The Justice Report |
Winter 2009 |
A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM THE ARKANSAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION |
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Walmart donates $100,000 to legal aid
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The 1st Promise of Justice Conference a success
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There is still time to donate to the Promise of Justice Campaign
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Arkansas Supreme Court bids farewell to Commissioner Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber
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Commission Chair Chuck Goldner speaks at Professional Practicum
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Commissioner Danyelle Walker named Supreme Court Special Justice
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Meet our newest Commissioner, Ms. Rose Adams
Walmart donates $100,000 to legal aid
In a strong show of support for legal aid, the Walmart Foundation and the Walmart Legal Department announced a joint $100,000 gift to the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission’s Promise of Justice Campaign. Walmart announced its leadership gift during the November 13 Promise of Justice Conference in Little Rock.
One half of the gift, made by the Walmart Foundation, is a grant to Legal Aid of Arkansas that will allow that organization to fund a medical-legal partnership. This partnership will provide healthcare patients with onsite access to legal services in a clinical health-care setting.
The other half of the gift, made by the Walmart Legal Department, will be split between Arkansas's two legal aid organizations: Legal Aid of Arkansas and the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. These organizations will use the funds to address key issues raised by low-income clients, including family law, consumer practice, financial, housing and employment matters. Through their initiatives, both organizations aim to close the justice gap between the legal needs of low-income persons and their ability to access legal guidance. Continue reading ...
(Walmart representatives at the Promise of Justice Conference. Shown left to right: Jon Comstock-Walmart Legal Department; Kerry Kotouc-Associate General Council for the Walmart Foundation; and George Shelton-Walmart Senior Director of Campaign Management.)
The 1st Promise of Justice Conference a success
The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission held its first conference Friday, Nov. 13, at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock. Ninety-four people — lawyers, judges, professors, students, and leaders of non-profits — convened for the one-day “Promise of Justice Conference,” where they discussed how poverty hinders access to civil justice in Arkansas. They heard three presentations, participated in various discussion groups, and enjoyed lunch together.
The event began with Mr. Philip Anderson, a founding partner of Williams & Anderson and past-president of the American Bar Association, introducing the morning’s keynote speaker, Mr. Tommy Wells. Continue reading ...
(Shown left to right: Tommy Wells-ABA Immediate Past President; Jon Comstock-Walmart Legal Department; Lee Richardson-Executive Director for Legal Aid of Arkansas; Kerry Kotouc-Associate General Council for the Walmart Foundation; George Shelton-Walmart Senior Director of Campaign Management; and Bill Waddell-Partner at Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP. Photo taken at the Promise of Justice Conference.)
Click here to view pictures from the event.
There is still time to donate to the Promise of Justice Campaign
The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission kicked off its first fundraising and recruitment campaign Oct. 1. "The Promise of Justice Campaign" has a goal to raise $500,000 for Arkansas's two legal aid providers: the Center for Arkansas Legal Services and Legal Aid of Arkansas. So far, the Commission has raised close to $300,000. With the campaign officially ending Dec. 31, there are only a few weeks left to contribute.
Click here to donate.
Click here to volunteer as a pro bono attorney.
(Photo: Click on the map to see how poverty is distributed throughout Arkansas.)
Arkansas Supreme Court bids farewell to Commissioner Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber
Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber, the first woman elected to the Supreme Court of Arkansas, announced in September that she would retire. Her last day to serve on the Supreme Court is Dec. 31.
In response, the Court issued a per curiam thanking Justice Imber for her hard work and faithful service to the people of Arkansas.
"Upon her retirement as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, the court recognizes and expresses appreciation to Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber for her dedicated service to the state of Arkansas and this court," the per curiam states. Continue reading...
(Photo: Justice Imber receives a standing ovation during the Promise of Justice Conference. To her left is Tommy Wells, ABA Immediate Past President.)
Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber's Bio
Commission Chair Chuck Goldner speaks at Professional Practicum
Since 2005, every new lawyer in Arkansas has had to complete the Professional Practicum.
According to the per curiam opinion that created the Practicum, “the purpose of the Professional Practicum is to enhance the public's confidence in the legal profession and to promote lawyers' professionalism and ethical conduct.”
This full day of CLE instruction provides an overview of a lawyer's role as "an officer of the court and as a member of the Bar, and lawyers' relation to community, clients, and courts, and may include topics regarding the professional and ethical implications of private and non-private practice.”
The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission has participated in the Practicum for the past two years, providing a 1 hour segment on the requirements of pro bono service under Rule 6.1. Continue reading...
(Photo: Commission Chair Chuck Goldner)
Commissioner Danyelle Walker named Supreme Court Special Justice
Gov. Mike Beebe named Danyelle Walker of Little Rock as a special justice of the state Supreme Court to hear a case involving construction of a controversial coal-fired power plant in Southwest Arkansas.
Walker replaced Justice Jim Gunter, who disqualified himself from the case in which Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) has asked the state’s highest court to review a state Court of Appeals decision to deny a permit for SWEPCO’s proposed $1.6 billion power plant in Hempstead County.
Walker is a 1995 graduate of the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. She practices with the Law Office of Danyelle Walker.
(Photo: Commissioner Danyelle Walker)
Meet our newest Commissioner, Ms. Rose Adams
Rose Adams is Executive Director of the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association (ACAAA), which provides training, technical assistance, advocacy, and communications support to the state’s 16 community action agencies. Adams, who became ACAAA executive director in 2000, has led the state’s community action network in broadening its partners and resources to more comprehensively help people of low income advance toward economic security.
For the past nine years, Adams has worked with various coalitions to expand weatherization assistance in Arkansas, gain national recognition for the state’s efforts in promoting weatherization, improve the operation of the state’s low-income utility assistance programs, and advocate for low-income ratepayers. In 2006, she was a co-recipient of Entergy’s “Making Things Brighter Award,” and she received the Cunningham Community Action Leadership Award in 2007. Continue reading...
(Photo: Commissioner Rose Adams)
National Access to Justice News |
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