When Foundation board member Bill Dowling was a young attorney at Squire, Sanders, and Dempsey in Cleveland, he signed up for a program that had a profound effect on his career. Dowling worked for the westside office of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland for a month under then-director Tom Weeks, an experience that would [...]
A partnership between the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds has generated millions of dollars to support civil legal aid and access to justice. With the Nov. 1 deadline to report unclaimed funds to the Division of Unclaimed Funds approaching, attorneys should be aware of the [...]
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, thousands of Ukrainians have sought safety and security in the United States. The Foundation’s Ukrainian Legal Services Grant Program is helping to meet the unique civil legal needs of Ukrainians seeking a new life in Ohio. After a terrifying escape from Mariupol, Ukraine, during the Russian occupation, Klara [...]
Thanks to support from the Ohio Legislature General Revenue Fund appropriation and the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Attorney Services Fund, the Foundation launched a new grant program earlier this year to help serve veterans. The grant program increased the dollars available to serve veterans to $500,000, funding that Ohio’s legal aids have used to dedicate [...]
Magistrate Kathleen Lenski knew she wanted to be a lawyer from age 12. As the daughter of educators, there were no lawyers in her family to model a career after, but she had a steadfast belief that a career in law was a way to help people. When her parents divorced, it solidified her goal. [...]
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to welcome new trustees. The Board of Directors supports the Foundation’s mission of improving access to justice and ensuring that legal aid and other resources, programs, and services address the civil legal needs of low-income Ohioans. The new trustees are: Thomas G. Eagle, attorney [...]
For 30 years, the Foundation’s Justice for All Fellowship has provided new attorneys with the opportunity to develop and execute two-year projects to address urgent civil legal problems facing Ohioans. To support fellows throughout the program, the Foundation hosts quarterly retreats where fellows can connect through an interactive learning session and a social activity. “Our [...]
Attorney Bill Freedman chose a career in law because he appreciates complexity, but his reason for donating hundreds of hours of pro bono service is quite simple: he loves it. Freedman, who recorded a remarkable 1,200 hours of pro bono service in 2023 on the Supreme Court of Ohio and Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s [...]
Mike Walters, managing attorney of the Legal Helpline at Pro Seniors, is the 2024 recipient of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Denis J. Murphy Award. The Foundation annually presents the Murphy Award to an Ohio legal aid staff member to recognize outstanding leadership and advocacy. Walters received the Murphy Award on August 14 at [...]
If you work in public service, you’re likely surrounded by compassionate, hard-working, early-career lawyers dedicated to making a difference for low-income Ohioans. Now, you can recognize an outstanding emerging attorney with the Foundation’s new Rising Star Award. The Rising Star Award honors an attorney in civil legal services whose career reflects exceptional growth. Intended for [...]
