Lonnie Powers, executive director of the Massachusetts Legal
Assistance Corp. (MLAC), was recently elected to the American Law
Institute (ALI), an independent organization that produces
scholarly work to clarify, modernize and improve the law.
Powers is one of 64 newly elected members, raising ALI's total
membership to 4,302.
"I am honored to have been elected to ALI and excited about the
opportunity to work with leading legal scholars, judges and
practitioners to influence the development of the law," he
said.
Powers has served as executive director of MLAC since it was
established in 1983 by the Legislature to ensure that low-income
people with critical, non-criminal legal problems would have access
to legal information, advice and representation. It is the largest
funding source for civil legal aid programs in Massachusetts.
Powers has more than 40 years of policy and legal experience at
the state and national levels, having devoted more than 30 years to
establishing, building, sustaining and revitalizing legal aid
organizations. He serves on the Boston Bar Association Task Force
on Access to Civil Justice, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court Committee on Pro Bono and is active in the American,
Massachusetts and Boston bar associations.