McIver to Receive Founder's Award at TALS' Equal Justice University
The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) will present Harrison D. McIver III with the Founder’s Award, an honor it established for the purpose of recognizing McIver’s extraordinary contributions to Tennessee’s access to justice community during his twenty-year tenure as Chair of Equal Justice University and tenure as CEO of Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS). The award will be presented on August 29, 2019, at the Leadership Luncheon, Embassy Suites Conference Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Harrison D. McIver III recently retired as CEO of (MALS) after more than twenty years as its leader. His passion for diversity and inclusion, rigor in legal education programming and dedication to community building are embedded in the fabric of Equal Justice University, TALS’ annual public interest conference. Cathy Clayton, TALS’ Board Chair and Executive Director, West Tennessee Legal Services stated, “It is fitting that we are honoring Harrison’s legacy with the Founder’s Award at Equal Justice University’s Leadership Luncheon.”
McIver’s leadership has had a strong impact locally, regionally and nationally. In addition to raising MALS’ profile in all three arenas, McIver served as Chair of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association Board, President of the Southeast Project Directors Association twice, and held Board memberships on the National Equal Justice Library, TALS, Latino Memphis, the Memphis Bar Association and Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association. He served on the Advisory Board of the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change and was a member of the University of Memphis Law School Dean Advisory Council. He serves as a member of the Tennessee Bar Association’s House of Delegates, Long Range Planning Committee and Access to Justice Committee. McIver’s long history of commitment to justice has been recognized in a number of contexts. He was presented the prestigious American Bar Association’s Charles Dorsey Award for promoting equal justice. The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognized his life’s work during a reception at an annual American Bar Association meeting.; the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association bestowed upon him the A.A. Latting Award for legal services; TALS presented him the B. Riney Green Award in recognition of his promoting collaboration within Tennessee; and the Memphis Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. presented him the Jessie Turner Award for community impact. A highlight of his career was being invited by Congressman Steve Cohen to testify, on behalf of legal aid organizations nationwide, about the importance of legal services to the poor.
How to Participate
To register for the conference, visit https://www.tals.org/eju.
For more information, contact Ann Pruitt
(615) 775-9684; apruitt@tals.org
Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) is a statewide non-profit organization that builds partnerships to support the delivery of effective civil legal services for low-income and elderly Tennesseans. TALS manages a web portal providing legal information- www.HELP4TN.org, and staffs 1-844-HELP4TN, a toll-free civil legal services referral and information phone line. Learn more at www.tals.org.
(photo: Harrison D. McIver)
###