Augusta, ME – Facing difficult economic headwinds, rising housing costs and scarcity, and a
multitude of needs which far exceed the availability of funds to help, Maine’s civil legal aid
providers had an enormous burden to assist the public in 2023. That is where the Campaign
for Justice stepped in to help.
The Campaign for Justice, the annual fundraising campaign to the Maine Bar, raised over
$636,000 for needy Mainers in 2023, surpassing efforts for the year prior. Under the
leadership of Campaign Co-Chairs David Abramson of Verrill and Tim Pease of Rudman
Winchell, nearly 1,300 members of the Bar contributed a gift. Additionally, over four dozen
attorneys assisted in a volunteer capacity to support fundraising efforts.
Since 2004, the Campaign for Justice has been a cooperative effort led by the Maine Justice
Foundation, the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Legal
Services for the Elderly, Maine Equal Justice, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and Volunteer
Lawyers Project to raise money from the Maine Bar in support of civil legal aid. Over this time,
more than $10,000,000 has been raised to benefit thousands of Maine community members
in need of civil legal assistance.
“The Campaign for Justice has been an immensely successful collaborative effort of the Maine
Justice Foundation, the civil legal service providers, and the Maine Bar at-large to support
access to justice for thousands of Mainers in need over the last two decades. It is enduring
proof that we can achieve meaningful difference by working together toward one
fundamental goal – access to justice for all,” says Michelle Draeger, Executive Director of the
Maine Justice Foundation.
These legal aid providers serve over 20,000 people every year—Mainers who need, but are not
able to afford, help for life-changing issues like protection from abuse and harassment, elder
abuse and exploitation, divorce, eviction, health care, immigration, or loss of government
benefits.