August marks the beginning of my third year as attorney-in-chief and CEO of The Legal Aid Society, a nonprofit organization that is the largest and oldest public defense and civil legal services provider in the country. While the last 12 months had its challenges, I am proud to lead such a committed team, and I’ve never been more convinced that our work is necessary to address systemic inequities and blunt the devastating impact of poverty on the people we serve.
Too often, organizations like ours are overshadowed by other actors in the legal system, namely the police and the prosecutors. When I arrived at Legal Aid, I made it my goal to remind the public why we matter, and reclaim our position as critical stakeholders with a constitutional and legal mandate to exist, and integral toward furthering public safety.
