House of Delegates Resolution 5
Support of Adequate Funding for Legal Services to Low-Income Oregonians
Whereas, providing equal access to justice and high quality legal representation to all Oregonians is central to the mission of the Oregon State Bar;
Whereas, equal access to justice plays an important role in the perception of fairness of the justice system;
Whereas, programs providing civil legal services to low-income Oregonians are a fundamental component of the Bar’s effort to provide such access;
Whereas, since 1998, pursuant to ORS 9.572, the Oregon State Bar has operated the Legal Services Program to manage and provide oversight of funds allocated by the State of Oregon for legal aid. This is done in accordance with the Bar’s Standards and Guidelines, which incorporate national standards for operating a statewide legal aid program;
Whereas, Oregon’s legal aid programs do not have sufficient resources to meet the civil legal needs of Oregon’s poor;
Whereas, assistance from the Oregon State Bar and the legal community is critical to maintaining and developing resources that will provide low-income Oregonians meaningful access to the justice system; now, therefore be it
Resolved, that the Oregon State Bar:
(1) Strengthen its commitment and ongoing efforts to improve the availability of a full range of legal services to all citizens of our state, through the development and maintenance of adequate support and funding for Oregon’s legal aid programs and through support for the Campaign for Equal Justice.
(2) Request that Congress and the President of the United States make a genuine commitment to equal justice by adequately funding the Legal Services Corporation, which provides federal support for legal aid.
(3) Work with Oregon’s legal aid programs and the Campaign for Equal Justice to preserve and increase state funding for legal aid and explore other sources of new funding.
(4) Actively participate in the efforts of the Campaign for Equal Justice to increase contributions by the Oregon legal community, by establishing goals of a 100% participation rate by members of the House of Delegates, 75% of Oregon State Bar Sections contributing, and a 50% contribution rate by all lawyers.
(5) Support the Oregon Law Foundation and its efforts to increase resources through the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program, and encourage Oregon lawyers to bank with financial institutions that are OLF Leadership Banks, meaning that they pay the highest IOLTA rates.
(6) Support the Campaign for Equal Justice in efforts to educate lawyers and the community about the legal needs of the poor, legal services delivery and access to justice for low-income and vulnerable Oregonians.
(7) Encourage Oregon lawyers to support civil legal services programs through enhanced pro bono work.
(8) Support the fundraising efforts of those nonprofit organizations that provide civil legal services to low- income Oregonians that do not receive funding from the Campaign for Equal Justice.
The mission of the Oregon State Bar is to serve justice by promoting respect for the rule of law, by improving the quality of legal services and by increasing access to justice. One of the three main functions of the bar is to advance a fair, inclusive, and accessible justice system.
The Board of Governors and the House of Delegates have adopted a series of resolutions supporting adequate funding for civil legal services in Oregon (Delegate Resolutions in 1996, 1997, 2002, 2005–2022). This resolution is similar to the resolution passed in 2022.
The legal services organizations in Oregon were established by the state and local bar associations to increase access for low-income clients. The majority of the boards of the legal aid programs are appointed by state and local bar associations. The Oregon State Bar operates the Legal Services Program pursuant to ORS 9.572 to distribute the state statutory allocation for civil legal services and provide methods for evaluating the legal services programs. The Campaign for Equal Justice works collaboratively with the Oregon Law Foundation and the Oregon State Bar to support Oregon’s legal aid programs. The Bar and the Oregon Law Foundation each appoint a member to serve on the board of the Campaign for Equal Justice
Oregon’s legal aid program consists of three separate non-profits that work together as part of an integrated service delivery system designed to provide high-priority, free, civil legal services to low-income Oregonians in all 36 Oregon counties through offices in 18 communities. There are two statewide programs, Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO) and the Oregon Law Center (OLC); and one county-wide program, the Center for Non-Profit Legal Services (Jackson County). Because the need is great and resources are limited, legal aid offices address high priority civil legal issues such as safety from domestic violence, housing, consumer law, income maintenance (social security, unemployment insurance, and other self-sufficiency benefits), health, employment and individual rights. In 2022, about 20% of legal aid’s cases were family law cases, usually helping victims of domestic violence. Another 45% of cases were related to maintaining housing. All of these programs work to stretch limited resources through pro bono programs and self-help materials. Last year legal aid directly served almost 23,000 clients, a 50% increase over the prior year. An additional 500,000 Oregonians benefited from legal aid’s administrative advocacy. Legal aid’s website, www.oregonlawhelp.com received over 426,000 unique visitors last year alone. Additionally, Oregonians who were victims of wildfires received vital self-help information and referrals through legal aid’s disaster service website, https://oregondisasterlegalservices.org.
