News Release
Texas Access to Justice Foundation Honors Senator John Cornyn for Access to Justice Efforts
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—The Texas Access to Justice
Foundation, in conjunction with the Texas Access to
Justice Commission and State Bar of Texas, honored
U.S. Senator John Cornyn with the prestigious Harold
F. Kleinman Award on Friday, June 24, during the
State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in San Antonio,
Texas.
Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan L. Hecht, the
Court’s liaison for access to justice issues,
presented the award to Sen. Cornyn for his efforts
in protecting the federal insurance coverage on
IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts), thereby
preserving legal services funding for those who
otherwise would have no access to our justice
system.
“Throughout my career, I have witnessed firsthand
how important access to legal services is,
regardless of socioeconomic status. Legal services
have helped countless low-income Texans resolve
housing and employment issues, as well as recover
from natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires.
I’ve been proud to work on this issue, and I’m
honored to receive the Harold F. Kleinman Award,”
Sen. Cornyn said.
Late last year, Sen. Cornyn joined several of his
colleagues in the Senate in a bipartisan effort to
gain support for an important piece of legislation
that corrected an oversight in the Dodd-Frank Act
regarding IOLTA accounts. U.S. Congressman Lloyd
Doggett filed H.R. 6398, legislation that continued
full FDIC insurance coverage of IOLTA, a primary
source of funding for legal aid.
“Through Senator Cornyn’s leadership in the Senate
on this bipartisan issue, he has made a significant
impact in helping provide access to justice to the
more than 5.7 million Texans who qualify for legal
aid,” Justice Hecht said. “The decline in funding
for legal aid in Texas would have been much worse
without this effort of our Congressional leaders.”
In Texas, the IOLTA program provides critically
needed funding for basic civil legal services for
poor and low-income Texans. IOLTA funding in Texas
has suffered a 73 percent decline since 2007 due to
declining interest rates. To be eligible for legal
aid, an individual must earn no more than $13,613 a
year. For a family of four, the household income
cannot exceed $27,938.
Established by the Texas Access to Justice
Foundation in 1995, the Harold F. Kleinman Award,
named for the Foundation’s first chairman, is given
to individuals whose outstanding character,
commitment and public service to the people of
Texas, make them true leaders in access to civil
justice. Sen. Cornyn is the fourteenth recipient to
receive the award.
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The Texas Access to Justice Commission was
created in 2001 by the Supreme Court of Texas to
develop and implement policy initiatives designed to
expand access to and enhance the quality of justice
in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. The
Commission has created several initiatives to
increase resources and awareness of legal aid. For
more information, please visit
www.TexasATJ.org.
Contact: Kimberly Schmitt
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