As a former legal aid lawyer and supporter of the concepts that brought legal aid services to indigent and underrepresented members of our communities in Tennessee, I was excited as well as apprehensive about reading and reviewing this book.

I know Mr. Wiltshire personally, having attended numerous conferences and meetings with him, and working with him on a variety of projects over the 20 years I was at Memphis Area Legal Services and the eight I spent with West Tennessee Legal Services. He is truly an iconic figure among those of us from the legal aid community, as are many of the talented attorneys highlighted in the book. Any time you offer to critique the writing of someone you know and admire, the apprehension is that it might not be good. Fortunately, my apprehension was misplaced.

The book begins back during the 1970s with stories of how and why the original iteration of what we now know as Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands got its start. It also includes some of the missteps and mistakes as well as the misapprehensions some lawyers, members of the judiciary and bar associations had regarding legal aid programs. The discussion around the purpose and need for legal aid brought back so many memories of similar concerns raised in Memphis as well as in the rural areas around work done on behalf of the poor. What the legal aid attorneys and supporters faced in Nashville was similar to the concerns across the South.

Although it’s been many years since I worked at a legal aid program, this book rekindled the pride I had in serving in that role, the pride I still have in many of the legal professionals who not only dedicate their lives to serving the poor and marginalized but the systems that have changed and grown because of this work. Many of the stories Wiltshire tells in the book are new to me, although the players, or at least many of them, are still around.

In particular, the story of how Gordon Bonnyman became indelibly linked to advocacy around health care issues, especially with the advent of TennCare, and became the premier legal aid attorney in our state is inspiring. And, when it became clear that class actions would no longer be an available tool to legal aid lawyers due to changes in the Legal Services Corporation regulations, Bonnyman successfully launched the Tennessee Justice Center as a separate nonprofit. The Tennessee Justice Center still exists today, and recently, under the direction of Michelle Johnson, moved into new and updated space.

But the stories aren’t all happy and uplifting. The death of attorney Drake Holliday reminded me of some of the more despairing moments that legal aid lawyers face.  It can be daunting when you are faced every day with stories from your clients that are heartbreaking and the daily grind of trying to overcome seemingly daunting obstacles can make the work of legal aid lawyers overwhelming. Losing Drake in 2006 was a blow to all of us.

The story of how the legal aid attorneys, through their excellent lawyering, their dedication to the rule of law, the importance of providing services, their raising the awareness of the many injustices faced by marginalized communities, as well as the improvements to the administration of justice, were able to overcome those concerns and become integral to our system of justice is a compelling one. Wiltshire’s carefully detailed story examines how legal aid in Nashville, and in many ways in every community where inroads were made to establish a legal aid or legal services program, made a difference in the lives of those historically locked out of the justice system or who were victimized by longstanding systems that kept them on the margins of society. Equally, he examines how justice in Tennessee evolved, grew and began, albeit slowly, to address the needs of everyday Tennesseans and how the system continues to change. |||