Atlanta Legal Aid Society (Ga.)

In 1924 a group of 14 lawyers petitioned for a charter to found an independent, nonprofit corporation, to be known as the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, to meet the legal needs of the very poor and elderly in the Atlanta area. After World War II the Community Chest began to fund the Society but even this could not keep pace with the increasing demand for pro bono legal services. The Society began to turn to other sources of funding. In 1940 the Society began to charge clients $1 registration fee which was waived if the client could not afford it. At the same time lawyers were urged to join the Society and pay $5 to $10 a year dues. In 1968 the fee for clients was dropped but the membership appeal to lawyers continues to provide support. In 1964, the United States Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act, which provided funding through the Office of Economic Opportunity. Combined with the Community Chest's sustained support, the federal funds fueled a massive expansion in the scope and extent of the Society's work. The society opened neighborhood offices on Marietta St. (Bellwood) in 1967 and another in Southeast Atlanta. The Society continued to grow through 1972 to eight full time offices serving five counties, manned by 44 lawyers and an equal number of nonlawyers. The 1970's ushered in an era of government restrictions and regulations and constricted funding. In 1974 the Legal Services Corporation was established as a separate corporation with several restrictions on the scope of its activity. Neighborhood offices had to be closed and staff decreased. This trend continued through the 1980's and into the 1990's. From 1964 through 1995 the Executive Directors of the Society havae been: Michael Padnos, 1964-1970; Robert N. Dokson, 1970-1980; and Steven Gottlieb, 1980-