Minnesota bar associations to be recognized with ABA-NLADA access to justice award

July 29, 2026

Minnesota bar associations to be recognized with ABA-NLADA access to justice award

CHICAGO, July 29, 2026 - The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) and Ramsey County Bar Association (RCBA) will be honored with the 2026 Harrison Tweed Award on July 31 at the 2026 ABA Annual Conference for their work to address the impacts on their communities caused by the federal government's Operation Metro Surge, in Minnesota in late 2025.

Created in 1956, the award recognizes the extraordinary achievements of state and local bar associations that develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal services to people in poverty or criminal defense services to indigents. It is named for Harrison Tweed, an outstanding leader in the promotion of free legal services to the poor, and is presented annually by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (SCLAID) and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA).

The bar associations were selected for their exemplary work and response to their community after the federal government's Operation Metro Surge. Beginning in December 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initiated Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota's Twin Cities Metro Area. Enforcement efforts increased dramatically in the early months of 2026, expanding outside of the Metro Area to communities statewide.

In January 2026, the MSBA, HCBA and RCBA, along with government agencies, legal aid providers, law firms, law schools and bar association members, sprang into action to help coordinate a pro bono response to the access-to-justice crisis caused by the operation. One of the bar associations' most crucial roles was to assess priority areas of pro bono need and direct members to those opportunities, providing skills training for hundreds of members interested in doing pro bono work in response to Metro Surge. They also joined in litigation challenging the lawfulness of the administration's actions and bringing attention to the threat that enforcement actions posed to access to justice. More details about the work done by the award recipients can be found here.

The award will be presented at the annual joint luncheon of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, National Association of Bar Executives and the National Conference of Bar Foundations at the Annual Conference in Chicago.

About the collaborators:

NLADA is America's oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel. It provides advocacy, guidance, information, training and technical assistance for members of the equal justice community, especially those working in public defense and civil legal aid.