| |  | | Hello: The Equal Justice Coalition (EJC) is a partnership between the Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, and Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation. We annually advocate for increased state civil legal aid funding—to fortify legal aid offices and expand the services available. As we embark on this year’s budget campaign, the EJC wants to keep you informed on how demand for civil legal aid is changing and how you can help.
Since January 2025, there have been significant federal policy changes, including tightening of SNAP (food stamps) resources and restrictions, cuts to Medicaid, and limits on many federal benefits available to low-income residents of our state. Additional proposed federal executive orders and budget changes jeopardize further resources vital to the social safety net.
As we more fully grasp the impact on low-income families of federal policy changes, we know that civil legal aid services are needed now more than ever to help individuals and families navigate serious legal obstacles old and new.
Thank you again for your dedication to equal access to justice. In uncertain times, we are confident that civil legal aid is part of the solution. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team with any questions about our campaign.
Warmly,
 Louis Tompros
Chair, Equal Justice Coalition
Partner, WilmerHale |
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| | | What can you do right now? Walk to the Hill for Civil Legal Aid, the EJC’s annual lobby day, is the kick-off to our state budget campaign every year. This year, it will be hosted on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at 11 am, at the State House. We are in the early stages of the campaign and, right now, you can:
Register for Walk to the Hill: Every year since 2000, hundreds of private attorneys and law students attend the Walk in January to advocate for increased civil legal aid funding. It’s an energizing event, highlighting the life-changing work legal aid attorneys do every day to help low-income residents across our Commonwealth. Find the event registration portal here.
Volunteer for the Walk: Our “Walk captains” encourage their colleagues to register for and attend the event, sharing info with their law firms and law schools! If you are interested in being a captain for your firm or school this year, email Annie Donovan, Legislative Campaign Associate, at [email protected]. |
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| | Where are we in the state budget process? Right now, we are at the beginning of the Fiscal Year 2027 state budget process. Governor Maura Healey and her administration are making decisions about what funding to include in her FY 2027 budget recommendations, which she will release in late January. From there, the budget will follow the flow chart below. For more information on the state budget process, visit the EJC’s website. |
| |  | | Throughout the budget process, you can inform your elected state officials about your budget priorities. You may have seen our Action Alerts in your inbox before. At critical points in the campaign, the EJC team will send out a form you can use to easily email your legislators to show your support for civil legal aid. Every message you send benefits the campaign! |
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| EJC Supporter Spotlight: Attorney Tom Brown "My grandparents – one a judge, the other a lawyer – once gave me a present, a beautiful plaque with a phrase, written in Hebrew, translating to ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue.’ It sits behind me in my home office as a constant reminder of why I followed in their legal footsteps. Beyond our day job of crafting clever arguments or drafting pithy and hopefully persuasive briefs, lawyers have a higher purpose: to pursue justice. Too many in our society, however, find justice out of reach due to their inability to afford a lawyer. I’ve participated in the Walk to the Hill nearly every year for over twenty years in service of this overarching purpose. Legal representation should be available to the powerless as well as the powerful, to those who are voiceless as well as those who are heard. Only when all members of our society can present a dispute on an even playing field can we approach a society that truly achieves justice."
Tom Brown is a private attorney and long-time volunteer on the EJC Legislative Committee. Tom also coordinates an annual letter from Massachusetts corporate counsel in support of funding for civil legal aid. |
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| | | Equal Justice Coalition
18 Tremont Street, Suite 1010 | Boston, Massachusetts 02108
617-391-5633 | [email protected] |
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