As the general counsel of many of the …recommend $23 million for MLAC in the FY18 budget to...
Transcript of As the general counsel of many of the …recommend $23 million for MLAC in the FY18 budget to...
His Excellency Charles D. Baker, Jr. January 13, 2017
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State House, Room 280
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
Re: Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC, line item 0321-1600)
FY18 Request: $23 million
Dear Governor Baker,
As the general counsel of many of the Commonwealth’s leading institutions and companies, we
thank you for approving $18 million in funding for civil legal aid in the FY17 state budget. We
appreciate your support and your efforts to improve the Massachusetts economy and the lives of
its residents. We urge you to continue defending the most vulnerable by recommending a $23
million appropriation for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) through line
item 0321-1600 of the FY18 budget.
Civil legal aid benefits Massachusetts in a variety of ways. By providing representation and legal
advice in non-criminal matters—whether it be helping elders access health care, protecting
families from displacement, or assisting domestic violence survivors get the protections they
need—civil legal aid programs across the state helped more than 88,000 low-income residents in
FY16. The appropriation also helps low-income people receive the federal funds for which they
are qualified.
Investment in legal aid is more than offset by the fact that these federal funds—and positive
client outcomes in general—alleviate the burden on state agencies, medical institutions, and the
courts. In fact, the Boston Bar Association Statewide Task Force to Expand Civil Legal Aid in
Massachusetts 2014 study (http://www.bostonbar.org/public-policy/civil-legal-aid-in-ma) found
that every dollar invested in civil legal aid returns between two and five dollars to the state’s
economy and its residents. Increasing the appropriation for civil legal aid is a smart investment
for both its fiscal and social impact.
Increased funding for civil legal aid will also provide broader advantages for the
Commonwealth. Civil legal aid indirectly benefits businesses by helping to maintain a consistent
workforce and benefits the legal system by decreasing the number of pro se litigants so that
courts can operate more efficiently. Therefore it is all the more distressing that funding shortages
force civil legal aid programs to turn away 64% of eligible people seeking help. Not only does
this represent the suffering of the vulnerable, it represents a lost opportunity for residents to
access federal funds, for the state to improve its economy, for businesses to retain hardworking
employees, and for the legal system to deliver justice for all people. We once again urge you to
recommend $23 million for MLAC in the FY18 budget to support all those in Massachusetts
who rely on civil legal aid.
Thank you for your leadership and your work in improving the lives of the people of
Massachusetts.
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Sincerely,
Aaron M. Grossman
General Counsel
ZOLL Medical Corporation
Andrew Kopans
General Counel
Unidine Corporation
Antonio G. Gomes
General Counsel
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Bruce A. Leicher
General Counsel
Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Catherine V. Mannick
General Counsel
AcadiaSoft Inc.
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Brian R. Adams
General Counsel
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals
Christine Hughes
General Counsel
Emerson College
Danielle Sheer
General Counsel
Carbonite, Inc.
David Hutchinson
General Counsel
EMD Millipore Corporation
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Dan Haley
General Counsel
athenahealth, Inc.
Bill Mordan
General Counsel
Shire plc
William Gabovitch
General Counsel
Primark US Corp.
Erika Geetter
General Counsel
Boston University
Frank D. Burt
General Counsel
Boston Properties, Inc.
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Susan H. Alexander
Chief Legal Officer
Biogen Inc.
James F. Kelleher
Chief Legal Officer
Liberty Mutual Insurance
Halley E. Gilbert
Chief Legal Officer
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Jeffrey M. Snider
General Counsel
Sonus Networks, Inc.
Lynnette C. Fallon
General Counsel
Axcelis Technologies, Inc.
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Mark L. Neil
General Counsel
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation
Mark Roellig
General Counsel
MassMutual Financial Group
Mark R. Young
General Counsel
TravelCenters of America LLC
Craig Barrows
General Counsel
ImmunoGen, Inc.
Kathleen Henry
General Counsel
Eastern Bank Corp.
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Robert Arendell
General Counsel
Veolia North America
Michael MacDougall
General Counsel
EMD Serono, Inc.
Vanessa A. Eustace
General Counsel
C&W Services
Gerald E. Quirk, Esq.
Chief Legal Officer
Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Michael Lipsitz
Chief Legal Officer
Santander Holdings USA, Inc.
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Mark N. Polebaum
General Counsel
MFS Investment Management
Scott D. Brown
Chief Legal Officer
Stroz Friedberg, LLC
Mark R. DiOrio
General Counsel
The Bulfinch Companies, Inc.
Thomas H. Dolan
General Counsel
ABP Corporation
Deborah Marson
General Counsel
Iron Mountain Incorporated
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Joel J. Brickman
General Counsel
The Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank
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Ken Smoller
General Counsel
RK Centers
Robert T. Burns
General Counsel
Putnam Investments LLC
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TripAdvisor, Inc.
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Erin Brennan Bagley
General Counsel
Coverys
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Jamie Katz
General Counsel
Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center
Seth Hoogasian
General Counsel
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
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Cc: Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito Secretary Ronald L. Walker
Steve Kadish, Chief of Staff Secretary Jay Ash
Lon Povich, Chief Legal Counsel Elizabeth Mahoney, Policy Director
Secretary Kristen Lepore Robert Ross, General Counsel of A&F
Secretary Marylou Sudders Ryan Coleman, Legislative Director
Secretary Ronald L. Walker, II