WASHINGTON, DC, May 13, 2008 — In appreciation and honor of their immeasurable contributions in the struggle to ensure access to equal justice for all people regardless of fiscal means, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation are pleased to announce that Charles F. Elsesser Jr., senior litigation attorney for Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc. and clinical instructor at the University of Miami School of Law Center for Ethics and Public Service, and Eileen Hirsch, assistant state public defender for the State of Wisconsin Office of The State Public Defender, are this year’s winners of the prestigious Kutak-Dodds Prizes. Jointly sponsored by NLADA and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation, each prize carries a cash award of $10,000. The winners will receive their awards at the NLADA Exemplar Awards Dinner on June 11 at the Fairmont Washington, DC.

The annual presentation of the Kutak-Dodds Prizes strives to honor the accomplishments of civil legal aid attorneys, public defenders and public interest advocates who, through the practice of law, are contributing in a significant way to the enhancement of human dignity and quality of life of those persons unable to afford legal representation.

“Charles Elsesser and Eileen Hirsch exemplify what it means to be dedicated stewards and unwavering leaders in bringing legal assistance to those in need,” said Jo-Ann Wallace, NLADA president and CEO. “Both have spent their legal careers as tireless advocates for people with limited means. Elsesser’s advocacy has covered an enormous range of critically important topics; he has let no issue, either large or small, daunt or dissuade him. And Hirsch’s dedication to providing quality public defense assistance for children and young people has had a major impact on how Wisconsin’s legal system treats juveniles. Her successes have produced several landmark decisions before the Wisconsin Supreme Court Charles Elsesser has spent most of the last 33 years as an advocate for low-income people covering a wide swath of legal issues, from affordable housing to welfare. After earning his law degree from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1971, Elsesser joined California Rural Legal Assistance as a staff attorney representing clients on a range of litigation issues, including government benefits, healthcare and housing. From 1974 to 1984, he served as senior counsel and directing attorney at Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and in 1984, he opened a private law office and primarily dealt with civil rights litigation. From 1986 to 1989, he returned to the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles as director of litigation, where he had oversight for all major litigation in the program. And, for the three years following, Elsesser worked in government as an expert on affordable housing, both on the Senate Rules Committee of the California State Senate and then for the city of Santa Monica. In 1992, he joined Legal Services of Greater Miami as senior attorney, where he worked on litigation related to affordable housing and homelessness. Since 1997, he has served as senior litigation attorney with Florida Legal Services, Inc., where he represents community organizations in complex and class action litigation in federal court involving housing and disaster-related issues, as well as naturalization and public benefits.

“Like the apostle Barnabas in the Bible, Chuck is a trust ‘son of encouragement,’ delivering a message of hope, wisdom, optimism and a sense of possibility to all of his legal colleagues in Florida,” Christine Larson, deputy director of Florida Rural Legal Services, wrote in his nomination letter.

Eileen Hirsch has been championing the rights of juveniles in Wisconsin’s criminal justice system since her career in law started. After getting her law degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1977, she joined the Youth Policy and Law Center in Madison, Wis. and served as a staff attorney from 1978 to 1982 and was promoted to associate director in 1982. In this position, she worked in training, technical assistance and policy advocacy for children in the juvenile justice system. In 1986, she joined the Wisconsin State Public Defender and has held several positions since that time, including chief legal counsel and deputy state public defender. She was promoted to her current position as the assistant state public defender of the appellate division in 1995. In her current position she leads a staff that provides representation in all public defender staff-assigned juvenile appeal cases in the state, through which she has argued nine cases in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, with successful results in seven.

“Ms. Hirsch’s record of achievement in the courtroom stretches back to the beginning of her career as an advocate,” said her nominator Janice Pasaba. “Even in those formative stages of her career, she initiated successful actions to improve conditions of confinement for juveniles.”

For more information on the Kutak-Dodds Prizes, contact Deborah Dubois, vice president of marketing, communications and development, at (202) 452-0620, ext. 223, or via e-mail at d.dubois@nlada.org.

# # #

Established in 1989 and presented each year at the NLADA Exemplar Awards Dinner in Washington, DC, the Kutak-Dodds Prizes are jointly sponsored by NLADA and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation. The award is named for the late Robert J. Kutak, a member of the first Legal Services Corporation board and the late Kenneth R. Dodds, former partner in the Omaha office of Kutak Rock. Kutak dedicated his career to public service and legal education, and Dodds was well known for his life-long interest in providing legal services to the disadvantaged.

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), founded in 1911, is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoting all of its resources to advocating for equal access to justice for all Americans. NLADA champions effective legal assistance for people who cannot afford counsel, serves as a collective voice for both civil legal services and public defense services throughout the nation and provides a wide range of services and benefits to its individual and organizational members.