In 2019, team members at the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation were brainstorming how to help legal aid immigration advocates who were struggling with stress and burnout. As the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio, the Foundation recognized an opportunity to support grantees during a tremendously stressful time; the question was, how to [...]
When the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation surveyed law students of color, legal aid attorneys, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leaders at bar associations and law schools about what makes a successful summer clerkship program, the consensus was clear: a supportive working environment is crucial to a program’s success. But what does a supportive [...]
Since the inaugural meeting of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee one year ago, the group has been hard at work leveraging resources and convening stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve DEI in Ohio’s civil justice system. With the help of Equius Group, a Cleveland-based consulting firm, and data [...]
A year into the Foundation’s grant program that provides funding for the immigration legal needs of Afghan evacuees across the state, Ohio nonprofits have exceeded expectations. The Foundation’s grantees have helped over 2,300 Afghans seeking safety and stability, a higher number than initially anticipated. In partnership with the Ohio State Bar Association, the Foundation recently [...]
When Susan Choe was the director of the Student Housing Legal Clinic at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, she would send her law students down to observe the eviction docket in Franklin County. For students just starting their legal careers, the visit provided an eye-opening look at the housing challenges experienced by [...]
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s New Admittee Pro Bono Challenge came at a perfect time for attorney Elizabeth Haavisto. A recent University of Akron School of Law graduate, Haavisto had a three-month break between passing the bar and starting her new position as a legal fellow at Goodyear. Rather than kick back and enjoy [...]
Ibrahima Sow is a servant-leader and an advocate passionate about creating opportunities to improve equity among marginalized groups. As a network director with United Way of Central Ohio’s Success by Third Grade movement, he collaborates with regional school districts and community partners to eliminate barriers to learning and implement systems-level change, ensuring that every child [...]
Over 60 legal aid attorneys, board members, and staff gathered at the Ohio Statehouse on May 9 for Legal Aid Day, an event hosted by the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation that helps educate legislators about legal aid’s impact. Since the first Legal Aid Day in 2013, legal aid and the Foundation have strengthened relationships [...]
The International Institute of Akron (IIA) is a lifeline for immigrants and refugees resettling in the Akron area. IIA, a nonprofit organization that helps immigrants achieve an empowered life with dignity, connection, and belonging, is an Ohio Access to Justice Foundation grantee and a valued partner in helping new Americans achieve safety and security in [...]
When Kim Shumate was a young attorney serving as co-chair of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Task Force on Pro Se and Indigent Litigants, she had the opportunity to get to know the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer. The Chief Justice, impressed by Shumate’s dedication to access to justice, appointed her in 2005 to the [...]
