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Legal Aid deputy has a passion for pro bono
TRACEY BLAIR
Legal News Reporter
Published: October 24, 2019
Jennifer van Dulmen considers herself lucky in life.
“Not everybody gets to follow their passion,” she said.
As deputy director of Community Legal Aid Services, van Dulmen, was recently recognized both locally and nationally for that passion - her “pro bono” work.
A long-standing leader in engaging private practice attorneys for the Volunteer Legal Services Program, van Dulmen was honored as the 2019 Tonya Neiman Pro Bono Professional of the Year. She received her award during the National Associations of Pro Bono Professionals conference, sponsored by the American Bar Association and the National Legal Aid Defender Association.
“That’s a really big honor in the pro bono field,” she said. “I have been in leadership positions for a long time in pro bono, and it’s really an honor to have professionals I worked with for so many years recognize our program. Some of them are my mentors.”
In addition, van Dulmen has been selected to serve on the Akron Bar Association’s Board of Trustees. As a representative of Legal Aid, which helps low-income clients in central and northeast Ohio, van Dulmen brings a unique voice to the group.
“Many board members are private attorneys, judges, government attorneys. One is dean of the University of Akron’s law school,” she said. “It’s good they brought in a diverse perspective to collectively help move the organization forward.”
Legal Aid Executive Director Steven McGarrity said van Dulmen personifies the Latin translation of “pro bono” – which is “for the public good.”
“That’s what Jennifer van Dulmen is all about,” McGarrity said.
In her role at Legal Aid, van Dulmen is tasked with supervising client services and developing innovative service delivery models that are responsive to client and community needs. She also oversees employee training and professional development.
“In her 13 years with Legal Aid, Jen’s worn many hats, sometimes simultaneously,” McGarrity added. “She’s led team members in serving some of our most vulnerable clients, victims of domestic violence, and is a champion for professional development. But her leadership for our Volunteer Legal Services Program has been nothing short of visionary, and we’re so proud that her efforts have been recognized not just by our team and our volunteers throughout northeast Ohio, but at the national level.”
She also serves as liaison to the statewide Family Law Task Force and sits on the boards of the Committee on Regional Training and the Ohio Training and Advisory Committee.
van Dulmen, who grew up in South Dakota, decided to become a lawyer while teaching at a Minneapolis high school after graduating from the University of Minnesota.
“I had been coaching speech and debate and was involved in Special Olympics track,” she said. “I really connected with the speech and debate students and decided to go to law school.”
After earning her law degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., van Dulmen moved to Ohio, went into private practice and taught at Kent State University.
During law school, she interned for Minneapolis’ legal aid program.
In 2006, she started her career at Community Legal Aid and has never looked back.
“I love the feeling every day that the work I do matters,” van Dulmen said. “We can lift burdens in people’s lives. We can give people another chance to make families happier and healthier. Our staff at Community Legal Aid overall exudes this passion. Collectively, we are a group of people who passionately pursue the ideals of justice.”