Even as Indianapolis Legal Aid Society has been successful at bringing in more money from grants and private donors in recent years, the nonprofit is still facing an identity crisis with people getting confused about its name as well as the services it provides. The new chair of the nonprofit’s board of directors is launching an effort to clear the confusion and grow the contributions.
Read More
Reflecting his engineering roots, J. Mark Robinson offers a straightforward solution for the civil legal puzzle: real lawyers in real courtrooms representing real people on real legal issues. The Indiana legal profession recognized Robinson and his commitment by honoring him with the Randall T. Shepard Award for Excellence in Pro Bono. Robinson and other select members of the legal profession and educators were honored for their work in either civil legal aid or civic education at the Indiana Bar Foundation’s 2019 Awards Dinner.
Read MoreOrville Copsey, Jr., an Indianapolis attorney whose work helping many elderly and disabled clients stay in their homes earned him the nickname “St. Orville,” died Aug. 4. He was 88. “We have lost a true gem in our legal community,” one attorney said in tribute.
A new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts highlights a dramatic rise in debt collection lawsuits, but even as one in four cases on civil court dockets are seeking payment for past-due bills, consumers increasingly are absent from the proceedings.
In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Indianapolis Bar Foundation earlier this month implemented a new fund called the Crisis Empowerment Grant Program. The fund’s goal is two-fold: to put dollars in the pockets of lawyers who may be struggling to make ends meet while continuing to provide free legal services to central Indiana families through four local agencies.
The Indianapolis Bar Foundation has implemented a new program in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic to put dollars in the pockets of young lawyers while continuing to provide free legal services to the public.
Legal aid providers in Indiana are still serving clients as the coronavirus storm gathers strength, but they are worried about the surge they anticipate will come after the outbreak has passed.
The Indiana legal profession recognized select members of the legal profession and educators, honoring them for their work in either civil legal aid or civic education at the Indiana Bar Foundation’s 2019 Awards Dinner.
To give a break to individuals who badly needed one, Marion County prosecutors and public defenders joined together Monday and helped hundreds clear the path to getting their driver’s licenses reinstated.
The conversation about civil legal aid in Indiana is still focused on money, but for the first time in nearly a decade, the talk is of dollars increasing rather than dwindling.
Brenda Davis and Franci Gartin know a home can be a place to rest from the struggles of daily living. The two Indianapolis women were settled into their houses, arranged and as welcoming as they each wanted. But then the struggles of the outside world invaded, and they found themselves in danger of losing their own domiciles.
A recent study examined 12 separate legal services agencies around Indiana and calculated the organizations’ social return on investment. The group dug into the financials for the year 2017 and concluded that for every $1 invested in Indiana legal aid that year, the state received $6.70 in immediate and long-term financial benefits.
The Indianapolis Legal Aid Society has again kicked off its annual holiday campaign, the nonprofit’s major fundraiser that has undergone many tweaks and alterations in recent years but remains the primary source for unrestricted dollars.
The Indiana Supreme Court is preparing to ask for an increase in civil legal aid funding when the Indiana General Assembly convenes for the 2019 session. The request will come as legal aid nonprofits try to diversify their donor base while looking for new ways to help the steady flow of people in need.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Leverenz was young and just married when she started at Indianapolis Legal Aid Society on Oct. 31, 1958. Ida Hayes was divorced with children to support when she began at Indiana Legal Services on Nov. 22, 1966. Today, the two women serve as office managers, bookkeepers, secretaries, problem-solvers and attorney cheerleaders while, combined, they have worked in legal aid for more than 110 years.
The Indiana legal community will honor its top public defender, Larry Landis, this week for his contributions in the courtroom, the Statehouse and the classroom. A special dinner for Landis will be held beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Indiana Landmarks Center.
I want to let you know about a fun evening coming up on Oct. 6 at the Crane Bay Event Center. Like last year, when famed Indianapolis attorney Jim Voyles was roasted to benefit Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, Indy Mayor Joe Hogsett is stepping up this year to take the heat for the same great cause.
In what is believed to be a first, Indiana Legal Services Inc., Indianapolis Legal Aid Society and the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic are hoping to collaborate on a single project that they say will help people overcome hurdles to employment and give communities an economic boost.
Even coming off a holiday fundraiser that pulled in just over $150,000, the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society is expecting the 2016 expenditures will throw its budget in the red for the first time in decades.
Almost everyone who talks about their friend Orville Copsey begins with the stories about his suits.
Retired corporate general counsel Orville Copsey created a program 19 years ago at Indianapolis Legal Aid Society designed to help older people who had been cited by the Marion County Public Health Department for living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. But the initiative is now potentially facing its own crisis. Weber passed away unexpectedly in February and Copsey is retiring at the end of this month.
Jim Voyles, the criminal defense attorney best known for representing a who’s who of famous clients thought ILAS board member and Frost Brown Todd LLC partner Tom Davis was making a sucker’s bet when he asked Voyles be the guest of honor at a fundraising roast marking ILAS’s 75th anniversary.