DOJ Civil Rights Head: ‘Moral Imperative’ to Close Justice Gap

Lawyers have a “moral obligation” to support organizations that provide civil legal services to low-income Americans, Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, said in remarks earlier this week.

News Story (District of Columbia, NATIONAL)

Zoe Tillman
National Law Journal
April 14, 2016
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: Access to Justice, Justice for All

Organizations mentioned/involved: D.C. Access to Justice Commission (DCAJC)


DETAILS

Gupta spoke at an April 11 event recognizing D.C. law firms that donated a certain percentage of their annual D.C. office revenue to local legal-services organizations. Last year, the participating firms donated more than $4.9 million as part of the annual campaign, called Raising the Bar, which is organized by the D.C. Access to Justice Commission. (The National Law Journal, owned by ALM Media, is a sponsor.)

U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-District of Columbia, also spoke. She recounted experiences that staff in her office had connecting D.C. residents with legal help, and how many people didn’t know where to go to find a lawyer. She said Congress could do more to support civil legal aid by expanding congressional appropriations for the Legal Services Corp., which provides funding to nonprofits nationwide.