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Washington County President Judge Katherine B. Emery was appointed to the state board that oversees funds that go toward civil legal services for indigent defendants. She will begin a three-year term Sept. 1 on the state Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts Board. Emery said she’ll replace Labor and Industry Secretary Kathy M. Manderino on the nine-member board. Members are appointed by the state Supreme Court and meet four times a year. Emery said she was homored by the appointment, adding it fills an important function by working to give people of limited means access to the civil legal system. “It’s certainly a worthwhile cause,” she said. With Supreme Court approval, the board distributed $14.4 million in grants during the 2014-15 fiscal year to law school clinics, pro bono initiatives and legal services providers, as well as student-loan repayment assistance for legal aid attorneys, according to IOLTA’s website. Among the main sources of revenue for the program are interest on nominal and short-term funds given by clients to their attorneys to hold, surcharges on civil filings, admission fees from out-of-state attorneys appearing in Pennsylvania courts, a portion of attorney registration fees and a portion of residual funds from class-action lawsuits in state courts. |
