2025 – what a year it’s been! At the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, we spent 2025 executing our new mission, to help ensure that Ohioans who are low-income or who lack access can fully and fairly participate in civil systems that produce just outcomes.
At the beginning of the year, the Foundation added new topics for the third round of We Care, the immensely successful professional development opportunity for civil legal service professionals. We presented the inaugural Rising Star Award to Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio attorney Jesse Moses, and we welcomed new Supreme Court of Ohio Liaison Justice Daniel Hawkins to the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
In the spring, the Foundation hosted legal aid board members and staff at the Ohio Statehouse for Legal Aid Day, an event that helps educate legislators about legal aid’s impact. On the same day, at the Ohio Bar’s Annual Meeting, we presented the Presidential Award to Thompson Hine, the Voice of Justice Award to Matt Damschroder, and posthumously recognized Judge Mary Jane Trapp with the John C. and Ginny Elam Pro Bono Award.
2025 marked the launch of Pro Bono Ohio, an online platform from the Foundation that helps connect volunteer lawyers with pro bono opportunities around the state. It also brought new members to the Foundation’s board and new officers, including Foundation Board President Mary Amos Augsburger.
In the fall, the Foundation presented the Denis J. Murphy Award to Maria A. Smith, attorney at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and welcomed Robby Southers to the Foundation’s team. At the November board meeting, the Foundation’s board voted to approve funding awards to nonprofit civil legal service providers across the state totaling more than $7.2 million.
“It is an honor to invest in the vital work of Ohio’s civil legal service providers, which help low-income Ohioans and strengthen the communities they call home,” said Foundation Executive Director Angie Lloyd.
As we round the corner to 2026, the Foundation looks forward to continuing to grow and expand, building our role as a funder, statewide convener, and collaborator in improving access to justice for all Ohioans.
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio. A gift to the Foundation supports Ohio’s legal aids.