Verrill Dana Partner to Chair 10th Annual Campaign for Justice

(1/24/2013) William S. Harwood, a partner in Verrill Dana’s Portland office, will serve as chair for the 2013 Campaign for Justice. The Campaign, now in its 10th year, is a fundraising effort of the Maine Bar Foundation and Maine State Bar Association. Funds raised by the Campaign are used to support six civil legal aid providers across the state: Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Legal Services for the Elderly, Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project, Maine Equal Justice Partners and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project. These organizations provide legal assistance to an average of 30,000 adults and children annually.
 
Bill Harwood has built an impressive reputation in his legal career representing public utilities before state and federal regulatory agencies. Bill has served as Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law, teaching utility regulation and administrative law. He has been nationally recognized not only for his legal talent, but also for his commitment to public service. He received the 1999 ABA Pro Bono Publico Award and 1994 MSBA Dana Award for his work in promoting legal services for the poor. He currently serves as Board Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and is the former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Special Committee on Gun Violence and past president of the Maine Bar Foundation.
 
“Access to justice is essential to our free society,” says Harwood. “Without legal aid for those who cannot afford representation, the integrity of our justice system is at risk. Current economic conditions have caused a decline in many funding sources for low income legal service providers, even as the need for representation grows. Maine lawyers place a high value on access to justice and have a long tradition of supporting it. Over the last ten years, the Campaign has raised over $3.2M.” He added, “I’m confident that Maine lawyers will give generously to this 10th anniversary Campaign for Justice.”
 
For more information on Bill Harwood, visit www.verrilldana.com/wharwood.
  
To learn more about the Campaign for Justice, visit www.campaignforjustice.org.