Augusta, ME | The Maine Justice Foundation is pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the Access to Justice Tax Credit Program. In an effort to encourage lawyers to provide services to underserved areas of our State, the Legislature enacted the Access to Justice Tax Credit Program. Starting in 2022, the program authorized five lawyers who practice in underserved areas. Now in its third year, the program will authorize up to five additional eligible attorneys to receive a $6,000 tax credit in 2024 and in each year thereafter through 2027.
36 M.R.S. Section 5219-ZZ provides that the Maine Supreme Court or its designee shall certify up to five qualified attorneys annually for participation in the Access to Justice Tax Credit Program. The Court has designated the Maine Justice Foundation to administer the program and established a Standing Committee to assist and advise the Foundation in the process. The Standing Committee includes representatives of the Maine Justice Foundation, the Maine State Bar Association, and the Maine Trial Lawyers Association.
The Foundation accepted applications from eligible attorneys from June 1-17, 2024 and received submissions from several eligible applicants statewide representing underserved areas in Penobscot, Kennebec, Knox, Aroostook and Cumberland counties. The Foundation has recertified the 2022 and 2023 applicants for their second- and third-years representing applicants from Penobscot, Hancock, Waldo, Aroostook, Somerset, Androscoggin, and Cumberland counties.
To be eligible, attorneys must commit to practicing law in an underserved area for at least five years, must be rostered by the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services to accept court appointments to represent clients in an underserved area, and must agree to perform pro bono legal services in an underserved area. Once eligibility was determined, the five successful recipients of the tax credit were made by random selection.
The new attorneys selected through this process for 2024 include Sarah Catherman of Waterville, Benjamin Fowler of Bangor, Andrew Catherman of Waterville, Adrienne Fernstrom of Rockland, and Jeremiah McIntosh of Washburn. The attorneys who have been recertified include Cassandra Rogers and Benjamin Everett of Presque Isle, Taylor Kilgore of Turner, Gregory LeClerc of Standish, Ryan Rutledge of Skowhegan, Britany Sawyer of Arundel, Shamara Bailey of Patten, Lynn Madison of Rockland, and Stephen Smith of Augusta. “The Access to Justice Tax Credit is a phenomenal way to incentivize attorneys to represent clients in underserved areas throughout the state. The need for these legal services is substantial and this tax credit is exactly the type of tool that should be broadly implemented to support lawyers who do the important work of helping Mainers in need access the justice system,” says Michelle Draeger, Executive Director of the Maine Justice Foundation. “We look forward to reporting the success of this program to the Legislature in 2027 with the goal of increasing the number of attorneys who can be eligible annually. Doing so will ensure that more people in need receive the justice they deserve,” adds Draeger.
The Maine Justice Foundation, founded in 1983 as the Maine Bar Foundation, is the state’s leading funder of civil legal aid Mainers in need. Find us online and support access to justice through donations to various funds at www.justicemaine.org.
FMI: Contact Michelle G. Draeger, Executive Director: 207-620-1351, mdraeger@justicemaine.org.