That origin story is now at the center of a new documentary highlighting the work of that society, Community Legal Aid Society Inc., and two other legal aid organizations in the First State, Delaware Volunteer Legal Services Inc. and Legal Services Corporation of Delaware Inc., over the past 80 years.
"A lot of the story to be told is about our growth and what we've been able to accomplish with the help of a whole lot of people, from the Supreme Court to the Legislature to the law firms — and we get a tremendous amount of support from Delaware law firms," Dan Atkins, executive director of CLASI, said in a recent interview with Law360 Pulse.
The documentary, called "80 Years of Civil Legal Aid in Delaware," is meant to mark the 80th anniversary for CLASI, the 45th for DVLS and the 30th for LSCD.
The film is scheduled to premiere with a showing on Dec. 1 at the Baby Grand theater in Wilmington, along with a panel discussion. The event provides a continuing legal education credit and will raise money for the Combined Campaign for Justice, which offers financial support to the three organizations.
Jacki Chacona, deputy director of DVLS, told Law360 Pulse that the documentary "really highlights the work that people have been doing, and literally have been doing for 80 years, gives an opportunity to people who might be outside of the legal community to know that we're still here, that we're still working hard, and that there's always opportunities."
"I hope that [viewers] realize how dedicated and professional the staff of all the legal services agencies are, and how much they truly care about the people that they're helping, and that there's always opportunities," Chacona said. "Whether they're an attorney and want to volunteer their time, whether they are private citizens and want to donate their money, there's always a way to give back."
The three organizations work closely together to divide up the "universe of problems" that affect low-income Delaware residents, Atkins said.
All three organizations can play a role in representing low-income renters in eviction matters.
LSCD handles private landlord-tenant matters, while CLASI takes on subsidized public housing cases and DVLS takes on the coordination role and any spillover that may occur, Atkins said.
In other areas of the law, CLASI handles domestic violence matters on behalf of victims and survivors, and maintains an immigration program, as well as one for people with disabilities. CLASI is the largest of the organizations, with 80 people on staff.
LSCD works on consumer and bankruptcy matters as well. It has about 21 staff members on its roster, according to its website.
DVLS' biggest legal services are protection from abuse and domestic violence cases. It's the smallest of the organizations, with about 12 people on staff, according to its website.
Just last year, the three organizations handled 8,700 cases and served more than 21,000 clients, according to a recent article by the Combined Campaign for Justice.
The film explores those legal aid efforts and how the Delaware bar has helped the organizations overcome challenges along the way.
"I hope [viewers] will take away a deep appreciation for these things, [which] don't just sort of happen out of thin air. It takes a concerted effort by some leaders, people very committed to the cause, and then a lot of collective effort to sustain this. To have a nonprofit like this exist for 80 years is a pretty remarkable, pretty remarkable accomplishment. And there have been some tough times," Atkins said.
Those tough times came when funding dried up for CLASI, including one instance in 1981 when the organization saw severe cuts in federal funding.
It was then that members of the Delaware bar came together to establish DVLS at Widener University Delaware Law School to organize pro bono efforts in legal aid.
In 1995, the U.S. Congress passed regulations that said if an organization received funding through the Legal Services Corporation, it would have restrictions on its activities. This would have limited the scope of CLASI's work.
In response, Delaware legal aid leaders came up with a solution, which included CLASI relinquishing its Legal Services Corporation funding and that funding being redirected to the new LSCD.
The new documentary came about after the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of an anniversary party for the three organizations' anniversaries five years ago.
"When this five-year milestone passed, we said, 'OK, we have to do something, and let's do it jointly rather than compete with each other for attention and potential fundraisers,'" said Cynthia DePue, executive director of LSCD. "It sends a good message that we're all united as the legal aid agencies. We're not competing against each other. We're doing this all jointly."
"It was a way that we could explain our missions, explain our origins, and at the same time continue to use it going into the future at events and offer it to potential donors or potential attendees at different events that we sponsor," DePue said.
She added that she hopes viewers will walk away with a sense of how much of an impact legal aid can have on individuals and the broader community.
"If we can keep one person housed and away from a homeless shelter and other resources that the state might have to provide for someone who's unfortunately now evicted and needs emergency housing or emergency relief, it's an economic benefit to the entire state to have our agencies be in existence, be available," DePue said.
--Editing by Robert Rudinger.
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