For nearly 20 years, Colleen Cotter has led The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland through tremendous transformation and growth. Under her leadership, Cleveland Legal Aid has championed a collaborative, relationship-building approach that’s netted fruitful partnerships with groups as varied as the Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System, University Hospitals, Cleveland Public Library, other nonprofits and local courts.
Powered by a staff that’s nearly tripled in size since Cotter became executive director in 2005, she’s achieved significant wins that have changed how the civil justice system operates in northeast Ohio.
“I’m open to new partnerships and ways of engaging people in our work because we have so much to do,” Cotter said. “Bringing more people into the fold to increase justice means our clients benefit tremendously.”
In 2019, Cleveland became one of the first cities in the country to pass legislation that gives low-income Clevelanders facing eviction the right to free legal help. Right to Counsel-Cleveland (RTC-C), a partnership between Cleveland Legal Aid and United Way of Greater Cleveland, has represented thousands of Cleveland residents in eviction cases. In 2023, 81% of people helped through RTC-C avoided an eviction or an involuntary move.
RTC-C is just one example of Cleveland Legal Aid’s innovative advocacy, done with low-income Ohioans in mind.
“Our clients deserve bold action and creativity,” she said. “We have to be willing to take risks because our clients are denied access to justice. To break down those barriers, we have to be bold.”
Under Cotter, Cleveland Legal Aid has expanded medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) in hospitals across the region. Through MLPs, low-income Ohioans in northeast Ohio have access to legal aid lawyers who address patients’ underlying legal issues identified by medical staff. Cleveland Legal Aid’s original partnership with MetroHealth has grown to multiple lawyers in various hospital systems.
“Hearing medical providers talk about the value our staff brings to their patients is powerful,” she said. “I’m really proud of that.”
She’s also proud of growing and developing her team, many of whom were young, newly minted lawyers when Cotter first came to Cleveland Legal Aid. Her background as a staff attorney — first as a Skadden Fellow at Pine Tree Legal Services in Maine and then back in her home state at Indiana Legal Services — means that she understands the highs and lows of the job. Like Cotter, many lawyers she hired 19 years ago are now leaders at Cleveland Legal Aid and in the community. If she shares any leadership advice, it’s a message of perseverance, even when times get tough.
“I work in an organization that does incredible work,” she said. “We feed off the positive, amazing outcomes we achieve and the respect we have earned in the community. Taking joy in that and taking time to celebrate those moments of success is really important because we’ve got to keep going. It’s hard work, and we have to keep doing it.”
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio. A gift to the Foundation supports Ohio’s legal aids.