Help us make pro bono better! Take this 5-minute survey about your experiences and interests related to pro bono service. Participants who respond by June 30 and provide an email address will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card.
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2013 Annual Report Sneak Preview
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Our 2013 Annual Report will be out soon. Check out this online preview that highlights our donors, pro bono volunteers, accomplishments and more!
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The Center for Arkansas Legal Services is seeking a staff attorney for its Russellville office and a bankruptcy attorney for its Little Rock office. Full job descriptions and desired qualifications are posted here.
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Learn About Our Work and Earn CLE
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Is your civic organization, local bar association, or firm looking for a speaker or needing CLE credit? Contact our staff to arrange for us to speak to your group.
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Sign up here for pro bono case alerts, IOLTA updates, legislative updates, and other news. |
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Friday Firm, Legal Services Partnership Director Receive National Recognition
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 Arkansas Legal Services Partnership Director Vincent Morris (pictured at right with Arkansas Access to Justice Commission Chair Annabelle Imber Tuck) received the National Legal Aid & Defender Association's 2014 Innovations in Equal Justice Award at a May 1 ceremony in Portland, Oregon. Read more about the award and Mr. Morris's accomplishments here. NLADA has also just announced that Friday, Eldredge & Clark is one of 25 law firms in the nation to be honored on June 26 with its prestigious Beacon of Justice Award. The firm will be recognized for its pioneering pro bono work in an Arkansas Delta-based medical-legal partnership. Click here for a full release about the award. |
| Justice Measured: Clinton School Students Assess Impact of Legal Aid |
A team of students from the Clinton School of Public Service presented findings from a study they recently completed on the economic impact of civil legal aid in Arkansas at a May 5 public forum. Their research revealed that the Center for Arkansas Legal Services and Legal Aid of Arkansas generated a total positive economic impact of $25 million in 2013. For more information about their findings, read here. The full report will be released in July.
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| Arkansas Access to Justice Receives $50,000 Cy Pres Award |
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The Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation has received a $50,000 cy pres distribution after a portion of a class action settlement award went unclaimed by class members. The award arose from a state court lawsuit initiated by El Dorado attorney Bob Depper in 2005 following an early January explosion at the Teris LLC hazardous waste incineration plant in southwest Arkansas.
For more information about the award or about how you might be able to support the mission of Access to Justice through cy pres awards, click here.
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Central AR Pro Bono Attorneys Help Clients at East AR Health Fair
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 A team of five Central Arkansas pro bono attorneys traveled to Marianna, Arkansas, earlier this month to provide basic estate planning documents for seniors who participated in a health fair hosted by Lee County Cooperative Clinic. Tory Lewis, Roger Rowe, Daniel Smith, Bill Waddell, and John Williams met with about 20 clients and generated a total of 58 legal documents for seniors in need. Staff and attorneys from Legal Aid of Arkansas were on hand to provide support, and volunteers received CLE training the day before the event. If you are interested in participating in future events like this, or you would like to host one in your community, please contact us. |
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Jonesboro Law Day 10K Nets $7100 for Legal Aid of Arkansas
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 Legal Aid of Arkansas celebrated its 2nd Annual Law Day Running Festival on Saturday, May 3 in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The event featured 5K and 10K races, with 177 runners participating. Event sponsors included First Security Bank and the Craighead County Bar Association. In all, the festival yielded $7100, which will allow LAA to provide access to justice for about 45 Arkansans who might otherwise go without. For more information, visit www.jonesboro10k.com. |
| Is Your IOLTA Account at a Participating Bank? |
 All Arkansas attorneys who handle client or third-party funds are required to maintain IOLTA accounts at banks that have been approved by the Office of Professional Conduct to participate in the IOLTA Program. In order to participate, a bank is generally required to have a physical presence in Arkansas and must agree to notify the Office of Professional Conduct of IOLTA account overdrafts. Once approved, a bank usually maintains that status. However, it is the attorney's responsibility to make sure that an account is maintained in compliance with Rule 1.15. A full, current list of participating banks can be found here. |
Nearly one in four Arkansans qualify to receive free civil legal services, yet nearly half of the 30,000 Arkansans who call for help each year are turned away because our two nonprofit legal aid providers lack the resources to serve them.
Our mission is to coordinate statewide efforts to ensure that all Arkansans have a fair opportunity to be heard in court in civil matters. We work with a variety of other partners who share our vision, and together, we undertake innovative projects to accomplish this mission.
This newsletter provides periodic updates on the work of Arkansas Access to Justice, legal aid, our pro bono partners, and the Arkansas IOLTA Program.
Thank you for your interest in our work.
Sincerely,
Amy Dunn Johnson
Executive Director, Arkansas Access to Justice
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