Michele Radosevich
WSBA President
IOLTA and Legal Aid
Recognizing the Good Work of Non-lawyers
We recently marked the 10th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s deci- sion in Brown v. Legal
Foundation of Washington, which pre-
served the constitutionality of IOLTA
(Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts), a
critical funding source for legal aid in our
state and across the country.
In those 10 years, IOLTA-funded
grants have helped approximately
400,000 low-income families and in-
dividuals in our state. Since the Brown
decision, daycare workers, food stamp
recipients, incarcerated women who
were abused by prison guards, young
immigrants eligible for relief under new
federal policy, and foster children are
just a few of the populations who have
a few) of the people doing great work
helping to deliver civil legal services to
low-income clients. Lawyers usually get
the awards and accolades, but we aren’t
the only ones committed to access to justice. We should recognize the many non-lawyers who are our partners in helping
ensure access to justice for all.
First off, I want to thank Caitlin Davis
Carlson for her leadership at the Legal
Foundation of Washington. As IOLTA
funds have slowed to a trickle due to low
interest rates, Caitlin and her staff have
been able to offset some of the loss with
grants from the Gates Foundation and
the Washington Attorney General’s office, as well as class-action residuals. It
has been a difficult few years, but hard
work and creativity have kept funds flowing to civil legal services.
(formerly the Northwest
Women’s Law Center).
June was hired in 1989 to
formalize the organization’s system of answering
phone calls from women
with legal problems.
During her years at
Legal Voice, June was a
leader in so many ways:
serving on the planning committee
of the ATJ conference in its inaugural
years; helping to conceive and establish
the Domestic Violence Family Law and
the Cross Cultural Clinics; and creating
such an extensive database of agencies
and organizations to which she could refer callers that, when CLEAR was being
established, the folks setting up the line
copied her entire list.
Caitlin Davis Carlson, Penny Youde, Andy Prazuch, Laurie Davenport, Susan Arney, Liz Stonehill, Steve Pelletier, Sue Encherman, June Krumpotick
received much-needed help only because IOLTA funds were available.
IOLTA exists in all 50 states to help
fund nonprofit organizations that provide civil legal aid for low-income clients.
Here in Washington, IOLTA monies flow
to the Legal Foundation of Washington,
which was created by our Supreme Court
in 1984. There they mix with contributions to LAW Fund and the Campaign for
Equal Justice, and recently with class action residuals and grants.
In 2012, the Legal Foundation of
Washington distributed $5.22 million
in grants to 23 organizations, covering
every corner of the state. The majority
of the grantees were volunteer lawyer
programs, where the funds were used to
support pro bono activities. In all, these
grantees were able to help 27,000 people
facing urgent legal problems.
It seems, therefore, like a good time to
recognize a few (and unfortunately only
Then there’s Penny Youde and Andy
Prazuch, the executive directors of the
Spokane and King County bars who both
oversee vibrant pro bono programs. Lau-
rie Davenport runs the Tacoma-Pierce
County Bar Foundation and Volunteer
Lawyer Program. Susan Arney is her
counterpart at the Clark County Volun-
teer Lawyers.
WSBA President Michele Radosevich
practices in Seattle. She can be reached at
micheleradosevich@dwt.com or 206-757-
8124.
