More than $2.5M awarded to Indiana legal aid providers

Legal aid providers around the state that offer civil legal assistance to low-income Hoosiers have received a financial boost totaling more than $2.5 million from the Indiana Bar Foundation.

“Allocating funds to civil legal assistance programs and supporting individuals interested in a legal career exemplifies the multi-faceted commitment of the Indiana Bar Foundation to direct funding where it has the greatest impact,” Charles Dunlap, bar foundation president and CEO, said in a statements.

The pot of money is comprised of $1.5 million from the Indiana Civil Legal Aid Fund and $1 million in revenue from the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts. Established in 1997, the Civil Legal Aid Fund is funded by the Legislature and provides support to organizations offering legal help to indigent families in the state. The bar foundation, in partnership with the Indiana Supreme Court, distributes the $1.5 million annually.

In all, 13 agencies around the state received money.

The largest recipient of funding was Pro Bono Indiana, which coordinates volunteer attorneys to provide pro bono services to low-income clients across the state. It received $1.08 million, which included $965,000 from IOLTA plus $112,565.44 from the Civil Legal Aid Fund.

The other recipients and their awards are as follows:

• Indiana Legal Services, Inc.: $596,861.20
• Neighborhood Christian Legal Aid Clinic: $313,027.43
• Indianapolis Legal Aid Society: $209,055.31
• Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana, Inc.: $50,585.44
• Center for Victim and Human Rights Corp.: $38,302.83
• Child Advocates: $38,302.83
• Disability Legal Services of Indiana: $38,302.83
• Law School Legal Services, Inc.: $38,302.83
• Metro Community Outreach: $31,131.98
• Legal Aid Society of Evansville: $22,056.70
• Legal Aid Corporation of Tippecanoe County: $7,495.16
• Whitewater Valley pro Bono Commission, Inc.: $4,010.41

Also, the Indiana Bar Foundation was awarded its Phelps and Fara Scholarship to Timara Turman, a student at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. A 2019 IUPUI graduate, Timara is an ICLEO Fellow, the first recipient of the DEAP Law Scholar Program. She has been on the dean’s list for five semesters, is a Law Ruhtenberg Scholar and a 2021 IU McKinney Law Diversity Scholar.