Joyce Reeves Woods, Chair of the LNBA Legal Aid Committee (LNBA-LAC), on behalf of the President and Executive Committee of the LNBA lauded the USAID-LPAC for the financial and material as well as technical support in capacity building which made it possible for providing pro bono legal services to hundreds of Liberian indigents in the five counties operating the LNBA Legal Aid Clinics. Woods, stressed that the provision of pro bono legal services to indigent persons is crucial because, without it, these defendants would sit in pretrial detention for extended periods without trial, often suffering a greater injustice than the State has alleged they committed themselves. “Through this support and partnership, the Bar through the Legal Aid Program (Clinics) was able to provide pro bono legal services for so many Liberians who can not afford to hire a lawyer”. She also praised the hard work of pro bono lawyers, LAC caseworkers, and USAID-LPAC-sponsored law students from the University of Liberia’s Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law who support LAC on a pro bono basis. Woods has made an open call for support to or partnership with the LNBA to continue and even expand the Legal Aid Clinics to other counties as it strives to deliver citizens’ access to justice through its Legal Aid Program.

Source: Front Page Africa August 03, 2020 07:18 UTC