Boston Bar Foundation Awards $380,000 in Grants to Eight Legal Services Organizations

The Boston Bar Foundation (BBF) – the charitable affiliate of the Boston Bar Association – announced today that it will provide $380,000 in grants to eight community organizations that work to provide legal services to those in need. The funding – which was distributed to the BBF from the Massachusetts Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) – stems from Bank of America’s (BOA) 2014 settlement for the bank’s involvement in residential mortgage-backed securities and other unlawful conduct that contributed to the housing/financial crisis.

The grantee organizations administer legal aid to the most vulnerable and underprivileged members of the population, such as the homeless, domestic violence survivors, at-risk children and veterans. The funding will specifically be used by the grantees for foreclosure prevention legal assistance and community redevelopment assistance.

“These organizations are true champions for access to justice,” said BBF President Anthony Froio, managing partner of Robins Kaplan. “I’m pleased and proud that the Boston Bar Foundation is able to use these settlement funds to help people in our Commonwealth who are in dire need of legal assistance to keep their homes.”

The grant recipients are:

• Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts
• City Life/Vida Urbana
• Community Legal Services and Counseling Center
• Greater Boston Legal Services
• Housing Families
• Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
• National Consumer Law Center
• Veterans Legal Services