The Legal Aid Society history

In addition to small donations from individuals, the Society was supported by a 10 percent commission it charged on collecting money for clients, a practice begun in 1879.

Around 1885, a “New York Legal Aid Society” began advertising its “free” services in the city’s German newspapers.

America’s second legal aid society was established in Chicago in 1888 as the Ethical Culture Society, the first to offer legal assistance regardless of nationality, race, or sex.

In 1889, Salomon was succeeded by patent attorney Arthur von Briesen, who during the first year of his presidency oversaw a change in the Society’s constitution that eliminated the restriction of clients to those of German heritage.

In 1900, a Seaman’s Branch was opened, which became instrumental in the elimination of the lucrative practice of shanghaiing sailors.

Incorporated on May 10, 1905, it is the fifth-oldest legal aid society in the world.

The Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati was founded in 1908, to secure justice for and protect the rights of the needy, to promote measures for their assistance, and employ attorneys to further the purposes of the Society.

Judge Manuel Levine, a Legal Aid trustee for 32 years, was the principal author of the bill which in 1910 created the first municipal court in Ohio.

The National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), organized in 1911 as the National Alliance of Legal Aid Societies, served as a catalyst for the emerging development of the American civil legal aid system.

His connection to the Society was instrumental in raising the profile of the organization, which led to significant growth during the 1920s.

Because the Society could only help the indigent, in 1948 it established Legal Referral Services, which connected clients with a marginal ability to pay, or those with unusual cases, to a list of volunteer lawyers who had been recruited by the bar association.

The Legal Aid Society was started in 1949 and at its inception employed one attorney whose purpose was to give free legal advice to the economically disadvantaged.

Because contributions from both lawyers and the general public increased significantly after the war, by 1950 the Society was able to start reopening the branch offices closed during the Depression.

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

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.

Clinton Bamberger in 1966.

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

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

In 1975, Archibald Murray became attorney in chief and executive director of the Society, a post he held for 20 years.

In 1978, the Volunteer Division was created to facilitate a partnership with members of the private bar.

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.

1994: The Society's staff lawyers go on strike but return when Mayor Giuliani intervenes.

In September 2001, Mayor Giuliani, who was set to leave office at the end of the year because of term limits, prepared a parting shot in his feud with the Society.

A $28,000 settlement was awarded, and fair labor laws in the United States were proven to apply equally to all workers regardless of their legal status.M. Stacey Hawver starts as a staff attorney, becoming Executive Director in 2002.

In 2007, the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati established an affiliate, Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, LLC, to better serve the Southwest Ohio region.

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).