News Release
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
January 30, 2014
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
Honors William O. Whitehurst for Access to Justice Efforts
AUSTIN,
Texas
--
The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF)
honored Austin lawyer William O. “Bill” Whitehurst with the prestigious
Harold F. Kleinman Award on Thursday, Jan. 23, during a 30th
anniversary reception of the TAJF held at the LBJ Presidential Library in
Austin.
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht presented the award to
Whitehurst for his efforts in growing the IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust
Accounts) program in Texas when it first began in the 80s, earning him the
title “Father of IOLTA”. In the
beginning of the IOLTA program,
attorneys voluntarily pooled the interest earned on trust accounts to
provide civil legal services to the poor. Now mandatory, TAJF distributes
the money generated by IOLTA in grants to legal aid providers across the
state that help more than 100,000 Texas families each year.
Whitehurst is a founder of the Texas personal
injury firm Whitehurst, Harkness, Brees & Cheng, P.C. In addition to his
commitment to the Texas IOLTA program, he also co-founded the national
organization, Bar Leaders for the Preservation of Legal Services to the Poor
to champion funding on a national level. He later served on the Board of
Directors of the National Association for Public Interest Law and is past
chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants.
He has served as the attorney advisor to the University of Texas School of
Law’s Texas Law Fellowships program (Public Interest Law Grants) since its
inception and he and his wife, Stephanie, announced in 2010 a gift to UT Law School to
fund the Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowships program.
Whitehurst has received numerous awards for his work in legal services and
public interest law. He is a past president of the State Bar of Texas and
the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, among other organizations.
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.
The award presentation was part of the 30th
anniversary
kickoff event of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation which also
included a distinguished panel discussion featuring U.S. Congressman Pete
Gallego of the 23rd District of Texas, Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, and
Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow; moderated by Elizabeth Christian,
President of Elizabeth Christian & Associates Public Relations and President
of the LBJ Foundation Board of Directors.
The Supreme Court of Texas created the
nonprofit Texas Access to Justice Foundation in 1984 to support legal aid
efforts throughout the state. Using funding from the Interest on Lawyers’
Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program, as well as public funding and private
donations, TAJF grants millions of dollars each year to various
organizations that provide basic civil legal services to low-income
populations. Since its inception, TAJF has granted more than $375 million to
nonprofit organizations; helping more than 100,000 Texas families each year.
-30-
The Texas Access to
Justice Foundation (www.teajf.org), created by the Supreme Court of
Texas in 1984, is the leading 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
approximately 100,000 Texans each year.
Contact: Kimberly Schmitt 512-320-0099, ext. 104
kschmitt@teajf.org
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