Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh wants leaders to 'work as a team' to fight justice system inequality
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh returned to the nation’s capital Thursday afternoon to continue his battle against the justice gap plaguing those in poverty.
The Legal Services Corporation, which features Harbaugh on its leaders council, was created on July 25, 1974 by President Richard M. Nixon in an effort to ensure equal justice for all. LSC is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans, helping the nation’s poor “maintain livelihoods, keep a roof over their heads and escape violence.”
Harbaugh joined the cause in 2017 after attending a forum that made him aware of how many Americans are unfairly compromised in today’s justice system due to financial limitations. The former Michigan quarterback and NFL Pro Bowler appeared this week alongside fellow LSC Leader Council members Harriet Miers and Ken Frazier, as well as U.S. senators Ben Cardin (Maryland) and Tim Kaine (Virginia), for the 2022 “Justice Gap Report” release.
Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh: “Work together as a team”
“If I could give a piece of advice to our country’s leaders here today, it’d be to work together as a team,” Harbaugh said during his LSC speech. “We don’t criticize each other. We don’t point fingers at each other. We support each other; we build each other up, and we listen to one another. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit. It’s like the players that I coach. They expect the coaches to find the solutions, to work together and to be problem solvers.”
“Like so many here today, I too came from very humble beginnings. But like you all, we were able to capitalize on opportunities that were presented, and now we found our way pretty well. Remember those who are now in the place from which you came with kindness in providing fairness and opportunity, closing the justice gap and especially providing equal access to justice for everybody.”
What LSC promotes
Via lsc.gov: “The United States Congress, in the declaration of purpose of the Legal Services Corporation Act, found that ‘there is a need to provide equal access to the system of justice in our Nation for individuals who seek redress of grievances;’ that ‘there is a need to provide high quality legal assistance to those who would be otherwise unable to afford adequate legal counsel;’ and that ‘providing legal assistance to those who face an economic barrier to adequate legal counsel will serve best the ends of justice and assist in improving opportunities for low-income persons.’ In keeping with this mandate, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) establishes as our mission to promote equal access to justice in our Nation and to provide high quality civil legal assistance to low-income persons.”
