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 [...]
The summers between the years of law school are a busy time for students working in summer clerkships, networking, and figuring out their future career goals. Justice for All Summer Clerks, law students funded by the Foundation to work in civil legal services, have an additional learning and networking opportunity in a Summer Clerkship Panel [...]
Throughout her career, the Foundation’s General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer, Kiko Yee, has been passionate about empowering women and minorities, particularly in spaces where they are pushed to the margins. For her efforts in spearheading opportunities for women in leadership and her dedication to propelling women forward, Yee is a 2025 Women WELDing the [...]
When Shawn Organ was a partner at Jones Day, Columbus, and in charge of pro bono legal services and associate training, he saw the incredible value pro bono offered to associates in building professional experience. “It is a great feeling to ’give back,’ but [pro bono service] is also an excellent opportunity to get young [...]
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE)'s new Executive Director, Makiedah Messam, brings diverse and impressive experiences to her service at ABLE. Having worked domestically and internationally in both nonprofit and government, Messam brings decades of experience in public interest law to ABLE, a Foundation-funded legal aid serving northwest and west-central Ohio. Jamaican-born Messam grew up [...]
