Legal Services Corporation America’s Partner for Equal Justice ANNUAL 2015 REPORT • LSC Board & Officers The Legal Services Corporation is the single largest funder of civil legal services in the country and plays a vital role in a public-private partnership focused on fulfilling America’s pledge of equal justice for all. Since its founding more than four decades ago, LSC has been mak- ing a difference in the lives Legal Services Corporation of low-income Americans by funding high-quality civil legal assistance to veterans, the elderly, victims of do- mestic abuse, tenants facing unlawful evictions, and others who cannot afford to pay for legal assistance. “e Congress nds and declares that— (1) there is a need to provide equal access to the system of justice in our Nation for individuals who seek redress of grievances; (2) there is a need to provide high quality legal assistance to those who would be otherwise unable to aord adequate legal counsel and to continue the present vital legal services program; (3) providing legal assistance to those who face an economic barrier to adequate legal counsel will serve best the ends of justice and assist in improving opportunities for low-income persons consistent with the purposes of this Act.” —Excerpt from the Legal Services Corporation Act Public Law 93-355, July 25, 1974 2015 ANNUAL 2015 REPORT n LSC Board of Directors & Officers Board of Directors Officers John G. Levi, Chairman James J. Sandman, President Martha Minow, Vice Chair Ronald Flagg, General Counsel, Corporate Robert J. Grey Jr. Secretary and Vice President of Legal Affairs Charles N.W. Keckler Lynn A. Jennings, Vice President for Grants Harry J.F. Korrell III Management Victor B. Maddox David L. Richardson, Teasurer and Comptroller Laurie Mikva Inspector General The Rev. Pius Pietrzyk, O.P. Jeffrey E. Schanz, Inspector General Julie A. Reiskin Gloria Valencia-Weber LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION Contents • 1 8 14 13 29 LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION Table of Contents Message from the Chairman .........................................................2 LSC President’s Message............................................................3 Board of Directors and Committees ...................................................4 2015–By the Numbers ...............................................................5 LSC Grantees ......................................................................6 White House Forum & Supreme Court Reception........................................8 Regional Judicial Forums ..........................................................14 Congressional Outreach...........................................................18 Constituent Services.............................................................. n 22 ANNUAL 2015 REPORT Campaign for Justice / 40th Anniversary Closing Event ................................26 Pro Bono ........................................................................32 Technology ......................................................................36 Management and Oversight........................................................39 Message from the Inspector General ................................................40 Independent Auditors’ Report . 41 2 • Message from the Chairman Seeking New Ways to Support and Promote our Equal Justice Mission As LSC entered its fifth decade in 2015, the LSC Board pur- Technology Initiative Grants program (TIG). In 2015, Congress sued new ways to support projects vital to our mission and new increased funding for the TIG program by $550,000 to $4 mil- ways to carry our message about the importance of civil legal lion. Thirty LSC grantees in 25 states received TIG grants. aid to a broader audience. We also continued our efforts to raise public awareness The Campaign for Justice, which grew out of LSC’s com- about the crisis in civil legal aid which the LSC Board began memoration of its 40th Anniversary, continued its targeted effort when it co-hosted a forum at the White House in April of 2012. to raise private funds to complement our Congressional alloca- We have held similar forums—featuring leaders from busi- tion in order to help fund new initiatives to extend the work of ness, government, and philanthropy as well as the greater legal civil legal aid providers nationwide. community—at every LSC Board meeting around the country As I traveled around the country in support of this initiative, since and have returned annually to the White House four times meeting with leaders of law firms, corporations, and founda- to discuss the crisis and possible solutions to it. tions, I was happy to see how interested so many were to help In 2015, more than 61 million Americans qualified for civil legal once they learned of the magnitude and consequences of the aid during the entire year, and 30 million more qualified because justice gap and the efforts of LSC and its grantees to narrow it. they lived for two months or more at or below 125% of the fed- I also saw first-hand how much these Campaign for Justice eral poverty guideline—nearly 30% of our population. grants can mean to LSC grantees when I visited with leaders of But, unfortunately, LSC funding from our Congress continued Legal Aid of Nebraska and Iowa Legal Aid in Omaha in July. at a near all-time low in inflation adjusted dollars in 2015—in They had received generous grants funded by the actual dollars $375 million, which is still below the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies for the Midwest Legal $400 million actually appropriated in the mid 90’s, Disaster Coordination project, an effort to support proj- and less than half of what in today’s dollars would ects that develop coordinated plans between disaster be the $880 million appropriated just two years after preparedness organizations and legal service providers LSC’s founding in the 1970s, when only 12% of our in the region. population qualified for LSC-funded assistance. While in Omaha, I was very proud to announce anoth- Not surprisingly, our grantees and other pro- er initiative—the Rural Summer Legal Corps. In partner- viders cannot keep up with this demand and are ship with Equal Justice Works for a 2016 launch, LSC will being forced to turn away scores of low-income establish a fellowship program that recruits capable law JOHN G. LEVI Americans seeking civil legal assistance. students to serve as fellows at rural legal aid providers A Boston Bar Association task force report each summer. We have already raised sufficient funds in 2015 showed that civil legal aid providers in from many leading law firms to ensure that this program will Massachusetts are unable to help two-thirds of those seeking continue for at least five summers. assistance because of a lack of resources. In December, LSC announced that seven legal aid organiza- Other studies indicate that anywhere from 50% to 80% of tions will receive grants from its new G. Duane Vieth Leadership low-income Americans’ legal needs go unmet. 2015 ANNUAL 2015 REPORT Development Program, funded by the Arnold & Porter LLP We must do a better job of keeping faith with this core n Foundation, LSC’s first grant initiative to support training in lead- American value. ership skills in the field of civil legal aid. As Attorney General Eric Holder stated at LSC’s White House In addition, thanks to support from several national founda- Forum in one of his last speeches before leaving office: “The tions, LSC developed a toolkit and online guide that will enable work of ensuring meaningful access to justice is more than a our grantees to obtain better client resource data and worked professional responsibility, it is a moral obligation. It has to be a on other grant projects to provide a comprehensive Justice Gap national commitment entrusted to every individual to use their Report, develop a legal aid curriculum for public librarians, and tools to do their part.” evaluate the accessibility and usability of statewide and territo- As we continue our important work in 2016, we must redou- ry-wide legal aid websites. ble our efforts to honor this national commitment to ensuring In 2015, LSC also awarded its second round of Pro Bono access to justice for all Americans. Innovation Fund grants to 15 legal aid organizations across the country to support innovations in pro bono legal services for low-income clients. Congress allocated $2.5 million for it in its FY 2014 budget and increased that allocation to $4 million in its John G. Levi FY 2015 budget. Chairman, LSC Board of Directors LSC continued its leadership in legal technology through its July 17, 2016 LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION LSC President’s Message • 3 Keeping Congress Informed about LSC and the Importance of Civil Legal Aid Every organization funded by Congress needs to demonstrate • In October, Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5) and LSC Chairman that it is a prudent and trustworthy steward of taxpayers’ money. John Levi joined leaders of LAF (formerly Legal Assistance LSC’s task goes beyond this, however, because the nature and Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago) to announce our Pro importance of what we do is often not well understood. The key Bono Innovation Fund grant to LAF to help low-income for us is good communication—making sure that members of seniors, as well as a TIG to expand text message access Congress know that LSC-funded legal aid organizations provide to legal services. critical constituent services in every district in every state, and that • In Kansas City on Oct. 30, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5) and funds appropriated to LSC