When Kim Shumate was a young attorney serving as co-chair of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Task Force on Pro Se and Indigent Litigants, she had the opportunity to get to know the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer. The Chief Justice, impressed by Shumate’s dedication to access to justice, appointed her in 2005 to the [...]
Each year, the Supreme Court of Ohio and the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation partner to ask Ohio attorneys to report pro bono hours and financial contributions to charitable legal organizations. The Foundation is pleased to share that the survey to report 2022 hours is now live. Reporting your hours is critical to our ability [...]
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio, has announced funding awards for 19 nonprofit legal service providers totaling $2.79 million. The Foundation is granting more than $1.64 million to nonprofits to shore up funding diminished by the pandemic and to support new special projects to address the [...]
The Foundation is proud to celebrate Women’s History Month in March. Women’s History Month celebrates the rich legacy and contribution of the countless women who have fought for equality and justice nationwide. The Foundation is pleased to acknowledge the many women across the state of Ohio who are leaders, advocates, and change agents committed to [...]
Judge Carla Baldwin has a metaphor she likes to use when she talks about the Youngstown Municipal Court, where she presides as the first Black female judge elected to serve in the court’s history. “We are the ER of the judicial system,” she said. “We get everything first, and then we have to triage it [...]
Equality Ohio is a statewide nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure lived and legal equality for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. Through advocacy, community outreach, and civil legal services, Equality Ohio works to create an Ohio where LGBTQ+ people are thriving. The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation supports Equality Ohio through funding for their civil legal services [...]
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation presents the Presidential Award annually to individuals, law firms, or organizations that have made outstanding efforts to improve access to justice in Ohio. Since 1996, the Foundation has honored leaders in pro bono who play an indispensable role in helping Ohioans address civil legal issues that impact health, safety, [...]
When the Ohio Justice Bus sought volunteer lawyers to help staff legal clinics in Hamilton County, the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati (BLAC) was at the top of the list. BLAC, an affinity bar association that works to ensure all lawyers and law students have equal opportunity to share in the benefits of the legal [...]
Tenille Kaus is only four months into her new role at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, where she leads diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and advancement for the nonprofit, but already she has a full plate. Charged with implementing legal aid’s DEI plan and designing strategies to ensure that the nonprofit considers DEI principles across [...]
Since its launch in the fall of 2019, the Ohio Justice Bus has been on the road, delivering justice to Ohio’s most vulnerable communities. To help manage the Bus’s busy clinic schedule and to expand its reach, the Bus is pleased to welcome two new full-time staff members. “We’ve been growing rapidly, working with new [...]
