On January 30, nearly half of Davis Malm’s attorneys joined over 500 attorneys in the 15th annual Walk to the Hill for Civil Legal Aid. At the Walk, lawyers lobbied state legislators to increase funding for organizations that provide advice and representation to low-income residents facing critical civil legal issues. This year, lawyers were seeking $17 million in funding for civil legal aid in the fiscal year 2015 Massachusetts state budget.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court Roderick L. Ireland, Massachusetts Bar Association President Douglas K. Sheff, and Boston Bar Association President Paul Dacier attended and spoke at the event, asking participants to urge their legislators to support increased state funding for civil legal aid. Governor Deval Patrick recently recommended $14 million for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) in his fiscal year 2015 budget proposal. MLAC, the largest single funding source for civil legal aid in Massachusetts, received a $13 million appropriation from the state in fiscal year 2014.

The Walk to the Hill was co-sponsored by the Equal Justice Coalition, Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, and many local and specialty bar associations. The Davis Malm contingent was led by Dan Janis and Kendra Kinscherf , and included Sandy Moskowitz, who served as Chair of the Equal Justice Coalition for three years before stepping down in 2013, Gavin Cockfield, Rob Diettrich, Gary Feldman, Tom Fitzpatrick, Jim Gallagher, Robert Galvin, Evgenia Goryshina, Tamsin Kaplan, Michael Malm, Andrew Myers, Michael Serra, and Howard Speicher. Attorneys from more than 50 Boston-area law firms and organizations participated.

For more information contact: Joanne Thorud; (617) 589-3894; jthorud@davismalm.com

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