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News Release
Texas Access to Justice Foundation Named in honor of Veteran and Board Member, Terry O. Tottenham
AUSTIN, Texas––The
Texas Access to
Justice Foundation
(TAJF), which provides grant funding for civil legal aid in Texas, announces
the creation of the Terry O. Tottenham Veterans Justice Fellowship. The
Fellowship honors veteran and board member Terry O. Tottenham, of counsel at
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, and a former president of the State Bar of
Texas.
The new Terry O.
Tottenham Veterans Justice Fellowship will be a priority for one of the
annually selected, TAJF-sponsored
Equal Justice Works Fellows
to help address the legal needs of our veterans. Each year a Veterans
Justice Fellow will be selected ensuring that lawyers are routinely placed
to address the pressing legal issues facing veterans throughout Texas.
“Veterans deserve
access to our civil justice system as they struggle with legal needs
affecting their health, housing, and financial security,” said Deborah
Hankinson, chair of the board of directors at TAJF. “Terry Tottenham is an
exceptional lawyer who served in the U.S. Marines, and we’re honored to
create this fellowship in recognition of his tireless efforts to serve those
who have served.”
Tottenham joined the
Board of Directors of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation in 2013 and
currently serves as secretary for the Foundation. While president of the
State Bar of Texas in 2010 he created the Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans
program, a model now followed by many other states, to provide pro bono
civil legal assistance to brave veterans and their families who otherwise
cannot afford legal services..
Allen Martin, a graduating third-year student
Pepperdine Caruso Law, and native of Abilene, Texas, has been
selected as the inaugural Tottenham Veterans Justice Fellow. Martin’s
fellowship will mitigate veteran homelessness in rural Central Texas by
implementing a medical-legal partnership at a VA clinic to meet the legal
needs related to housing, discharge upgrades, and financial and familial
stability. Martin will begin his two-year fellowship in September at the
Texas Legal Services Center in Austin.
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About the Texas
Access to Justice Foundation
The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (www.tajf.org),
created by the Supreme Court of Texas in 1984, is the primary state-based
funding source for the provision of civil legal aid in Texas. The
organization is committed to the vision that all Texans will have equal
access to justice, regardless of their income. The Foundation administers a
variety of funding sources, which are earmarked to assist nonprofit
organizations in providing legal aid to more than 100,000 Texas families
each year.
Kimberly Schmitt
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