January 2022
Celebrating 111 Years of NLADA over 111 Days

For 111 years, NLADA has worked toward making legal services and justice accessible to all. From advocating for increased services, to creating collaborations and partnerships, from evidence-based, data-driven criminal justice strategies, to launching the Racial Equity Initiative. We are proud of our reputation and want you, our members and friends, to be proud of what we -together- have accomplished for 111 years. As such, we are excited to share #111DaysofNLADA throughout 2022. Be on the lookout on all of our social media platforms for posts with #111DaysofNLADA, as we recognize our collective efforts, wins and reasons to join us as we move toward the future!
Racial Equity Initiative

NLADA is excited to kick off this new year with the Racial Equity Initiative, a three-year campaign designed to build the resources and capacity within the client community and civil legal aid and public defender organizations to advance anti-racist practices aimed at dismantling racial inequities in America. Through this Initiative we are striving to leverage our collective power within the client, civil and defender community to eradicate systemic racial oppression. Learn more about the REI campaign and explore the site here.
U.S. EEOC Issues Updated COVID-19 Information

Last month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 technical assistance, adding a new section to clarify under what circumstances COVID-19 may be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act.

EEOC’s new questions and answers focus broadly on COVID-19 and the definition of disability under Title I of the ADA and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, which both address employment discrimination. The updates also provide examples illustrating how an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 or a post-COVID condition could be considered to have a disability under the laws the EEOC enforces. You can view the document here.
Nominations OPEN for the 2022 Kutak-Dodds Prizes

NLADA and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation grant the Kutak-Dodds Prizes annually at the Exemplar Awards Gala in early June to honor the accomplishments of one civil legal aid attorney and one public defender who, through the practice of law, are reinforcing the principle and reality of justice for all under the law. The Kutak Foundation values equity, diversity and inclusion and through this process seeks to develop a diverse pool of nominees and awardees. Each prize carries a cash award of $10,000. Nominations are due by March 1, 2022.
 
Click here to learn more about the Kutak-Dodds Prizes and how to submit a nomination. For more information, please contact Aileen Moffatt at a.moffatt@nlada.org or 202-452-0620 x 223.
BPDA Community Engagement Fellowship

The Black Public Defender Association Community Engagement Fellowship is a 12-week summer program that pairs Black undergraduate and graduate HBCU students who aspire to do racial equity and community defense work with public defender offices. 
 
Applications for this important fellowship will close on February 11. Learn more about the fellowship and how your public defender office can apply to host a fellow here.  
Congratulations and Thank you

NLADA would like to extend a congratulations and a heartfelt thank you to our Board member, Lillian Johnson. She will be retiring in April after nearly four decades at Community Legal Services (CLS) in Arizona. “Lillian is one of those leaders that we admire and strive to be. She has led the organization for over 39 years with incredible passion for our mission, the clients we serve, and our associates throughout the state." - Jennifer Holsman Tetreault, CLS Board President. Learn more about this champion of justice here. Thank you, Lillian!
April Frazier Camara featured on NPR

Our New President & CEO, April Frazier Camara was recently featured in a NPR piece Biden had a productive year picking federal judges. The job could get tougher in 2022.

"We know that professionals who have experience actually working within the legal systems and working directly with clients and communities are better equipped to understand the impact of the laws in which they enforce from the bench," said April about this diverse group of appointees. Though, there's still a long way to go in making the federal bench look more like the rest of the country. You can read or listen to the entire story here.
Upcoming Lifelong Learning Opportunities

Member Corner

Welcome to 2022! With so many exciting things happening at NLADA now, we want to remind the members about NLADA’s excellent affinity benefit programs. These member-only benefits include, but are not limited to:


For more information on NLADA’s benefits and affinity programs click here and stay tuned for notice of expanded benefits coming this year! If you have any questions about your membership or benefits you can reach us at membership@nlada.org.
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