Each spring, the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation joins legal leaders from around Ohio and the country at the American Bar Association’s ABA Day in Washington, D.C. The event brings together leaders of the ABA, and state and local bars, to advocate on Capitol Hill on issues of importance to the legal profession.
ABA Day provides the perfect opportunity to meet with legislators and to highlight legal aid’s impact, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support because it both strengthens the workforce and stabilizes families.
“Part of our goal is to show legislators how legal aid improves constituent lives in Ohio,” said Foundation Executive Director Angie Lloyd. “Legal aid helps Ohioans resolve legal challenges to prevent foreclosure, stabilize survivors of domestic violence, secure safe and stable housing, and help veterans access their earned benefits.”
This year’s ABA Day coincides with the Legal Services Corporation’s (LSC) 50th anniversary. LSC provides a quarter of the funding for Ohio’s legal aids, with the Foundation, government grants, and private fundraising providing the rest.
Lloyd and Foundation Board member Bill Weisenberg, along with the Ohio State Bar Association’s President Michelle Kranz, President-Elect Dan Griffith, and Foundation Board Vice President and OSBA CEO Mary Amos Augsburger, advocated for maintaining LSC funding during ABA Day to ensure critical dollars are available to help low-income Ohioans access legal services.
“Funding for legal aid is more important than ever, particularly given the shortage of lawyers in our rural communities,” Lloyd said. “Robust LSC funding is critical to ensuring that Ohio’s legal aids can continue to provide life-changing legal help for low-income Ohioans.”
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is Ohio’s largest funder of civil legal services. A gift to the Foundation supports access to justice.