Tulsa World
Sunday, April 28, 2002
Oklahoma's 'Law Firm to the Poor' Needs Help; Pursuing
Justice
Julie Delcour
With an onionskin-thin budget several years back, Legal Services
of Eastern Oklahoma, the area's largest "law firm to the poor,"
nearly became Lip Service of Eastern Oklahoma.
Funding cuts closed some satellite offices and reduced staff.
Remaining attorneys could serve only a small percentage of the
303,000 potential clients. But LSEO persevered.
The budget still isn't big enough. One aid lawyer is available
per 11,000 eligible clients compared to one attorney per 375 people
in the general population.
Services are expanding, however, thanks to a $1 million public
fund drive, that is $59,400 short of its goal. Tulsa attorney David
Riggs, who heads the drive, is pushing for the community,
especially local lawyers, to put it over the top.
"We're so close. We really want to reach that $1 million mark,"
Riggs said.
Not many causes are as worthwhile. Riggs says legal-aid agencies
help stabilize society; they're a safety net for those in need.
"They help people cope, help them seek redress for a grievance,"
Riggs said.
"For our legal system to work people need representation. A
family's problems can be mitigated with some legal advice before
they spill over into child delinquency, housing problems,
unemployment, marital problems and deeper poverty."
The fund-raiser lost some steam following 9/11, and with staff
distraction over the merger of LSEO with Legal Aid Services of
Western Oklahoma. In January, the two agencies became Legal Aid
Services of Oklahoma Inc.
The fund drive started with an appeal to local lawyers, who
provided about a third of the donations. Businesses and
foundations
also have helped. The Tulsa Foundation and businessman George
Kaiser are major contributors. Sarkeys Foundation in Norman
provided a gift of $161,000 to update computers.
Historically, LSEO letter-writing campaigns generated from
$11,000 to $25,000 annually, recalls Dallas Ferguson, a Tulsa
attorney and board president of the new LASO. That amount hardly
offset enormous cuts, beginning in 1996, by Congress to Legal
Services Corp., the chief funding source for state legal-aid
agencies.
Threatened with extinction, LSEO clawed its way back with the
help of state funding, grant money and the Tulsa Area United Way.
Meanwhile, the clients keep coming. At least three-quarters are
women and children living in poverty. The agency helps more than
12,000 children a year. A third of LSEO's clients are the working
poor who receive no government benefits. Many are senior
citizens.
Riggs regrets that retired Tulsa attorney John Athens, a
champion of legal aid, did not live to see how much the money has
meant. Athens died last year. In his honor, The Oxley Foundation
donated $200,000 to expand a client hot line. That service, which
will be expanded statewide, enables needy people to consult an
attorney about civil legal problems, including rent and contract
disputes, domestic abuse, consumer issues and custody matters.
Attorneys handle no criminal cases.
R.H. Harbaugh, foundation trustee and a colleague of Athens at
the Conner & Winters law firm, said his mentor had "a special
interest in people who could not afford legal services. He was
aware of the hot line and supported its expansion."
Said Riggs:
"We use lofty phrases such as 'with justice for all,' when we
talk about our legal system. That phrase is etched on our U.S.
Supreme Court building. Those are just empty words if people don't
have access to that system."
