Tavonna Harris Askew is preparing to return to Indiana Legal Services as its chief executive, with plans to strengthen pro bono partnerships, broaden financial support and improve staff retention.[2] In an October 23 interview with The Indiana Lawyer, the attorney described her priorities ahead of a November 9 start date at the nonprofit law firm where she began her legal career.[2]
Indiana Legal Services announced her appointment on October 14.[3] Askew will succeed Jon Laramore, who has led the organization since 2015, and bring experience in government, health care and corporate legal leadership to a statewide civil legal-aid practice.[3]
The appointment puts a former staff attorney in charge of an organization that helps eligible low-income residents protect housing, income, access to medical care and personal safety.[3] Indiana Legal Services says it serves clients in all 92 Indiana counties and does not handle criminal matters.[3]
Returning with management experience
Askew joined Indiana Legal Services in 2001 after graduating from Indiana University's Maurer School of Law.[3] The organization's announcement identifies her as an Indianapolis native with 25 years of legal and executive leadership experience.[3]
Her early work involved direct help with problems that could keep clients from finding stable housing or managing family obligations.[2] She told The Indiana Lawyer that she met clients at Horizon House and handled eviction-related matters, creditor issues and family law cases.[2]
She later worked for UAW Legal Services in Kokomo and became a Marion County deputy prosecutor in 2003.[2] Those roles included estate planning and family matters for union clients, followed by juvenile and other prosecution work.[2]
Her subsequent career added responsibility for institutions as well as individual cases.[3] At the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County, she rose to chief of staff and general counsel, served as corporate secretary to its board and helped establish the county health department's first medical-legal partnership, according to the appointment announcement.[3]
At Cummins, Askew led the Global Investigations and Right Environment function.[3] Most recently, the announcement says, she was executive vice president and general counsel at Suburban Health Organization, where she became its first in-house counsel and built its legal function.[3]
That history gives the appointment a practical connection to the work ahead: Askew has experience representing clients and managing the organizations that deliver services.[2][3] Both strands appear in the priorities she described before taking office.[2][3]
Making more legal help available
Askew told The Indiana Lawyer that she wants to strengthen Indiana Legal Services' pro bono program through partnerships with lawyers and law firms.[2] She described a need to expand the organization's ability to help clients when its own resources are insufficient.[2]
Her plans also include a wider funding base.[2] In the October 23 report, she discussed exploring relationships with community foundations, building on the organization's United Way partnership and approaching local corporations about support.[2]
Those proposals come with financial constraints.[2] The same report described reductions in federal grant support, including a decrease in Victims of Crime Act funding, and said Askew expects further pressure on funding.[2] Her proposed partnerships are plans for the coming administration, not completed agreements or a guarantee of expanded services.[2]
Staff retention is another stated priority.[2] Askew said she wants to pursue better compensation and benefits, building on work that Laramore described as an important accomplishment of his tenure.[2]
For lawyers considering pro bono service, the direction is concrete: the incoming chief executive wants closer working relationships with the profession to support clients the organization cannot otherwise reach.[2] The October 23 interview does not announce a new volunteer program or participation requirements.[2]
A legal career built around public service
Askew's return also offers a specific example of a woman lawyer moving from frontline representation into executive responsibility.[3] Her career has included prosecution, public health law and in-house counsel roles, while her new position brings her back to civil legal aid.[2][3]
Her professional service extends beyond those jobs.[3] Indiana Legal Services reports that she has chaired the boards of the Women's Foundation of Indiana and the Cancer Support Community of Indiana.[3] It also notes that Maurer School of Law presented her with its Distinguished Service Award earlier in October.[3]
In the appointment announcement, Askew connected the move directly to the purpose of her legal education: "I went to law school because I believed a law degree could be a tool for opening doors for people who too often find them closed."[3]
Her November 9 arrival will begin the work of translating the priorities outlined this month into decisions about staffing, partnerships and resources.[2][3]
Read more reporting on women lawyers' appointments and professional service in the Influential Women in Law journal.
Sources
[2] https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/tavonna-harris-askew-prepares-to-return-to-indiana-legal-services-as-its-chief-executive [3] https://www.indianalegalservices.org/4572-2