The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services presented the 2019 Brown awards on Friday, Jan. 25, to the Court Square Law Project in New York and online Concord Law School for their efforts to increase access to justice.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
Louis M. Brown Awards presented at Midyear Meeting
Court Square, a nonprofit law firm, was given the Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access for its commitment to increasing legal services to those of modest means. The presentation specifically spotlighted Court Square’s collaborative efforts with the New York City Bar, the City University of New York School of Law and a host of New York’s leading law firms to provide high-quality civil legal services to moderate-income clients.
Court Square provides sliding-scale legal services to people who may not otherwise be able to afford an attorney. In doing so, it seeks to close the justice gap while preparing new lawyers to enter a changing profession.
The award originated in 1995 and honors the work of Louis M. Brown, who for more than 60 years worked toward improving access to legal services for those of moderate incomes.
Concord Law School, which is affiliated with Purdue University Global, was honored with the Brown Select Award, given annually to the nominee that gets the most online votes from the public. Concord Law was the first fully online U.S. law school to join a legal incubator, which serves as a training arena for lawyers. The goal of the collaboration is to help overcome cost and geographic barriers to access to justice while encouraging the development of graduates’ virtual and traditional law practices.
The awards were presented during a joint luncheon of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, National Association of Bar Executives and National Conference of Bar Foundations during the 2019 Midyear Meeting in Las Vegas.