Washington, DC — The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) today announced that the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership (NCMLP) is the recipient of the 2026 Nan Heald Innovations in Equal Justice Award. The award recognizes creativity and perseverance in advancing equal justice. NCMLP will be honored during the Equal Justice Conference Award Luncheon on May 15 in Charlotte.
“NLADA is excited to present the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership with this Nan Heald Innovations in Equal Justice Award,” said April Frazier Camara, President and CEO of NLADA. “Their work has expanded access to justice and helped establish a model for more effective systems of care.”
The award is named in honor of the late Nan Heald, whose work reflects a commitment to innovation and advancing access to justice.
“On behalf of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, we are deeply honored to be selected for this award,” said Bethany Hamilton, Director of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. “This work is about people. It is about patients and families held back by legal barriers that affect their health and stability. Medical-legal partnerships meet them where they are and help remove those barriers. This recognition belongs to the partners across the country who show up every day to do this work.”
Established in 2006, the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership has grown from a small number of local programs into a nationwide approach operating in nearly 500 hospitals and health centers across 49 states. These partnerships embed legal professionals into health care teams to address issues such as unsafe housing, access to public benefits, barriers to education, and other legal needs that affect stability.
The medical-legal partnership model recognizes that legal issues contribute to poor health outcomes and addresses them as part of patient care. By integrating legal services into care settings, the approach addresses barriers that affect health and stability. Under NCMLP’s leadership, the field has expanded through partnerships among health care institutions, legal aid organizations, and community partners. Health systems are investing more in this work because meeting patients’ legal and social needs is part of providing quality care.
For more information, please contact Rabiah Alicia Burks at [email protected].
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The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), founded in 1911, is America's oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel. NLADA has pioneered access to justice at the national, state, and local levels, playing a leadership role in the creation of public defender systems and other important institutions from The Sentencing Project to the Legal Services Corporation. A leader in the development of national standards for civil legal aid and public defense, NLADA also provides advocacy, training, and technical assistance for equal justice advocates across the country.
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