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Community Legal Aid Services company history timeline

1960

Economic development activities of Legal Aid helped result in formation of the Hough Area Development Corporation in the 1960's.

1964

In 1964, a young Philadelphia lawyer named William R. Klaus participated in a Philadelphia Bar Association study on the needs of the poor.

The government’s quest to provide civil legal assistance to low-income Americans took shape during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war on poverty” and the creation in 1964 of the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) as an executive agency.

1965

Clint Bamberger, the first director of the Legal Services Program, told the annual meeting of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association in 1965 that “Lawyers must be activists to leave a contribution to society.

It would be nearly a century before any national structure is developed by the federal government, first with the creation of the Office of Economic Opportunity's Legal Services in 1965, and eventually with the establishment of the independent Legal Service Corporation.

1966

Clinton Bamberger in 1966.

Chartered in 1966, CLS has become widely recognized as one of the largest, most experienced, and most respected legal services programs in the nation.

The Honorable Raymond Pace Alexander, the first African-American judge to sit on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, presided over the case affirming CLS’ charter in 1966.

In 1966, under the leadership of then director and later Common Pleas Court Judge Burt Griffin, the Society established five offices in low-income Cleveland neighborhoods.

1968

Henry Freedman on Please help the NEJL with photo identification from 1968 Conference on Welfare Law in NYC, part 1

1969

President Nixon, who took office in January 1969, sent a special message to Congress in February, saying that “the blight of poverty requires priority attention” and asking Congress to extend appropriations for OEO.

1970

By 1970, some 30,000 low-income residents were being serviced by 66 Legal Aid attorneys in civil, criminal and juvenile cases.

1971

The president made the memo public in February 1971 and in May sent a special message to Congress proposing establishment of the Legal Services Corporation.

1972

In 1972, Western Massachusetts Legal Services (WMLS) was created out of a consolidation of four pre-existing organizations providing legal services in Western Massachusetts.

The legislative effort to establish LSC was pursued again in 1972 but was dropped because an agreement could not be reached between Congressional supporters and the President over the selection of the Board.

1973

Earl F. Landgrebe wrote in the June 1973 “minority views” section of the House report on the LSC legislation.

“The establishment of the Corporation will mark a new, sincere, nonpartisan dedication to the provision of equal access to justice for all our citizens,” Senator Kennedy said during floor debate in December 1973.

1974

President Nixon signed the LSC Act on July 25, 1974.

1980

Later, pursuant to the findings of the Delivery System Study completed in 1980, LSC encouraged the development of pro bono programs and subsequently required programs to use 12.5% of the funding for private attorney involvement, most of which went to increase pro bono efforts.

2009

The LSC Board of Directors marked the 35th anniversary of the law’s enactment on July 24, 2009, at an observance at the Brown v.

2015

Nearly three hundred (300) organizations employed over 400 full-time lawyers with an aggregate budget of nearly $5.3 million (or approximately $40 million in 2015 dollars).

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Founded
1952
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Headquarters
Akron, OH
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Community Legal Aid Services, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Community Legal Aid Services. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Community Legal Aid Services. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Community Legal Aid Services. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Community Legal Aid Services and its employees or that of Zippia.

Community Legal Aid Services may also be known as or be related to COMMUNITY LEGAL AID SERVICES, Community Legal Aid Services and Community Legal Aid Services, Inc.