The ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants
& The National Legal Aid and Defender Association
Congratulate the Winners of the 2007 Harrison Tweed Award!

The Boston Bar Association (BBA) and the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) have been selected as joint recipients of the 2007 Harrison Tweed Award.  These bar associations are being recognized for their long standing commitment to the funding and provision of quality legal services to the poor in Massachusetts in both criminal and civil matters.

Both associations have worked tirelessly to expand the Massachusetts Equal Justice Coalition (EJC) and its efforts to secure adequate funding for Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation to support civil legal aid. In addition, the BBA and the MBA have a long history of encouraging efforts by the Committee for Public Counsel Services to establish and maintain effective quality controls related to the provision of indigent defense services.  These bars have also been strong advocates of adequate compensation for both public defenders and assigned counsel.

The award, given annually by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, will be presented during the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco on Friday, August 10, at a joint luncheon of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, National Association of Bar Executives and National Conference of Bar Foundations.

The Harrison Tweed Award was created in 1956 to recognize the extraordinary achievements of state and local bar associations that develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal services for poor persons or criminal defense services for indigents.