2015 was a banner year for the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation as it worked to advance its mission of ensuring equal access to justice and the availability of civil legal help statewide for low-income and vulnerable Ohioans. Here are some highlights: 1) The Ohio Supreme Court's Access to Justice Task Force issues its report and [...]
The quarter-point increase in the Federal Reserve Bank's benchmark lending rate is good news for legal aids. The interest rate on lawyer trust accounts, a major source of funding for legal aid, is closely related to the Federal Reserve Bank rate. Read more here.
Active registration status Ohio attorneys and, for the first time, corporate practice attorneys will soon receive an email from the Ohio Supreme Court requesting that pro bono work performed in 2015 be reported to the Court voluntarily and anonymously. In 2015, a Supreme Court rule change allowed attorneys registered as corporate practice attorneys to also [...]
The Supreme Court of Ohio has published for comment a rule that, if enacted, would create an emeritus attorney registration classification. Emeritus attorneys, those with 25 years in practice, or 15 years in practice and over the age of 65, would only be licensed to provide pro bono legal representation to low-income Ohioans under the [...]
Longtime Dayton area lawyer Ellis Jacobs is a winner of the 2015 Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation Murphy Award. Created by the Foundation in 1998, the award is named for the late Denis Murphy, a Columbus lawyer and founding board member of the Foundation who advocated for strong funding for civil legal aid. Jacobs, a Dayton [...]
Rhonda Y. Moore, a lawyer and Executive Director of Cincinnati-based Pro Seniors, is a winner of the 2015 Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation Murphy Award. Created by the Foundation in 1998, the award is named for the late Denis Murphy, a Columbus lawyer and founding board member of the Foundation who advocated for strong funding for [...]
Pro Seniors, a nonprofit founded in 1975, has had a tremendous impact on older Ohioans with legal and long-term care problems through its three programs: legal services, long-term care ombudsman, and Ohio SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol). Pro Seniors operates a free Legal Hotline to help older Ohioans in resolving their legal problems. Pro Seniors’ long-term [...]
With more low-income and vulnerable Ohioans relying on legal aid for help with critical civil legal problems, the need for attorneys willing to provide pro bono legal services continues to grow. Read more here.
Shelby County Magistrate Judge Gary Carter worked with Legal Aid of Western Ohio and the Shelby County Bar Association to create a clinic where Shelby County residents seeking a divorce, and unable to afford an attorney, can obtain pro bono legal assistance and not have to navigate the process alone. Read more here.
A 2012 Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation report on the positive economic impact legal aid has in Ohio described how legal aid saves communities money by helping victims of domestic violence stay out of shelters, avoid absenteeism at work and keep kids safe and in school. A new report by the Institute for Policy Integrity confirms [...]
