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Save the Date: January 26, 2012
 
13th Annual Walk to the Hill
for Civil Legal Aid

Sponsored by the Equal Justice Coalition, Massachusetts Bar Association and Boston Bar Association

January 26, 2012
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
State House - Great Hall
The Legal Aid Funding Crisis Deepens

Greetings!   
 

Everything we have worked for is at risk! Due to the continuing economic downturn, legal aid programs are running out of money, despite the level funding from the Commonwealth that we fought so hard to maintain. As you may recall, thanks to your participation in last year's legislative campaign, we were successful in maintaining $9.5 million in state funding for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) line item in FY12. 


However, due to a dramatic 78% decline in income generated from the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program, MLAC has cut grants to the legal aid programs it funds by 56% since FY08. In response, programs have reduced office hours, eliminated staff, cut salaries and benefits, and spent down their reserves. Unless additional state funding is obtained to make up for the lost IOLTA income, legal aid programs will be forced to make even deeper cuts at a time of unprecedented need.


As a result, your help is even more critical this year! To avoid further cuts and help restore service levels, we are requesting $14.5 million - a $5 million increase - for the civil legal aid line item in the upcoming FY13 state budget

This is going to be a major undertaking, but we can make it happen with your support. Please join us on January 26 for Walk to the Hill! And please be ready to work with us through the budget process to protect access to justice for the Commonwealth's neediest citizens. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Sandy's signature

Sandy Moskowitz
Chair, Equal Justice Coalition

 
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Natasha Torres
Natasha Torres shares her family's emotional foreclosure story at Walk to the Hill 2011.
 
Walk to the Hill Attorneys
More than 500 attorneys attended Walk to the Hill 2011, despite having to reschedule it due to a snowstorm.
QUESTIONS?
Visit the EJC Web site or contact Brianne Miers at 617-391-5621 or bmiers@mlac.org.

Equal Justice Coalition
7 Winthrop Square, 2nd floor
Boston, MA 02110-1245
Phone: 617-367-8544
Fax: 617-426-0656