Executive Director, Bruce Iwasaki

November 11, 2002

Three legal services banquets in three cities in four nights might sound easy to you, but there are only so many ways to do chicken. Our tremendously successful fundraising dinner at the Beverly Wilshire was last Tuesday, the National Center on Poverty Law (which among other things publishes the Clearinghouse Review) in Chicago was the next night, and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association annual conference in Milwaukee had an awards banquet on Friday. They were all inspiring. They all reaffirmed my pride in the community we are part of and the vital work we all do.

What distinguished this year's Access to Justice Dinner last Tuesday -- beyond setting a record by bringing in at least $437,000 -- were the extraordinary speeches by our honorees. Let's face it: banquet speeches are rarely the highlights of the evening. But at last week's dinner the speeches by the honorees focused on the needs in our client communities and the great work we at LAFLA do. There was no fluff; it was about substance.

Judge Tevrizian's amazing call to action

Judge Dickran Tevrizian's deeply felt and thoroughly researched description of inequality and injustice was more powerful than anything a legal aid lawyer could have said because it came from a Republican federal judge. His speech was so remarkable that I reprint excerpts from it at length:

I want to remind each of you that we are living in a diverse community in which the gap or disparity between the haves and the have-nots is rapidly growing. Consider that the cheapest ticket to tonight's event is $300. Consider also that a person earning the minimum wage would have to work at least 44 hours and the person earning the so-called "living wage" would have to work 30 hours to pay for the price of one ticket to tonight's dinner.

This disparity is and should be of great concern to all of us no matter what your political affiliation is. It doesn't make any difference whether you are a Democrat or Republican, a Liberal or Conservative; this is a non-partisan socioeconomic common problem that has to be addressed if we are to survive as a free and Democratic society. Consider this also -- statistics released last week disclosed that in the state of California there are 3.1 million people that do not have enough money to adequately provide for their basic nutritional needs. This is an appalling statistic as it affects children the most. This fact is alarming to me and it should be to you. We, as a society, have to face the reality that in our community today the basic minimal humanitarian needs of our population are not being adequately met or being provided for.

Inadequate Health Care: Far too many people lack access to any meaningful medical treatment or hospitalization either preventative or on an out-patient or in-patient basis. Affordable health insurance for the masses is virtually impossible to obtain. Our county health care system, which is in reality a "safety net" is bankrupt and in a crisis mode. Clinics and hospitals are being closed and basic services are being reduced or eliminated. Only one significant flu season, epidemic, natural or man-made disaster will prove to be catastrophic. We have an obligation to immediately remedy this situation.

Inadequate Housing: I have a difficult time reconciling the fact that, in the midst of plenty, we have to accept homelessness as an acceptable way of life. It is disgraceful and obscene to all of us as a civilized society that we are not committing sufficient resources to resolve the inhumanity that we force on a significant amount of our population, especially younger children, women, veterans and the elderly. We have an obligation to collectively resolve this situation.

Inadequate Access to the Justice System: If a nation is to survive as a free and Democratic society and the rule of law is to prevail, that nation must create and maintain a judicial system in which its inhabitants have confidence in the integrity of that judicial system by providing equal access to justice to all. Our United States Constitution created such a system. Our system must, therefore, provide actual, as well as perceived, equal access to all if the integrity of that system is to be maintained. In essence, a level playing field for everyone must be established and maintained. The big guy and the little guy must be on equal footing.

That leaves publicly funded legal services as the choice by default. That is why we are here tonight. To show our moral and financial support for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and to ensure its continued existence to represent the little guy in gaining equal access to the justice system.

These powerful sentiments were followed by the remarks by the Lightstorm Entertainment partners. James Cameron, the volatile director of "Titanic," producer of "Solaris" and other films, said:

I feel unworthy standing up here with truly dedicated public servants like Judge Tevrizian, but especially unworthy in comparison to the ones who deserve the real honor tonight, the men and women who have chosen to dedicate themselves to working at the six legal services offices here in Los Angeles and in similar offices around the country.

Tonight's dinner is crucial -- not only because it raises money, but because it raises awareness. We need to spread the word from here to generate broad support from community and business for this important mission.

Rae Sanchini and Jon Landau -- Cameron's partners at Lightstorm -- spoke briefly, but compellingly as well. Rae spoke of visiting the Central Office and seeing the lines forming outside in the morning to realize the extent of the needs that exist. Jon noted that federal funding has been essentially flat for the last decade and urged the audience to continue their support of LAFLA.

The dinner was a great success as well because of a terrific video highlighting some of our firm's recent work, great musical entertainment from Loretta Divine, and the indefatigable efforts by board members Rita Tuzon, Jim Hornstein and Marc Seltzer.

National Center on Poverty Law

The next evening I attended the National Center on Poverty Law's annual dinner, which was held in an elegant ballroom at a hotel on Michigan Avenue. Sargent Shriver, who founded the Center in 1967 when he was the architect of a nationally coordinated system for delivering legal services, introduced honorees of the Shriver Award for Equal Justice: Harry Belafonte (I got to shake his hand!) and former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman. Mr. Shriver, still a visionary even at 87 years old, has agreed to assist the Center help re-establish a strong national legal services support network once again.

NLADA Conference

The National Legal Aid and Defender Association Annual Conference met at a crossroads moment and in a cold climate. The 600 participants -- particularly those on the civil side -- were concerned about LSC funding and governance, IOLTA's future, and the many changes and challenges facing client communities.

It is not possible to summarize all that happened at the four day event, but a few points.

Dennis Rockway and Sally Molloy both participated in sessions that highlighted the crossover of criminal law and civil issues in the context of people facing re-entry to society after incarceration. These include issues of civil rights, employment, housing, student loans, voting rights and immigration. Sally was surprised to learn that a number of states do not have expungement procedures. Dennis reflected that we at LAFLA should explore ways of working with our colleagues in the Public Defenders office to serve more effectively our mutual clients.

The awards dinner was marked by unusually powerful introductory and acceptance speeches -- truly inspiring. Each of them was strong, the defender speakers were fabulous, and the best of all was delivered by a client introducing her attorney who helped her son get proper educational benefits.

The national leadership noted that we are challenged in an unprecedented way. Now that both houses of Congress and the White House are controlled by one party, we will face the test of whether we have made LSC a truly bipartisan concern. The President's Republican choices for the LSC board could go forward quickly. No one knows what the Democratic appointees will be like. An even greater concern, however, is the federal budget. Defense and Homeland Security expenditures are gobbling up all "discretionary" domestic funding including for LSC. Although no appropriations bills will be taken up until January, NLADA lobbyists say that funding will not dip below current levels for 2003.

On the thoughts of many delegates was the tragic loss of Sen. Paul and Sheila Wellstone, strong champions of legal services for the poor. Her leadership on domestic violence issues and his principled politics are national voices that will be sorely missed.

BGI