Tavonna Harris Askew prepares to return to Indiana Legal Services as its chief executive

The newly appointed CEO of Indiana Legal Services knows what it’s like to struggle financially.

After Tavonna Harris Askew’s father died two weeks before her 13th birthday, she and her mother had to fend for themselves.

“I worked all throughout high school to help pay for some of those expenses,” she said. “It was difficult to adjust from being a two-parent household to a single-parent household, having a significant loss of income and trying to figure how you maintain grades and handle all of the things you need to do as a teenager.”

In 1994, she graduated from Southport High School before going to Indiana University-Bloomington and later the Maurer School of Law, from which she graduated in 2001.

Askew, who will start her new role Nov. 9, said the position aligns with her original reason for becoming a lawyer: giving back to her community.

“Growing up, I saw people lose benefits, opportunities, find themselves in all kinds of binds that could have been easily resolved if they would have had legal assistance,” Askew said. “I went to law school initially because I wanted to help the people in the communities that I grew up in.”

Askew’s career journey

Indiana Legal Services Inc. is a nonprofit law firm that provides free, civil legal help to people with low incomes throughout the state. That includes helping with legal problems that affect a person’s ability to obtain basics like food, shelter, medical care or personal safety.

While a portion of Askew’s career has been dedicated to making legal services more accessible, her introduction to legal aid came somewhat unexpectedly.

She initially wanted to specialize in criminal law. But a hiring freeze at the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, where she interned during law school, led her to Indiana Legal Services. She started her career there in 2001 as a staff attorney.

“I saw clients at Horizon House a couple times a week and helped them with everything,” Askew said. “Whether it was eviction matters — getting those things cleared up so they could get housing. I helped with creditors rights — helping them make arrangements to pay bills. I did some family law cases for clients there, as well.”

Askew stayed with Indiana Legal Services a few months shy of a year before moving on to perform similar duties with the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America in Kokomo.

“I worked at UAW Legal Services,” she said. “We helped people prepare trusts and wills to make sure their families were taken care of. We also handled family law matters whether it was custody, divorce. Sometimes it was people who needed to take care of their senior parents and family members.”

Askew left that job in January 2003 to try criminal law as a Marion County deputy prosecutor.

“I worked initially in the juvenile department and led the Juvenile Accountability Program,” she said.

Askew said she also prosecuted some felony cases, served on the prosecutorial leadership team and worked in domestic violence court.

In 2015, Askew became chief of staff and general counsel for the Health & Hospital Corp. of Marion County. There, she managed a 40-person team and oversaw attorneys for the public health and hospital system.

She also guided the system’s legal response and crisis communications through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indiana Legal Services’ outgoing CEO Jon Laramore said Askew’s varied work history, which also includes a stint with the diesel engine maker Cummins Inc., made her stand out.

“She has great experience across a wide variety of sectors,” he said. “She’s been in the nonprofit sector. She’s been in the public sector and the private sector, managed complex enterprises, budgets, people, so she’ll be great and be able to hit the ground running.”

Priorities as CEO

Indiana Legal Services Inc. handles cases in areas like family law, especially for survivors of domestic violence. But federal funding cuts may continue to affect the organization’s capacity to help.

The Indianapolis-based organization receives about $9.5 million each year in grant funds from the Legal Services Corp., a federal organization that supports 129 legal nonprofits throughout the United States. Laramore said the grant is Indiana Legal Services’ largest funding source, and Congress has reduced that funding by 3%. For Indiana Legal Services, that’s about $300,000.

Laramore also noted the organization’s annual federal Victims of Crimes Act funding decreased by $900,000 starting this month.

Askew hopes to diversify funding because she expects further cuts at the federal and state levels.

“Maybe connecting with someone from our community foundations, exploring ways to work with United Way even more because we are a United Way partner, even bringing in some of our local corporations who I know deeply care about the Indianapolis community to see if there’s some way to partner there,” she said.

Askew believes Indiana Legal Services has made significant strides in its fundraising.

Laramore noted the firm’s donations from law firms and other donors have increased to $530,000 since he became CEO 12 years ago.

Indiana Legal Services received a $7.5 million sustainability grant from the Lilly Endowment in 2024, which it will use to create its own endowment.

“It’s money that’s set aside that can’t be used, but the income becomes available for our use for various purposes. … It’s investment,” Laramore explained.

Nevertheless, Laramore concurred with Askew’s plan to diversify funding streams.

Askew said she also plans to bolster the firm’s pro bono program, which she said has been waning since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Oftentimes, Indiana Legal Services isn’t able to help because it doesn’t have the resources, and so hopefully I will be able to work with lawyers and law firms in our city because they’re equally committed to pro bono work and giving back to our community, so that we can partner together to strengthen that in order to provide more legal services to our clients,” Askew said.

Empowering the organization’s staff is also a priority. She described the staff as a “committed team of individuals.” She plans to push for better compensation and benefits to help with retention.

She would be building upon Laramore’s efforts. He singled out staff retention as the biggest accomplishment of his tenure.

Askew described her leadership style as “solution-focused,” meaning she likes taking a problem apart to find solutions.

“I like to bring the right people to the table,” she explained. “If it’s a finance problem, I’m going to make sure I bring in the finance experts. If there’s a marketing, publicity issue, I’m going to bring in that team.

“I like to listen to the team around me in the community to make sure that we are doing what the community and the organization needs, not just what I think they need to have.”

She is excited about returning to Indiana Legal Services, describing it as a full-
circle event.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring the experience and perspective I’ve gained back to an organization that is a part of my own story,” Askew said. “Most of all, I’m excited to help shape (the) next chapter, expanding access to justice and strengthening the lives of Hoosiers across our state.”

The need is strong

Demand for these legal services is high, according to leaders at Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, which also provides free civil legal help to low-income individuals throughout Indiana.

Economic circumstances play a role in the growing need as does technology, particularly in rural areas, said Laurie Goggins, lead attorney for the society’s statewide expansion program.

She noted that some clients do not have access to the internet and some do not have transportation, making their problems harder to solve.

Legal Aid Society CEO John Floreancig said the need for help appears to be greater than it has ever been in his 34 years of doing this work.

“Our phones ring constantly,” he said.•