ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Legal Aid Society’s mission is to advance, defend, and enforce the legal rights of low-income and otherwise vulnerable people in order to secure for them the basic necessities of life. Everyday Justice is an on-the-ground history of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, the story of how national debates about access to justice have impacted the work of its lawyers, and a warning about why the federally imposed limits on that work must be lifted in order to fulfill the pledge of justice for all.

Those surviving on low incomes often see the legal system as an oppressive force stacked against them. Everyday Justice is about lawyers trying to make the law work for these people. This book traces the development and evolution of legal aid in Middle Tennessee from the late 1960s to the turn of the millennium, as told by Ashley Wiltshire, who worked for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands in all its incarnations for four decades, beginning a year after its inception.

Set in the context of the legal aid movement in the United States—beginning as a part of the social awakening in the post–Civil War era, continuing with volunteer efforts in the first part of the twentieth century, and coming to fruition beginning with the OEO Office of Legal Services grants of the 1960s as part of the War on Poverty—Everyday Justice is a story of Nashville, which levied an extended period of opposition because of prevailing cultural and religious views on race and poverty.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Ashley Wiltshire is a retired lawyer who spent thirty-seven years with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.

REVIEWS

"This book represents an important case study for how a local community's institutional responses to civil justice issues have evolved. It also sheds light on the human stories behind several major legal and policy developments affecting low-income people in Tennessee in the last quarter of the twentieth century."
—Spring Miller, assistant dean and Martha Craig Daughtrey Director for Public Interest, Vanderbilt Law School— Spring Miller, assistant dean and Martha Craig Daughtrey Director for Public Interest, Vanderbilt Law School

"Everyone who cares about the current state of inequality in America should read this book. It sets out, step by step, how the civil justice system can be a source of either salvation or doom, depending on whether a person has the legal help she needs to protect her children, home, and livelihood."
—Martha Bergmark, founding executive director, Voices for Civil Justice— Martha Bergmark, founding executive director, Voices for Civil Justice

"Everyday Justice captures the spirit and mobilization of the equal justice movement by highlighting the living history of Legal Services in Tennessee. Wiltshire unfolds the moving story of how movement attorneys and their courageous clients overcame enduring economic, political, and racial barriers in their pursuit of justice. A riveting account, this book will inspire the new generations of social justice activists."
—Hedy Weinberg, former executive director, ACLU of Tennessee— Hedy Weinberg, former executive director, ACLU of Tennessee

"Everyday Justice is our most complete history of a modern legal services program. It tells how a group of idealistic lawyers and their supporters created a first-rate law firm serving the poor in Middle Tennessee. A must-read for those wanting to know what it was like to be a legal aid lawyer in a turbulent era."
—Philip L. Merkel, emeritus professor of law, Western State College of Law, and former managing attorney, Georgia Legal Services Programs, Savannah Regional Office— Philip L. Merkel, emeritus professor of law, Western State College of Law, and former managing attorney, Georgia Legal Services Programs, Savannah Regional Office

"Everyday Justice highlights the personal stories of many different advocates, having many different backgrounds, with many different motivations, who, through hard work on real problems, made a real difference—and of a leader who masterfully coordinated their efforts."
—Steve Gottlieb, executive director, Atlanta Legal Aid Society— Steve Gottlieb, executive director, Atlanta Legal Aid Society

TABLE OF CONTENTS