War Against Iraq Ends but War on Poverty Continues.

News Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2003

President Bill Clinton Joins National Center on Poverty Law

To Launch Campaign to Strengthen Legal Services for the

Poor, Salute Center's Founder, R. Sargent Shriver 

Surrounded by more than 600 elected and appointed officials, celebrities and lawyers from across the country, former President Bill Clinton joined the National Center on Poverty Law (NCPL) at a special Law Day salute to R. Sargent Shriver, the visionary leader behind America's "War on Poverty," to kick off a campaign to raise funds for the NCPL.

"I have dedicated my life to addressing the social problems of those in poverty," said Shriver, who founded the NCPL in 1967 and also established the Peace Corps, Head Start, VISTA and Job Corps. "One of the greatest challenges facing the poor is the critical need for affordable, quality legal services. Equal justice before the law helps the poor overcome poverty."

Like a large law firm that uses its depth of past experience to serve new clients, the NCPL enables local and neighborhood poverty lawyers, as well as pro bono lawyers who are willing to help although their legal expertise lies in other legal areas, to benefit from a wealth of knowledge and experience far beyond the resources directly available to them. Shriver said he saw that network as more than a scattered collection of people providing free legal services. Rather, he said, he envisioned a locally based but nationally coordinated effort to use the skills of trained legal advocates to break down the barriers that have made it difficult for people in poverty to move toward self-sufficiency.

"This program provides lawyers for people who otherwise could not afford legal services and gives them access to the legal services they are entitled to as United States citizens," said Mickey Kantor, former U.S. secretary of commerce and trade representative. "The NCPL is especially important because it raises awareness on a national scale for the issues facing people in poverty."

In an effort to raise funds and bring the system into the 21st Century, Shriver is marshalling forces to kick off the Millennium Campaign, an initiative to restore some of the resources that have been eliminated or cut back. The Millennium Campaign will help the NCPL achieve many of Shriver's goals for the organization, including:

-- Enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of legal

representation provided by attorneys and paralegals associated

with the community-based offices by promoting and facilitating

the exchange of information, ideas, and strategies through

communication, research, and product sharing among lawyers.

-- Support pro bono, community-based, and federally funded

attorneys representing low-income clients with expertise

through technical assistance, skills and substantive training,

issue development, and co-counseling from lawyers focused on

specific subject areas.

-- Promote a coherent national program that financially supports

the delivery of high-quality legal services to low-income

people.

By achieving these goals and strengthening the legal community's ability to serve low-income clients, the nation will gain critical information about the basic concerns of the poor. Shriver believes that these insights are integral to ending poverty in America.

Shriver was honored at the official launch of the Millennium Campaign as a visionary leader in law, politics, community organizing, labor and business. Appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to head the country's War on Poverty through the Office of Economic Opportunity, Shriver has compiled an unparalleled record of public service at every tier, from the local level to the world community. He is the world's premier advocate for those who live in poverty.

ABOUT THE NCPL

The National Center on Poverty Law (NCPL) is a legal and policy research, communications, and advocacy organization that provides national leadership in identifying, developing, and supporting creative and collaborative approaches to achieve social and economic justice for low-income people. Established in 1967 by R. Sargent Shriver as part of the War on Poverty, NCPL is now a nonprofit organization that facilitates creative and collaborative approaches for representing low-income people in social policy and poverty law.