Press Releases

Civil Justice Receives ABA's Access to Justice Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 1, 2002

A little less than four years ago, the highly ranked Clinical Law Program at the School of Law established Civil Justice, Inc., to help small law firms and solo practitioners offer legal services to low and moderate income clients. Now, the American Bar Association (ABA) will honor the project with the Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access at its annual Midyear Meeting.

The award, in honor of a pioneer in the quest to provide affordable legal services to moderate income and working poor families, recognizes the program that most effectively and creatively expands access to legal services. Thomas E. Perez, JD, MA, director of the Clinical Law Program; Denis Murphy, JD, executive director of Civil Justice, Inc.; and Nevette Steele, JD, School of Law alumnus and chair of the board of Civil Justice, Inc., will accept the award on behalf of the School of Law Feb. 2 in Philadelphia.

"The central goal of Civil Justice was to convert unmet legal needs into new practice opportunities. Denis and the network lawyer-members have succeeded in doing this," says professor Michael Millemann, JD, who took the lead in creating Civil Justice and obtaining funding for the project. "They are leaders in modeling how lawyers can harness their idealism and still make a living."

Designed to link solo and small firm practitioners and clients with moderate or low incomes, the 40-some lawyers who make up the Civil Justice Network have served approximately 350 clients since Sept. 1, 1998.

"The School of Law has a long tradition of working with clients who need legal services the most, but can afford them the least. We are excited the ABA is recognizing Civil Justice for its part in furthering this goal," says Karen H. Rothenberg, JD, MPA, dean of the School of law.

Civil Justice lawyers handle everything from bankruptcy and housing issues to criminal cases. The members of the network pool their resources and use the centralized office staff, led by Murphy, to improve the quality of legal services available to under-served members of the public.

The commitment of the Clinical Law Program to Civil Justice runs deep. Murphy teaches a course in Law Practice Management, network members counsel students on how to start their own practice, and graduates have gone on to join the Civil Justice network.

"We are only now beginning to realize the synergy that comes from the relationship of Civil Justice to the law school," Murphy says.

Currently, Civil Justice runs the First Time Home Buyers program. Since its launch last spring, the program has helped 13 new homebuyers in contract negotiations. The program is funded by an Abell Foundation grant and is designed to help homebuyers avoid the most common fraudulent real estate practices.

Civil Justice grew out of the highly ranked Clinical Law Program at the School of Law. Clinton Bamberger, a professor Emeritus and former director of the clinical program, met from time to time with five solo practitioners. The group discussed the possibility of sharing resources over the Internet, and how a paid coordinator could expand their reach.

The original funding for Civil Justice came from a grant from the Open Society Institute. The City University of New York School of Law and Northeastern University School of Law joined in the overall grant that allowed the School to create Civil Justice.