The Census Bureau today released new national estimates for income, poverty and health insurance coverage. In 2010, median household income declined, the poverty rate increased and the percentage of people without health insurance coverage was not statistically different from the previous year. The official poverty rate rose almost a full percent to 15.1 percent, from [...]
The Washington Post reports that a year after a judge began requiring members of the District of Columbia bar to put certain client funds in pooled interest-bearing accounts aimed at generating money for legal aid groups, revenue from the funds remains near historic lows. To read more, click here.
A letter to the editor of the New York Times from the President of the American Bar Association, William T. Robinson III, written in response to the newspaper's editorial on addressing the justice gap. To read the letter, click here.
The New York Times, in an editorial published August 23rd, says the "justice gap" falls primarily on the poor, and mostly in overburdened state courts. To read more, click here.
Summer Associates at Community Legal Aid Services (CLAS) in Akron wrapped up their 10 week program with a mock trial in a Summit County Domestic Relations courtroom. The mock trial featured volunteers and lawyers from CLAS, Sterling Jewelers, AmeriCorps and Mature Services acting as clients, witnesses and court staff. To read more, click here.
Access to civil legal aid in the United States for low-income populations is largely contingent on the state where they reside, according to a new report unveiled August 5th by the American Bar Foundation. To read more, click here.
Two members of the OLAF Board of Trustees, David A. Kutik of Jones Day in Cleveland, and Legal Aid Society of Cleveland Executive Director Colleen M. Cotter, have been appointed to serve on the Legal Services Corporation's (LSC) newly created Pro Bono Task Force. The task force will help the LSC board to develop additional [...]
President Barack Obama today nominated former OLAF board member Richard Cordray to be the first director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calling him "the best possible director for the job." To read more, click here.
Clients of Cleveland Legal Aid staff attorneys and pro bono volunteers were featured in a Cleveland Plain Dealer story about judgments obtained against property owners described as "cruel". To read more, click here.
Funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) would be cut by 26 percent in Fiscal Year 2012 under a proposal announced by the House Appropriations Committee on July 6th. The Committee bill proposes a $300 million budget for LSC—rolling back LSC funding to a level not seen since 1999. To read more, click here.
