director of the Chicago Bar Foundation involved in numerous other organizations and initiatives. Played leading role in securing passage of Illinois state legislation funding civil legal aid.
Worked for Illinois Defender Project.
Longtime director of Atlanta Legal Aid. Also with Georgia Legal Services in Savannah.
Ran the Legal Aid Society of NY. Served on SCLAID. Directed Clinical Programs at Harvard Law School. Then pro bono partner at major NYC law firm.
SCLAID Board/Staff
CA, NJ
Worked for Camden Regional Legal Services in NJ. Then directed Legal Aid Society of Sacramento.
Became Executive Director of Iowa Legal Aid,in 1992 after starting with the organization in 1978.
NLADA Board/Staff
Started with New Hampshire Legal Assistance in 1971 and became Executive Director.
LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff
ABA staff member for IOLTA, SCLAID, pro bono. Previously at Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago.
SCLAID Board/Staff
CT, KY, VA, WI
Worked in Appalachian Kentucky and Wisconsin, then directed Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) in Virginia and SF Bay Area Legal Aid. NLADA Chair and Treasurer.
NLADA Board/Staff
Rural, TX
Directed the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid for 42 years after starting his career with the United Farm Workers (UFW) in the Rio Grande Valley. National leader on migrant labor issues.
Worked at Cook County Public Defender’s Office and on amicus brief In Re Gault, the first juvenile case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
NLADA Board/Staff
Executive Director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Maine during 1990 - 2022. Guided innovative work on technology, veterans, foreclosures, debt collection and other issues.
In Memoriam
Chief Justice of TX Supreme Court. Championed funding for legal aid.
Judge
Longtime sr. attorney with Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. Worked on state and federal litigation and policy advocacy focused on welfare and its interactions with family and criminal law.
AR, TN
Became director of Center for Arkansas Legal Services in 1978. Previously worked in legal services in Tennessee.
Served 43 years of public service with Georgia Legal Services Program and retired as Executive Director.
NLADA Board/Staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
National
Staff counsel in the ABA Division for Legal Services for 30 years.
SCLAID Board/Staff
Intl, MI, National
Senior staff member at LSC, headed its research institute, and oversaw its support centers. Key lobbyist and draftsman in efforts to enact the LSC Act.
LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, Reggie
FL, MA, OH
As asst. AG, represented State of Florida in Gideon v. Wainwright. Later a public defender. Honored with numerous awards for later work for inmates and indigent.
Director of Western Carolina Legal Services in Greenville, SC. Previously with Charleston Neighborhood Legal Assistance. One of the first blacks to attend Citadel military academy.
CA, Intl, National
Senior positions with OEO Legal Services and Neighborhood Legal Services Project in DC. Later on California Court of Appeal.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, Judge, LSC Board/Staff, OEO Legal Services staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
AZ, IL
Director of Community Legal Services of Phoenix. Board chair of NLADA and the Project Advisory Group. Previously with Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, Chicago Regional Office of LSC.
LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff
Executive Director of Legal Services of North Central Alabama. Previously with Legal Aid Society program in Huntsville, AL.
National
Assisted Abe Fortas in researching the issues and writing the brief for Gideon v. Wainwright. Taught law and had private practice.
The public defender in Franklin County, Columbus, Ohio.
Directed OEO Legal Services in the Nixon administration. Authored and personally served the first cong'l subpoena of a sitting U.S. President. Later private investigator.
In Memoriam, OEO Legal Services staff
AL, GA, MA, NH, NY
Director of legal services in Alabama. Previously with legal services in New Hampshire and was LSC Atlanta regional director.
LSC Board/Staff
Journalist, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a longtime NY Times columnist. Authored book "Gideon’s Trumpet".
In Memoriam
District Court judge in Austin, TX. Previously with Legal Aid Society of Central Texas in Austin. On Board of TX IOLTA program.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, Judge, Reggie, SCLAID Board/Staff
GA, National, NJ
Deputy director of LSC Atlanta regional office. Various positions with LSC including Acting President. Ex. Dir of NLADA for 22 yrs.
LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, Reggie
DC
Executive Director of AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly . Involved with MIE.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff
Rural, TN
Directed Rural Legal Services of Tennessee. Following a consolidation became general counsel to larger organization.
President of NLADA. Chaired LSC. Led ABA committees. Board member of Legal Aid Society of St. Louis. Private practice.
ABA Leader, In Memoriam, LSC Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff, OEO Legal Services staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
MS, TN
Executive Director of the Project Advisory Group (PAG). Directed Memphis Area Legal Services and over 14 years three different legal services organizations in Mississippi.
NLADA Board/Staff, Reggie
National, WA
Democratic Congressman from Everett, Washington and prime sponsor of LSC bill that passed Congress in 1974. Previously prosecutor, and pro bono defense atty.
Member of Congress
Incorporator and president of Legal Services of NJ. Nationally, chaired influential Project Advisory Group (PAG) in the 1970s, and led on IOLTA and development of LSC performance criteria.
In Memoriam
Dean of Washington College of Law 1988 to 1995. First clinical teacher elected president of the Assoc. of American Law Schools.
GA, MA, NY
Executive Director of Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York beginning in 1995. Past Chair of the Civil Policy Group and the Board of the NLADA. Co-convener of the New York Diversity Coalition.
NLADA Board/Staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
Board member National Defender Institute.
NLADA Board/Staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
Worked for Acadiana Legal Services. Previously in civil division of Louisiana Department of Justice, and in private practice.
MA, National, OH
Longtime executive director of the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) in Boston. Guided the organization through loss of LSC funding and in fostering and organizing the consumer law practitioner community.
AZ, CA, TN
Started with CRLA then created lobby office for the Western Center. Later with Legal Services of South Central Tennessee and returned to Calif.
CA, National
Had 35 year legal career with California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) advocating for the rights of California’s farm worker and rural poverty communities. Served on boards of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and NLADA.
NLADA Board/Staff
MA, MI, National
First full-time Executive Director of Management Information Exchange (MIE) starting in 1997. Previously Executive Director of Legal Services for Cape Cod and Islands, and attorney for Legal Services of Eastern Michigan.
National
Directed legal services at the Center for Legal and Policy Studies. Previously with Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and LSC.
LSC Board/Staff
Board member and President of the Board of the Legal Aid Society of Sacramento County.
National
As director of Families USA for 34 years, played key role laying the groundwork for the Affordable Care Act, defending it after passage, and getting people enrolled. Started the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and focused much of his career on reducing hunger among the poor.
AR, MA
In his native state, ran Legal Services of Arkansas, then the LSC's Southeast Training Center, then directed Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) from 1983-2018. Played a key role in rationalizing civil legal aid orgs in Mass.
Son of a farmworker. First Latino executive director of CRLA. Served on California Supreme Court.
Judge
SCLAID Board/Staff
Private practice lawyer who co-founded Bar Leaders for the Preservation of Legal Services in 1980s. Chair of SCLAID. Member of ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service.
ABA Leader, SCLAID Board/Staff
Career at the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Starting 1984, was Director of Litigation and worked important cases on indigent healthcare cases and general relief.
Executive director of Community Legal Services in Philadelphia where he started his career. Then University of Pennsylvania law professor.
Public housing tenant activist who served on board of Mass. Law Reform Institute and served on client councils at the state, regional, and national levels.
National, NH
Counsel to the ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. Previously directed New Hampshire Pro Bono Program.
SCLAID Board/Staff
National, WA
Directed Columbia Legal Services and Evergreen Legal Services, both statewide civil legal aid programs in Washington State. Also on ABA's SCLAID.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
Helped create the OEO Legal Services program and LSC. President of ABA. President of the International League for Human Rights.
ABA Leader, In Memoriam, SCLAID Board/Staff
MA, National, NY
Executive VP of LSC. Previously legal aid lawyer in New York City. Later active in Massachusetts including the Harvard Law School program on the legal profession.
