Ohio attorneys are a generous bunch, each year contributing thousands of hours of pro bono service and substantial financial contributions to charitable legal organizations, all in the name of helping low-income Ohioans gain access to legal services. The 2022 results from the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and Supreme Court of Ohio’s annual Voluntary Pro [...]
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio, has announced funding awards to three Ohio legal aid organizations totaling $417,400. The awards, a matching grant opportunity open to legal aid organizations participating in the Foundation’s Neighborhood Stabilization Grant Program, support legal work for community economic development (CED) projects [...]
For recent law school graduates passionate about public service, the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s Justice for All Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to develop and implement civil legal service projects that can change lives. Since 1994, the Foundation has funded two-year fellowships for attorneys seeking to make a difference in Ohio’s civil justice system [...]
An innovative divorce clinic at the Toledo Bar Association (TBA) brings together volunteer attorneys, paralegals, law students, and TBA staff to help hundreds of low-income Lucas County residents file for divorce. The Pro Se Divorce Clinic, established in 1994 and the first of its kind in the state of Ohio, operates through a do-it-yourself, classroom-style [...]
When the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation tabulated the results of the annual 2022 Pro Bono Survey, in partnership with the Supreme Court of Ohio, two Cincinnati attorneys stood out. Thomas Cuni, of counsel at Thomas Downing Law Firm and a volunteer with ProKids, and Gerry Greene, a volunteer with the Legal Aid Society of [...]
In 2019, team members at the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation were brainstorming how to help legal aid immigration advocates who were struggling with stress and burnout. As the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio, the Foundation recognized an opportunity to support grantees during a tremendously stressful time; the question was, how to [...]
When the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation surveyed law students of color, legal aid attorneys, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leaders at bar associations and law schools about what makes a successful summer clerkship program, the consensus was clear: a supportive working environment is crucial to a program’s success. But what does a supportive [...]
Since the inaugural meeting of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee one year ago, the group has been hard at work leveraging resources and convening stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve DEI in Ohio’s civil justice system. With the help of Equius Group, a Cleveland-based consulting firm, and data [...]
A year into the Foundation’s grant program that provides funding for the immigration legal needs of Afghan evacuees across the state, Ohio nonprofits have exceeded expectations. The Foundation’s grantees have helped over 2,300 Afghans seeking safety and stability, a higher number than initially anticipated. In partnership with the Ohio State Bar Association, the Foundation recently [...]
When Susan Choe was the director of the Student Housing Legal Clinic at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, she would send her law students down to observe the eviction docket in Franklin County. For students just starting their legal careers, the visit provided an eye-opening look at the housing challenges experienced by [...]
