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2017 SESSION

17104328D
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 138
Offered February 6, 2017
Commending Jack Larry Harris.
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Patron-- Obenshain
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WHEREAS, Jack Larry Harris, who served as executive director of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association for 27 years, executive director of Legal Services Corporation of Virginia, and the first executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, retired in April 2016 after making innumerable contributions to the delivery of legal services in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Jack Harris began his service to the Commonwealth in 1979 as the executive director of Legal Services Corporation of Virginia (LSCV), an organization in which he remains an integral part today; and

WHEREAS, in 1981, Jack Harris worked with bar leaders to create and implement an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account program that has become a major source of funding for legal aid programs to this day; and

WHEREAS, Jack Harris led an effort to secure state funding for legal aid first in 1982 and has worked to preserve and increase such funding for decades as the need for such services continues to grow; and

WHEREAS, under his leadership at LSCV and as the first executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, legal aid expanded throughout the Commonwealth, training for attorneys in all legal aid programs was developed, and indigent legal services to the elderly were expanded statewide; and

WHEREAS, Jack Harris has been recognized for his vision to gather all legal aid programs into a cohesive statewide legal aid delivery system, which, for the first time, provided Virginia’s poverty lawyers with the sense that they share a common purpose and helped to make them stronger advocates on behalf of Virginia’s poor by executing that purpose together; and

WHEREAS, the talents of Jack Harris were brought to the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in 1989, where he expanded the breadth of membership and the depth of knowledge among and about its members; and

WHEREAS, Jack Harris was seen for many years in the General Assembly, advocating for the preservation of and improvements to the civil and criminal justice systems, for adequate funding for the judicial system, and for fairness in the laws and justice for all; and

WHEREAS, the word “justice” for Jack Harris has never been a noun; it has always been an action verb, requiring vigilance, perseverance, and strength; and

WHEREAS, Jack Harris has never been alone in his work for justice as he has stood with thousands of attorneys, colleagues, friends, and his wife of more than 50 years, JoAnne; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Jack Larry Harris hereby be commended on the occasion of his retirement; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Jack Larry Harris as an expression of the Senate of Virginia’s admiration for his many contributions to the legal field and the Commonwealth.