The Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation is winding down its support for the Judicially Led Appellate District Pro Bono Project.
The Project, created in 2007 by then-Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) President Robert Ware of Cleveland, created committees of judges and lawyers in each of Ohio’s 12 appellate districts. The committees created or supplemented pro bono projects to increase the amount of civil legal services available for at-need Ohioans in each appellate district.
In announcing the initiative during the speech that followed his installation as OSBA president, Ware said “This will succeed because the imperative to perform pro bono and community service is pervasive among Ohio lawyers.”
In the seven years that followed, the Project has made an impact in communities across the state by expanding the number of legal aid clients who were able to access civil legal help and by developing creative solutions to persistent community civil legal problems. The Project also provided an in-place statewide structure to support efforts to deal with the flood of foreclosure cases which followed the onset of economic crisis in late 2007.
A 2011 Foundation report on the Project noted that 174 judges and attorneys were recruited to serve on committees; that 86 judges served on committees, including four retired judges; that five needs assessments were performed at the appellate district level, and 26 pro bono projects were created.
“The Appellate District Project was critical to our establishing and strengthening relationships with members of the judiciary,” said Ann McGowan Porath, Pro Bono Managing Attorney for The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.
“Projects that are strong and robust today were begun as a result of the collaborations formed under the Appellate District Project,” Porath added.
Columbus-based Ohio State Legal Services Association Executive Director Thomas W. Weeks agrees. “We were fortunate to have the leadership of Judge Klatt,” he said. “He was able to motivate other judges and there were great programs from the Bankruptcy Court, the Franklin County Municipal Court, the pro bono writing mentorship program developed by Judge Klatt, and other projects as well.”
Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals Judge William A. Klatt, who chaired the Project from 2009 until 2013, noted that in addition to motivating attorney volunteers, judges involved in the project helped to identify critical civil legal needs for people in each appellate district who could not afford to hire an attorney: “The Appellate District Pro Bono Project underscored the importance of involving judges in pro bono projects. Many judges from across the state were members of local pro bono committees, which helped emphasize the importance of this effort to provide better access to justice for the poor. Participating judges offered important insights into what needs were most pressing and identified areas where volunteer attorneys could provide the most assistance. This lead to a number of new pro bono initiatives and reenergized existing programs.”
The Appellate District Project heightened awareness for the importance of pro bono service and enhanced collaboration between the OSBA members and Ohio’s legal aids, to the continued benefit of at-need Ohioans in every appellate district.