| Bar Bulletin |
May,
2003 |
|
MSBA News |
|
Bush Appoints Garten
TO LSC Board
By
Janet Stidman Eveleth
President George W.
Bush has appointed Herbert S. Garten, President of the Baltimore law firm
of Fedder & Garten P. A., as a member of the federal Legal Services
Corporation’s (LSC) Board of Governors. Garten, a devoted champion of
civil legal services for Maryland’s poor, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate
as one of two Democrats to serve in this key LSC leadership role on April
11, 2003. He will serve the remainder of a three-year term which expires
on July 13, 2005.
In this new LSC
role, Garten will be one of this nation’s legal services leaders, guiding
this national private, nonprofit organization as it issues federal grants
to fund legal services programs that help the poor across this country
gain access to civil legal services. Last year, LSC disbursed $335 million
in federal money to this most worthy cause. Maryland’s
$3.8 million in LSC funding went to the state’s Legal Aid Bureau. One of
the main responsibilities with which Garten and other Board members are
charged is ensuring equal access to justice for all citizens.
Garten, a dedicated
and committed legal services advocate, looks forward to representing
Maryland’s legal services community in this important public service role.
“I am honored to have been nominated by the President and confirmed by the
full U.S. Senate,” reports Garten. “I have served my clients, my
profession and the public in many ways, but this appointment is the
pinnacle of my career in the law. I hope that my background and experience
will enable me to further legal services for the poor on a national
level.”
A past president of
the Maryland State Bar Association, Garten has served as the Chair of the
Maryland Legal Services Corporation, Inc. (MLSC), a legal services agency
that financially supports a network of 28 legal services programs in the
state, since 1994. Under Garten’s leadership, MLSC’s revenue has increased
by nearly 50 percent, and its grantees now serve more than 100,000 poor
people a year.
As President of the
Maryland State Bar Association, Garten launched the renowned People’s Pro
Bono Campaign in 1989. This extensive volunteer attorney recruitment
effort signed up thousands of volunteer lawyers to take pro bono cases and
help Maryland’s poor. This successful campaign led to the creation of the
Pro Bono Action Center, a clearinghouse to link volunteer attorneys with
legal services programs in need of their help.
A founder of the
Center, Garten went on to head Maryland’s Moderate Income Access to
Justice Advisory Task Force from 1994 to 1997 and to chair the ABA’s
Commission on IOLTA (1997-2000). His commitment to Maryland’s legal
services community has led to an increase in the number of pro bono
service cases to serve the poor and programs to provide affordable legal
assistance to low and moderate-income citizens.
“Maryland is an
acknowledged leader in providing civil legal services to the poor through
a well established delivery and support system,” says Garten. “It is
principally funded through federal LSC Congressional appropriations, and
MLSC through IOLTA, filing fee surcharges and other state grants. While
Maryland’s legal services system is better funded than most other states,
we still only meet the needs of about 25 percent of our
indigent-population need. This can only be increased through additional
funding, pro bono service and modern technology.”
“My appointment
reflects the first time in many years that LSC’s Board has a member with
an IOLTA leadership background,” adds Garten. “I hope to give the Board
the benefit of my background and experience in Maryland and believe my
appointment is also an acknowledgment of Maryland’s leadership in legal
services.”
“Herb Garten’s
presidential appointment is well-justified in light of his extensive
involvement nationally and locally with the IOLTA Commission and the
Maryland Legal Services Corporation,” states Paul V. Carlin, MSBA’s
Executive Director. “He was actually the founding father of our own Pro
Bono Resource Center in 1989, after the completion of the comprehensive
survey of all Maryland lawyers in the Peoples’ Pro Bono Action Campaign.”
Garten has been
honored on many occasions for his outstanding commitment to pro bono
service and civil legal services locally and nationally. His awards
include the esteemed MLSC Arthur Machen Award and the University of
Maryland School of Law Benjamin L. Cardin Pro Bono Service Award. He is
recognized as an exemplary leader in Maryland’s civil legal services
community, known for his outstanding commitment to enhance civil legal
services to the poor.
“This appointment
could not have taken place without the support of many individuals
throughout the country, including Governor Robert Ehrlich, Jr., Senator
Paul Sarbanes, Senator Barbara Mikulski, and Congressman Benjamin Cardin,
my predecessor as Chair of MLSC,” states Garten. “The overwhelming support
I received makes my past efforts in legal services all the more
worthwhile.”
|
