Talk Justice, an LSC Podcast: Why Corporate Lawyers are Invested in the Legal Services Corporation
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WASHINGTON – Corporate counsels discuss the private sector’s role in expanding access to civil legal services for Americans who cannot afford an attorney on the latest episode of LSC’s “Talk Justice” podcast. LSC President Ron Flagg introduces the conversation, which was recorded at LSC’s Detroit forum on July 15.
Moderator Robert Grey, a member of the LSC Board of Directors and President of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, was joined by Jared Fleisher, vice president of Rock Family of Companies; Kim Ray, senior managing counsel at Ford Credit; and Kim Yourchock, senior counsel at General Motors LLC.
The guests discuss how collaboration, innovation and leadership are key to expanding access to justice, and how private businesses can contribute to efforts to provide civil legal assistance for everyday Americans.
“The support for civil legal aid not only has to come from the [legal services] community [and] from the courts, but it has to come from our corporate leaders, as well,” Grey said. “Economic development, pro bono and access to justice are key components to any society’s advancement.”
Fleisher explained that corporations should support legal services because they are one of the most effective forms of human services. This is why the Rock Family of Companies expends resources to give people access to legal assistance for housing matters, or to help them navigate business licensure or permit processes.
“We truly believe that to have a more prosperous economy, where more people can participate and advance themselves, we have to help them navigate procedural barriers, process barriers, bureaucratic barriers, which are largely legal barriers of which the legal profession has a unique set of skills to help people navigate,” Fleisher says. “[That] is how you can unlock their potential, help them be full participants in society and help make society overall stronger.”
Yourchock said that she sees a lot of General Motors’ attorneys expressing interest in giving back to the community in tangible ways. She explained that identifying opportunities, like expungement and drivers license restoration, where individual attorneys can make a significant difference in someone’s life, is very motivating.
“The relief on someone’s face when they know that their record will be clean and they won't have to disclose something on an application that happened 20 years ago that they have never done again...I feel like I’ve been chasing that feeling,” Yourchock said.
Yourchock thanked the legal aid staff at the event for their work in supporting corporate attorneys’ pro bono service.
“Law firms, pro bono departments, legal aid societies—they are integral,” Yourchock said. “We can’t do pro bono work without them, because they have the expertise, the training, they give the comfort—and honestly, they give the correct level of understanding and knowledge.”
In addition to providing training and assisting these corporate pro bono efforts, LSC-funded legal services connect private attorneys with clients in need of help.
“Nobody is knocking on the door of Ford Motor Company saying, ‘Hey, I want a lawyer,’” said Ray. “The only way we can get out into the communities to serve the needs that are out there and connect all of the community with lawyers is through our LSC-funded organizations.”
Ray explained that while Ford invests in infrastructure and support for their pro bono work, she believes that without the partnership of LSC-funded organizations, these efforts would “fall on their face.” She said they have seen this happen in other parts of the world where there is not a strong network of civil legal services providers connecting the private sector to community needs.
Talk Justice episodes are available online and on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. The podcast is sponsored by LSC’s Leaders Council.