House Appropriations CJS Subcommittee Passes $135M Increase for LSC

 

The U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS), passed an   FY2020 spending bill   that includes $550 million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an improvement of $135 million over the current level. This represents a  33 percent increase -  roughly double the 15 percent increase provided in the overall CJS allocation. The bill was marked up last week. The full House Appropriations Committee will consider this bill tomorrow, Wednesday, May 22.

Prior to the announcement above, NLADA submitted   comments   to the House Appropriations Committee requesting that the committee provide $683 million for the Legal Services Corporation in FY2020, which is NLADA's rough calculation of the amount needed to address every legal problem brought to an LSC grantee, based on the data from LSC's 2017   Justice Gap   report.

 

NLADA will continue to work with Members of Congress on this and other federal funding issues.  Learn more about our federal work here.

Corporate Leaders Support

Full Funding of LSC

More than 265 corporate counsel leaders signed a letter to Members of Congress expressing their strong support for increased funding for LSC. NLADA's Corporate Advisory Committee led this effort in bringing their peers together to support equal justice.

General counsel from a wide range of companies and industries are represented on the letter, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Raytheon, Walt Disney, Marathon Petroleum, Google and many more of America’s largest and most recognizable corporations. 

EQUAL Defense Act

Introduced in U.S. Senate

On Wednesday, May 8, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the EQUAL Defense Act to the Senate. The act aims to create a new $250 million program to fund public defense that will increase the pay and resources of public defenders as well as limit their workload. Click here for the full text of the bill.

NLADA president & CEO, Jo-Ann Wallace, commented on the introduction saying that it "would make a historic investment in our nation’s fundamental promise of equal justice under law." Read the entirety of Wallace's comments here.

Leadership Development Training Opportunity

for Clients

JustLeadershipUSA's Director of Outreach and Alumni Engagement and NLADA Board Member, Ronald Simpson-Bey offers several chances to participate in Emerging Leaders, a one-day leadership development opportunity, This training introduces participants to other people, campaigns and practices closely linked to successful criminal justice advocacy efforts; enabling them to take on greater challenges, implement their visions for reform and to generate quantifiable impact in their work. Learn more about the training and find out the dates here.

NLADA Opposes OPM's Proposed Rule Limiting

Job Access

NLADA submitted comments to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) opposing the new proposed rule that would require applicants for jobs within the federal government or its contractors to disclose past participation in pretrial diversion programs.

We know pretrial diversion programs are a valuable alternative to incarceration and hold people accountable. It helps avoids the negative effects that unnecessary incarceration can have on individuals, families and communities. Read the comments here.

NLADA Partners with APBCo on Interactive Map

NLADA is proud to partner with the  Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCo)  and announce  APBCo’s interactive MAP ,  which tracks firms and civil legal aid programs nationwide, identifying 817 APBCo member firm offices and 1,728 NLADA member civil legal aid offices. The purpose of this map is to facilitate more communication between NLADA and APBCo members in the service of access to justice. Learn more and view the map h ere .

NLADA's Art Auction

for Justice

 NLADA's first art auction will take place during the Exemplar Awards Dinner on June 12 and we are accepting remote bids . Explore the 14 widely different and evocative pieces here .

Martin Vargas described his work Veritas - The Lifer as a self portrait. "It shows my long and arduous journey through the prison system... including but not limited to the immense depression, introspection, religion, desperation, and the unknown environment of a juvenile lifer serving a life sentence.”

Member Corner

 

Members-only Conference and Training Savings!

 

Sign up for membership before you register for the 2019 Holistic Defense & Leadership Conferences or the newly announced New Defender Leadership Institute Conference and save up to $125 on the non-member registration price - plus - get all of NLADA's other year-round member benefits.

 

Attending our conferences with your colleagues? Your best value may be our Program Memberships , which provide discounts and resources to your entire staff!

 

Questions about membership ? Contact membership@nlada.org today! Click here to become a member.