April 23, 2014 // Franchising.com // Wiggin and Dana Partner Aaron Bayer spoke at a April 18, 2014 press conference arranged by the Governor to advocate for increased State funding for legal aid.
The press conference was held at the New Haven Legal Assistance building. Other speakers included Governor Dannel P. Malloy; Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, Peter Arakas of the Connecticut Bar Foundation; and Debbie Diaz, a client of New Haven Legal Assistance.
During the press conference, Governor Malloy discussed legislation that he introduced earlier this year that would remove the sunset provision from a statute passed in 2012, which directed a portion of court filing fees to legal aid. The pending legislation would also increase the percentage of those filing fees that are used to fund legal aid. This would result in an additional $1.6 million increase in funding in 2015 and a $6.3 million increase in 2016. The bill was sent by the Senate to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on Thursday, April 17, 2014.
Speaking as the former chair of the board of Connecticut Legal Services and a prominent member of the private bar, Aaron used the press conference as a platform to discuss the broader impact of legal aid on the community and the benefits of legal aid to the judicial system, citizens and taxpayers of the State.
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