Kentucky legal leaders to be honored for advancing justice, volunteer service

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Seven Kentuckians will be recognized by a national organization for their impact on civil justice.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) will recognize three Champions of Justice and four Pro Bono Service Award honorees at the Justice in Action reception in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 20. Attendees will hear remarks from Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Michelle M. Keller, who is one of the honorees.

In addition to Keller, two accomplished attorneys will be presented with a Champion of Justice award. The three awardees were selected for their extraordinary leadership and longstanding commitment to expanding access to justice in Kentucky and beyond.

The Champion of Justice award recipients are:

• Justice Michelle M. Keller
  Keller was appointed to the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2013. She serves as Chair of the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission. Under her leadership, Kentucky became one of 11 states to receive a Justice for All planning grant from the National Center for State Courts, allowing the Commission to develop a strategic plan to expand access to justice for all Kentuckians. The Commission opened three new legal help centers in Fayette, Kenton and Jefferson counties from 2019-2024 in collaboration with other community justice partners.
• Susan Duncan
  Serving as Executive Director of the Kentucky Bar Foundation, Susan Duncan leads statewide efforts to expand access to justice, strengthen pro bono initiatives and support organizations that help Kentuckians facing legal challenges. Duncan has also made an impact on legal education in her previous role as Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law and at Brandeis School of Law as professor and interim dean, where she prioritized experiential learning through clinical work. Throughout her career, Duncan has worked to advance public service, ethics and community engagement.
• John Rosenberg
  John Rosenberg dedicated his career to access to justice. A Holocaust survivor, Rosenberg moved to Prestonsburg, Kentucky after serving as trial section chief with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. In 1970, he joined the new Appalachian Research and Defense Fund - known as AppalReD Legal Aid - to assist low-income individuals. Under his leadership for nearly 30 years, AppalReD widened its scope from an initial focus on safety and environmental issues related to coal mining, to holistic civil legal help for people facing domestic violence, housing issues and more.

LSC will also present Pro Bono Service Awards to a local judge and three attorneys for their contributions in promoting access to justice through volunteer services. These recipients were nominated by LSC-funded organizations in the state. The Pro Bono Service Award recipients are:

• Rhonda Blackburn, AppalReD Legal Aid
  During her service as President of the Kentucky Bar Association, Rhonda Blackburn actively promoted the vital work of legal aid organizations across the state, elevating awareness of volunteer opportunities within the private bar and strengthening pro bono engagement statewide. Blackburn has volunteered with AppalReD's family law clinic, helped families impacted by flooding secure critical recovery resources and assisted disaster survivors with wills and estate planning.
• Jim Kruer, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
  Jim Kruer launched his legal career at the newly established Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, which is now Legal Aid of the Bluegrass. He later served the organization as its second Executive Director, and after moving into private practice remained a dedicated leader as Board President for 22 years. Kruer has completed more than 150 divorce and custody cases over 36 years of pro bono service, and he also offers mediation-centered services at no cost to legal services clients.
• Judge Rebecca Adams Simpson, Kentucky Legal Aid
  Judge Rebecca Adams Simpson has served low-income families as a part of Kentucky Legal Aid's Lawyers Care Program. She has handled complex cases for survivors of abuse and vulnerable children, bringing them security through a protective order, adoption or dissolution of marriage. Simpson also has devoted hundreds of hours to serving as a court-appointed family law mediator, and while in private practice at English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley, LLP, she promoted pro bono service among her colleagues.
• Bart Greenwald, Legal Aid Society (In Memoriam)
  Bart Greenwald's leadership and collaboration with the Legal Aid Society made possible the creation of the Louisville chapter of Project HELP (Homeless Experience Legal Protection) in 2015. Since then, Louisville's Project HELP has served 2,590 clients, with volunteer attorneys handling 328 cases. Through the Greenwald Family Endowment at the Louisville Bar Foundation, he established permanent support for a Brandeis School of Law summer fellow to work with Project HELP each year. Greenwald joined the Legal Aid Society's Board of Directors in 2016, becoming Chair in 2023. His contributions to Legal Aid Society's fundraising efforts have had a lasting impact on the organization. The award will be accepted in Greenwald's memory by his wife, Deborah, and Legal Aid Society Executive Director John Young.

The reception will be held at the offices of FBT Gibbons at 400 W. Market Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET on July 20. Please register to attend. Photos of the event and awardees will be available upon request.

The reception follows a Forum on Increasing Access to Justice, featuring discussions on second-chance employment initiatives and the work of Kentucky's LSC-funded organizations - Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky, Kentucky Legal Aid, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass and Legal Aid Society.

The forum will take place at the Louisville Marriott Downtown from 10-11:30 a.m. ET. Registration is required for in-person attendance. The forum also will be livestreamed on LSC's YouTube channel.