Presenters:
Peter A. Werner, OSB# 091722, HOD, Region 1
Elizabeth Knight, OSB# 992454, HOD, Region 5
Heather Decker, OSB# 962589, HOD, Region 7
Kristi Gibson, OSB# 990528, HOD, Region 2
Vanessa Nordyke, OSB# 084339, HOD, Region 6, OSB Past President 2018
Vote Percentages
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Yes Votes: 140
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No Votes: 1
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Abstentions: 4
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Vote Tally
Name |
Yes |
|---|---|
| David Rosen | Yes |
| Douglas Primmer | Yes |
| Christopher Piekarski | Yes |
| Andrew Teitelman | Yes |
| Lake James Perriguey | Yes |
| Peter Werner | Yes |
| Erin Lufkin | Yes |
| Ron Cheng | Yes |
| Steven Arntt | Yes |
| Ryan Jennings | Yes |
| Timothy Williams | Yes |
| Michelle Vlach-Ing | Yes |
| Stephanie Engelsman | Yes |
| Robert Milesnick | Yes |
| Elizabeth Inayoshi | Yes |
| Juhi Aggarwal | Yes |
| H Zamudio | Yes |
| Krista Evans | Yes |
| Kellie Furr | Yes |
| Joseph Hesbrook | Yes |
| David Wu | Yes |
| Justin Kidd | Yes |
| Stephanie Brown | Yes |
| Robert Kline | Yes |
| Amber Labrecque | Yes |
| Emily Shack | Yes |
| Aurelia Erickson | Yes |
| Karen Moore | Yes |
| Victoria Dethloff | Yes |
| Shannon Flowers | Yes |
| Nora Coon | Yes |
| Howard Newman | Yes |
| Esther Smith | Yes |
| Earl Christison | Yes |
| Andrew Mittendorf | Yes |
| John Marandas | Yes |
| Amanda Caffall | Yes |
| John Devlin | Yes |
| Jovanna Patrick | Yes |
| Heather Decker | Yes |
| Apolinar Montero-Sanchez | Yes |
| Christopher Hill | Yes |
| Christopher Larsen | Yes |
| Joshua Lay | Yes |
| Vanessa Nordyke | Yes |
| John Bachofner | Yes |
| Victory Walker | Yes |
| Matthew McKean | Yes |
| Jeremiah Ross | Yes |
| Debra Maryanov | Yes |
| Aaron Reichenberger | Yes |
| Erin Christison | Yes |
| Marilyn Heiken | Yes |
| Greg Raburn | Yes |
| Emily Templeton | Yes |
| Jennifer Longman | Yes |
| Benjamin Cramer | Yes |
| Michelle Burrows | Yes |
| Melanie Timmins | Yes |
| Leslie Johnson | Yes |
| Colleen Gilmartin | Yes |
| Kelsey Heilman | Yes |
| Meliah Schultzman | Yes |
| Christopher Bergstrom | Yes |
| Sonya Fischer | Yes |
| Joseph Connelly | Yes |
| Emil Ali | Yes |
| Joshua Gums | Yes |
| Nicholas Yanchar | Yes |
| Anastasia Gogol | Yes |
| Barbara Long | Yes |
| David Wade | Yes |
| Amy Bingham | Yes |
| Curtis Peterson | Yes |
| Joseph Piucci | Yes |
| James Dwyer | Yes |
| Sonia Montalbano | Yes |
| Kari Furnanz | Yes |
| Emet Klepper | Yes |
| Michael Stevens | Yes |
| Theresa (Terry) Wright | Yes |
| Andrew Schpak | Yes |
| Sharon Mitchell | Yes |
| Joseph Walsh | Yes |
| Angela Engstrom | Yes |
| Janae Bly | Yes |
| Michael Lowry | Yes |
| Alison Pear | Yes |
| Zachary Johnson | Yes |
| Jordan Schoonover | Yes |
| Jon Rand | Yes |
| Tomas Hernandez | Yes |
| Jennifer Kinzey | Yes |
| Kristie Gibson | Yes |
| Robert Schulhof | Yes |
| Trevor Byrd | Yes |
| Kristen Farnworth | Yes |
| Kay Teague | Yes |
| Elizabeth Knight | Yes |
| Catherine Schulist | Yes |
| Mary Pool | Yes |
| Ryan Bickler | Yes |
| Andrea Flanagan | Yes |
| John Schlosser | Yes |
| Joanna Posey | Yes |
| Frederick Lundblade | Yes |
| Kathryn Clarke | Yes |
| Evan Christopher | Yes |
| Jason Mitchell | Yes |
| Brian Gardner | Yes |
| Ryan Shannon | Yes |
| Cassie Jones | Yes |
| Randy Harvey | Yes |
| Bradley Thayer | Yes |
| Andrea Madison | Yes |
| Maureen McGee | Yes |
| Nicole Tudhope | Yes |
| Travis Merritt | Yes |
| Tasha Winkler | Yes |
| Tyler Yeoman-Millette | Yes |
| David Robinson | Yes |
| Tim Eblen | Yes |
| Benjamin Haile | Yes |
| Richard Adams | Yes |
| Laura Coffin | Yes |
| Jason Posner | Yes |
| Christopher Cauble | Yes |
| David Doyle | Yes |
| Elizabeth Savage | Yes |
| Damien Munsinger | Yes |
| Ronald Elzinga | Yes |
| Myah Kehoe | Yes |
| Keiler Beers | Yes |
| William Dozier | Yes |
| B Felder | Yes |
| Derek Larwick | Yes |
| Blaine Clooten | Yes |
| James Gregory | Yes |
| Thomas Brooks | Yes |
| Jason Voorhees | Yes |
Name |
No |
|---|---|
| Kurt Mabis | No |
Name |
Abstain |
|---|---|
| Paul Vames | Abstain |
| Andrew Johnson | Abstain |
| Caleb Berthelsen | Abstain |
| Jus Singh | Abstain |