At a gathering of over 25 large law firm and corporate general counsel leaders held on August 2 at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Company announced that it had made a gift of $100,000 to the Access to Justice Fund.

The meeting was called by Access to Justice Campaign Corporate Committee Co-Chairs Richard Manetta of Ford Motor Company, Thomas Gottschalk of General Motors Corporation, George Madison of Comerica Bank and Robert Gilbert of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone.

"We believe that the Access to Justice Campaign provides the legal community with a way to focus its contributions and fairly distribute the funding needed to meet the needs of Michigan citizens who cannot afford to hire a lawyer" said Manetta, Deputy General Counsel of Ford Motor Company.

By announcing the $100,000 gift at the gathering, Manetta was encouraging others to join Ford in its support of the Access to Justice Campaign. "Our goal today is to forge a strong and lasting partnership between the State Bar of Michigan, major law firms and Michigan corporations to insure the present and future success of the ATJ Campaign," he said.

The Access to Justice Campaign is a State Bar of Michigan program designed to bring an awareness of the legal needs of the poor to members of the profession, and to encourage financial support of the civil legal aid non-profit programs that operate throughout the state. Through a partnership with the Michigan State Bar Foundation and the Legal Services Association of Michigan, the State Bar is spearheading the effort to raise funds for legal services throughout the state.

"We think that this effort to bring together the resources of members of the Bar to serve those in our community who need our help is one of the most important programs of the State Bar of Michigan. The Bar is deeply committed to this effort," said Reginald Turner, Chair of the State Bar's Access to Justice Task Force, and newly elected Vice President of the State Bar of Michigan. Turner also emphasized that "it's really important to think about the persons that receive legal services - senior citizens, children, victims of domestic violence, those that have housing needs-these are the people that are beneficiaries of the important work we are supporting through the ATJ Campaign."

John Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of the Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. (LAD), reinforced that message. "The people who need legal services are just struggling every day" Johnson said.

LAD is the oldest legal aid organization in the state, having been organized in 1908. Since 1999, it is the largest provider of civil legal services in the state. It is one of several programs in the Detroit area that serve the legal needs of over a half of a million people who live at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level.

The Ford Motor Company gift was designated to the Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. Deirdre Weir, Executive Director of LAD, spoke with pride on the relationship between Ford and LAD. "Ford and LAD have been working together to provide free legal services to the citizens of Detroit and Wayne County since 1985. It is a relationship that has been rewarding and beneficial for Ford, LAD, and the citizens of Wayne County. We expect the relationship to continue for many years to come." In addition to its gift of $100,000, Ford lawyers will agree to provide at least 30 hours of free legal services to low-income individuals or give $300 to qualified legal services organizations this year.

For more information about LAD, please contact John Johnson at (313) 964-4111, ext. 344. For information about the Access to Justice Campaign, please contact Candace Crowley at the State Bar of Michigan, 1-800-968-1442.