Governor Janet T. Mills hosted a tea reception at the Blaine House on October 7th to officially acknowledge and express her appreciation to a group of Maine banks and credit unions that support legal aid for poor and vulnerable Mainers. William S. Harwood, president of the board of the Maine Justice Foundation, welcomed representatives from…Read More
From Mainebiz, 4/18/19, by Renee Cordes: The Maine Justice Foundation said Sanford-based SIS Bank has signed on as a prime partner in a program to fund six providers of legal aid in the state. Since Maine’s Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program was set up in the mid-1980s, it has generated more than $27 million. Under the…Read More
From the Portland Press Herald Editorial Board, 4/10/19: Low-income Mainers are not being treated equally before the law. The U.S. Constitution says every American has the right to legal counsel when the stakes are high. In practice, however, the 80 percent of defendants who cannot afford an attorney are often left to navigate an adversarial…Read More
FROM SEACOASTONLINE.COM, 4/6/19 SANFORD — SIS Bank has become a Prime Partner in Maine’s “Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts” Program, an initiative that generates an ongoing source of funds to provide civil legal services for individuals and families who cannot afford it. “The Maine Justice Foundation welcomes SIS Bank as one of our Prime Partners,”…Read More
From March 25, 2019, Mainebiz: The shortage of lawyers in rural Maine will be tackled next month at a symposium hosted by the University of Maine Law School, part of the school’s ongoing effort to address the issue. The “Ensuring Equal Access to Justice in Maine’s Rural Communities Symposium” will include attorneys, judges, doctors and legal scholars.…Read More
Justice Foundation selects student member…Read More
The Board of the Maine Justice Foundation has elected Bill Harwood of Verrill Dana as President and elected four new Directors: Grady Burns, Jerroll Crouter, Thaddeus Day and Gerald F. Petruccelli. The Foundation, formerly the Maine Bar Foundation, is the state’s leading funder of civil legal aid for poor and vulnerable Mainers. Bill Harwood…Read More
The James M. Roux Fellow for 2018 has been awarded to Scott Dolan of South Portland. Dedicated funding from the Maine Justice Foundation will provide support for Dolan, a student at the University of Maine School of Law, while he works as a legal intern at the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic for the summer. Dolan…Read More
FROM THE KENNEBEC JOURNAL/MORNING SENTINEL BY BETTY ADAMS. View original story here. James A. McKenna III and four others were honored at a Katahdin Counsel award ceremony in Augusta. AUGUSTA — For the third year running, attorney James A. McKenna III received a special award for volunteering five mornings a week with Pine Tree Legal…Read More
The Coffin Family Law Fellowship provides legal representation in family law matters to clients who have qualified for pro bono assistance through the Volunteer Lawyers Project. Named after Frank M. Coffin, Senior Judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the Project supports attorneys based in the Portland, Maine offices of Pine Tree Legal Assistance.…Read More