alerts & publications

Lash Examines Takes on Proposed Cuts to Legal Aid Funding in Above the Law

In his March 17, 2017, column for Above the Law, “Legal Aid Is Under Assault, But Don't Count It Out,” O’Melveny’s David Lash discusses the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an independent nonprofit entity that funds more than 130 legal aid organizations throughout the country, and spotlights the history of bipartisan support for legal aid funding in the United States.

In light of a recent announcement from the Office of Management and Budget that funding for legal aid was being targeted for eventual elimination, “a group of more than 150 chairs and managing partners from the largest corporate law firms in the nation, reaching beyond partisan divides…sent a letter to OMB urging that LSC remain strong and viable, that it not be eliminated, [and] that its funding not be cut,” Lash wrote. “Bipartisan support runs very deep for the concept that legal aid in service of the most vulnerable has become an institutionalized part of our discourse. History teaches us that justice is a bridge that spans politics. From President Nixon to 150 law firm leaders…the belief in legal aid continues to prevail, as justice demands it should.”

Lash is O’Melveny’s Managing Counsel for Pro Bono and Public Interest Services, overseeing the firm’s national and international pro bono program. His background and skills include complex business litigation including trial and appellate representation, real estate matters, corporate governance, board relations, labor and employment, and all areas of public policy and community relations.