News Release

Texas Access to Justice Foundation 
November 17, 201
5

Texas Access to Justice Foundation Honors James C. Harrington for Access to Justice Efforts

AUSTIN, Texas—The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) honored Austin lawyer James C. Harrington, founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project, with the prestigious Harold F. Kleinman Award on Saturday, Nov. 14. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht presented the award to Harrington, on behalf of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, during the 25th Anniversary Bill of Rights Dinner at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.  

Established by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation in 1995, the Harold F. Kleinman Award, named for the Foundation’s first chairman, is given to individuals whose outstanding character, commitment and public service to the people of Texas make them true leaders in access to civil justice.

Harrington has dedicated his career to promoting justice and civil liberty, through the legal system and public education, for low-income and poor persons. A tireless advocate, Harrington founded the Texas Civil Rights Project in 1990 as statewide nonprofit foundation where marginalized people could have access to the courthouse on issues of great significance to them and to their communities. He has worked to ensure that persons with disabilities have the access to which they are entitled, whether at a local restaurant, a movie theater or at the courthouse.  The Project has grown to a staff of 40 with offices in Austin, El Paso, San Juan, Houston and Odessa.

Previously, Harrington worked 10 years as director of the South Texas Project in the Rio Grande Valley along the Mexican border. His legal work involved asserting the rights of farm laborers and poor people in the Valley, especially its colonias, where he handled litigation involving police brutality, discrimination, and farm worker organizing. In 1983, Harrington became legal director of the Texas Civil Liberties Union in Austin, where he litigated cases involving privacy as a fundamental right, free speech, and equal rights for farm laborers to worker’s compensation and unemployment benefits. He also helped organize the evening East Austin pro bono clinic for low-income people.

Harrington was also an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law for 27 years and continues to teach undergraduate writing courses at the university in civil liberties and history-making trials. He has served on several human rights delegations abroad and is an author of several articles and three books on civil rights. A native of Michigan, Harrington received his law degree and a Master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Detroit.

The Supreme Court of Texas created the nonprofit Texas Access to Justice Foundation in 1984 to support legal aid efforts throughout the state. Using funding from the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program, as well as public funding and private donations, TAJF grants millions of dollars each year to various organizations that provide basic civil legal services to low-income populations. Since its inception, TAJF has granted more than $410 million to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 100,000 Texas families each year.

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The Texas Access to Justice Foundation, created by the Supreme Court of Texas in 1984, is the largest state-based funding source for the provision of civil legal aid in Texas. The organization is committed to the vision that all Texans will have equal access to justice, regardless of their income. The Foundation administers a variety of funding sources, which are earmarked to assist nonprofit organizations in providing legal aid to more than 100,000 Texas families each year. For more information, please visit: www.teajf.org.

Contact: Kimberly Schmitt
512-320-0099, ext. 104
kschmitt@teajf.org

 

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