Fall Dinner Keynote By The Executive Director of Legal Aid of Western Ohio
The following appeared October 26, 2013 on the Miami Valley Trial Lawyers Association website. Read below, or view on the MVTLA website.
Fall Dinner Keynote By The Executive Director of Legal Aid of Western Ohio
Kevin Mulder, Executive Director of Legal Aid of Western Ohio, spoke to the Miami Valley Trials Lawyers Association at their October quarterly meeting at the historic Engineers Club of Dayton.
Mr. Mulder, who was a New York state public defender before becoming a legal aid attorney, spoke passionately about the LAWO commitment to civil justice, including service to migrant farmworkers, seniors, victims of domestic violence and other underserved individuals: "These are people who lack the opportunity or money to obtain private legal help in many cases, who seek basic life services and basic dignity."
Kevin's comments concerning his own evolution to the civil side of legal representation, as the path to truly make a difference in the lives of those in poverty, sparked a discussion reminding the attendees of the reasons "we all became lawyers," as he noted. Funding cuts and collapsing interest rates (paid on attorney trust accounts, which funds are designated for legal services) have had a $4 Million impact on the legal aid budget.