Legal Aid of Western Ohio’s (LAWO) new Executive Director Brent Thompson arrived at the nonprofit this summer with experience leading a rural legal aid program in South Dakota and an urban program in Florida. His wide-ranging background proved ideal to lead LAWO, a legal aid that serves 32 Ohio counties spanning major cities and small towns.

While his extensive resume proved fertile training ground for his new job, it was his first interaction with LAWO’s team that cemented his decision to move to Toledo.

“I was really impressed with the staff and the board,” he said. “The quality of work that’s being produced is exemplary. I was really, really impressed by the professionalism, and that was a major part of me coming here.”

Thompson has spent his entire career in public service. After graduating from the University of North Dakota Law School, he clerked for two years in Minnesota before starting his career at a legal aid in Minneapolis.  After growing up in a community challenged by addiction, poverty, and violence, Thompson saw the system fail people and knew he wanted to do something about it.

“Where I come from really shaped my values as a person,” he said. “It really instilled in me a sense of justice.”

Throughout his time at legal aid, he’s worked on every type of case, from doing work for reservations and tribes to representing children in protection cases.

“I’ve seen horrible stuff and had horrible losses, but I’ve also had wonderful victories,” he said. “The fact that we’re making systemic change and that we’re on the front line for reducing the justice gap—that’s what keeps me coming back.”

As he settles in as LAWO’s new leader, Thompson is focusing his first months on listening and learning. He is particularly interested in technology and hopes to explore how LAWO might use technology to improve efficiency. But ultimately, his career in legal services is all about people and the clients he has devoted his life to serving.

“I can’t describe the rewarding feeling that this job gives me,” Thompson said. “I’ve tried in the past, and I just can’t accurately describe it, but it is the most rewarding thing that I have done with my life.

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.