Persons, All: Short bios

Law firm partner who played leading role in legal aid in Sacramento including creating the Legal Aid Society there.

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.

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.

Longtime Executive Director of Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati. Started at the Boston Legal Assistance Project.

Longtime Executive Director of Colorado Legal Services who was on many ABA committees and also special counsel to LSC President Helaine Barnett.

Senior positions with OEO Legal Services, LSC, NLADA. Later on LSC Board for nine years.

Innovative longtime director of Vermont Legal Aid. Developed custom case management system. Previously with Central Mass Legal Services.

First Director of the Legal Services Program (LSP) within OEO). Then Executive VP of LSC. Was also President of NLADA.

Directed Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid. Previously with Columbia Legal Services, Spokane Legal Services, and Alaska Legal Services Corporation.

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.

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.

Seminal figure who worked on both civil and criminal matters. Leader with United Planning Organization, and CRLA on farmworkers. Clinical programs at universities.

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.

Founder and/or leader with LSC, NLADA, Mississippi Center for Justice, and Voices for Civil Justice.

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.

Chaired U.S. CFTC. Co-founder of National Women's Law Center. SCLAID member. Chaired ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.

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.

Director of Greater Boston Legal Services who also worked for West Tennessee Legal Services. Member of SCLAID. Chair of MIE.

Directed Legal Aid Society of Louisville, KY for three decades.

Directed ABA Division for Legal Service. Chief counsel to ABA SCLAID committee.

Senior positions with Cook County public defender office. Vice President of Defender Legal Services at NLADA.

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.

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.

Led Community Legal Services in Philadelphia to national prominence. NLADA board member. Excellent manager.

Cofounded the Legal Services Institute at Harvard Law School where she was Assistant Dean for Administration of the Clinical Program. Involved in innovative programs.

VP for Strategic Alliances at NLADA and secretary to the Board of Directors.

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.

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.

Deputy director in Legal Services Corporation Region 1 from 1974-1982.

Directed Legal Aid Society in Cleveland. Previously with Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and then-Legal Services Organization of Indiana.

Longtime director of Winston-Salem Legal Aid office.

LSC board member. Served on Maine Supreme Court 1993-2007. Championed legal services for the poor.

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.

Directed Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland. Chair of Project Advisory Group. Member of SCLAID.

Directed Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA). Previously with Legal Services of Eastern Michigan, and National Senior Citizens Law Center.

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.

Georgetown law professor. Specializes in the fields of poverty, welfare, juvenile justice, and constitutional law.

One of the initial staff leaders of the OEO Legal Services. One of the architects of the design and development of LSC.

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.

Republican Congressman from Illinois involved in OEO Legal Services and Legal Services Act. Later LSC board member then interim LSC president.

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.

Private practice partner at Harrison Tweed's firm. Chaired NYC Legal Aid Society. President of LSC. Early leader against HIV discrimination.

Directed National Center for Law and Economic Justice in New York City for more than four decades.

Law partner of President Nixon, whom he served in White House, where Garment championed Legal Services Act through enactment.

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.

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.

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.

Started with New Hampshire Legal Assistance in 1971 and became Executive Director.

ABA staff member for IOLTA, SCLAID, pro bono. Previously at Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago.

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.

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.

Executive Director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Maine during 1990 - 2022. Guided innovative work on technology, veterans, foreclosures, debt collection and other issues.

Chief Justice of TX Supreme Court. Championed funding for legal aid.

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.

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.

Staff counsel in the ABA Division for Legal Services for 30 years.

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.

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.

Senior positions with OEO Legal Services and Neighborhood Legal Services Project in DC. Later on California Court of Appeal.

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.

Executive Director of Legal Services of North Central Alabama. Previously with Legal Aid Society program in Huntsville, AL.

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.

Director of legal services in Alabama. Previously with legal services in New Hampshire and was LSC Atlanta regional director.

Journalist, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a longtime NY Times columnist. Authored book "Gideon’s Trumpet".

District Court judge in Austin, TX. Previously with Legal Aid Society of Central Texas in Austin. On Board of TX IOLTA program.

Deputy director of LSC Atlanta regional office. Various positions with LSC including Acting President. Ex. Dir of NLADA for 22 yrs.

Executive Director of AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly . Involved with MIE.

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.

Executive Director of the Project Advisory Group (PAG). Directed Memphis Area Legal Services and over 14 years three different legal services organizations in Mississippi.

Democratic Congressman from Everett, Washington and prime sponsor of LSC bill that passed Congress in 1974. Previously prosecutor, and pro bono defense atty.

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.

Dean of Washington College of Law 1988 to 1995. First clinical teacher elected president of the Assoc. of American Law Schools.

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.

Board member National Defender Institute.

Worked for Acadiana Legal Services. Previously in civil division of Louisiana Department of Justice, and in private practice.

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.

Started with CRLA then created lobby office for the Western Center. Later with Legal Services of South Central Tennessee and returned to Calif.

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.

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.

Directed legal services at the Center for Legal and Policy Studies. Previously with Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and LSC.

Board member and President of the Board of the Legal Aid Society of Sacramento County.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Counsel to the ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. Previously directed New Hampshire Pro Bono Program.

Directed Columbia Legal Services and Evergreen Legal Services, both statewide civil legal aid programs in Washington State. Also on ABA's SCLAID.

Helped create the OEO Legal Services program and LSC. President of ABA. President of the International League for Human Rights.

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.

Patent attorney appointed to LSC Board by both Presidents Reagan and Clinton. Previously on board of Legal Aid Society in San Francisco.

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.

Started in legal services in Greenville, SC. Became judge. Founder of Piedmont Legal Services. Member of the Spartanburg City Council.

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.

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.

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.

First Black director of Cook County Public Defender office. Chaired ABA Criminal Justice Section.

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.

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.

Longtime director of Legal Services of North Carolina. Chair of Project Advisory Group.

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.

Directed legal services program in Charleston, SC and pro bono program in Mississippi. Leader in created Southeast Administrators Assoc.

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.

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.

VP for programs at LSC. Previously director of Southern Arizona Legal Aid. Expert on delivery of legal services to low income people.

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.

Directed Legal Services of Northern California. State trial judge in Sacramento. President of National Center for State Courts (NSSC).

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.

Key leader to establish legal services program in D.C. Influenced formation of the federal legal services program. Counsel for NLADA.

Private trial lawyer in Texas. Chaired SCLAID. Honored by NLADA.

Director of Lincoln Legal Assistance in East St. Louis, Illinois. Board member of national Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG).

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.

Former public defender, legal services attorney, and justice technology designer. Leading crusader for the cause of self represented litigants in US.