LSC Board/Staff, Reggie
CA, National
Patent attorney appointed to LSC Board by both Presidents Reagan and Clinton. Previously on board of Legal Aid Society in San Francisco.
LSC Board/Staff
Former president of the ABA during creation of the LSC, about which he dealt with President Nixon. Smith previously served on the ABA Committee on the Availability of Legal Services. Committed to civil legal aid.
ABA Leader, In Memoriam
Started in legal services in Greenville, SC. Became judge. Founder of Piedmont Legal Services. Member of the Spartanburg City Council.
In Memoriam, Judge, Reggie
Private practice partner who was President of ABA. Played key role in creating Florida's IOLTA program and Florida Legal Services as state backup center.
ABA Leader
National, PA
President of the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center. Played key public interest role on bankruptcy legislation in Congress. Previously with Community Legal Services in Phila.
NLADA Board/Staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
Intl, PA
He worked for Community Legal Services in Philadelphia starting in 1968 and served in various positions including General Counsel. He led innovative litigation that won crucial victories at the US Supreme Court for the poor and racial minorities.
Reggie
DC, IL
First Black director of Cook County Public Defender office. Chaired ABA Criminal Justice Section.
ABA Leader, Reggie
Directed the Alabama Consortium of Legal Services Programs.
Lawyer in private practice. Texas Access to Justice Foundation, Chairman, Board of Directors (1997-present). Helped lead increased funding to civil legal aid in TX.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff
Judge on Colo. Court of Appeals. Previously directed Colorado Coalition of Legal Services Programs, and was with Center on Social Welfare Policy & Law, and Pikes Peak Legal Services.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, Judge
Longtime director of Legal Services of North Carolina. Chair of Project Advisory Group.
NLADA Board/Staff
Directed Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. Later Judge on Mo. Court of Appeals. Then was both the first Jewish and the first legally blind judge on the Mo. Supreme Court.
In Memoriam, Judge
MS, SC
Directed legal services program in Charleston, SC and pro bono program in Mississippi. Leader in created Southeast Administrators Assoc.
National, TX
Director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, the largest Texas-based funder for legal services to the poor. President of Natl. Assoc. of IOLTA Programs.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, NLADA Board/Staff
Directed North Mississippi Rural Legal Services. VP and General Counsel of Children’s Defense Fund. Strategist and advocate to preserve LSC from Reagan-era cuts.
In Memoriam
AZ, CO, National
VP for programs at LSC. Previously director of Southern Arizona Legal Aid. Expert on delivery of legal services to low income people.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, LSC Board/Staff, Reggie
Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Previously with Neighborhood Legal Services Program and Center for Law and Social Policy.
In Memoriam, Judge
CA, National
Directed Legal Services of Northern California. State trial judge in Sacramento. President of National Center for State Courts (NSSC).
Judge, Reggie
Longtime Executive Director of the Ohio State Legal Services Association (OSLSA). Previously worked at the Cleveland Legal Aid Society in 1975. Leader on employment law.
Lawyer in private practice who was board member of Legal Services of Northern Californiaduring 1960-1967.
Worked at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia for more than 30 years. Specialist in public benefits and health law and has written extensively in the field. Received numerous awards.
Reggie
Key leader to establish legal services program in D.C. Influenced formation of the federal legal services program. Counsel for NLADA.
In Memoriam
Private trial lawyer in Texas. Chaired SCLAID. Honored by NLADA.
ABA Leader, ATJ Commission Board/Staff, SCLAID Board/Staff
IL, Rural
Director of Lincoln Legal Assistance in East St. Louis, Illinois. Board member of national Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG).
Intl
Legal scholar at the LSE and legal correspondent of The Guardian newspaper. Involved in study and development of civil and criminal legal services in the UK, and comparisons with US.
Associate justice of the California Court of Appeal. Chaired California Access to Justice Commission, and served in many roles with the ABA.
ATJ Commission Board/Staff, Judge, SCLAID Board/Staff
Former public defender, legal services attorney, and justice technology designer. Leading crusader for the cause of self represented litigants in US.
In Memoriam