The Indiana State Bar Association will be honored with the 2025 Harrison Tweed Award on Aug. 8 at the 2025 American Bar Association Annual Meetingfor its work to expand civil legal services through its Walk-In Legal Clinic Series available to low-income Indianapolis residents.
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 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 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 Meeting in Toronto.
The Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) was selected this year for its exemplary work to expand access to justice, especially for underrepresented communities and Hoosiers facing immigration concerns, family law issues and barriers to expungement, through its Walk-In Legal Clinic Series.
The Clinic Series was conceived in 2022 to address the needs of underserved communities on Indianapolis’s northside that were facing increasing landlord-tenant issues, evictions and immigration concerns while lacking consistent access to legal aid.
Launched in January 2023, the Clinic Series uses a lawyer-staffed and community-driven model to bring free, in-person legal clinics directly into trusted community spaces, leveraging local connections to meet people where they are. Since then, the program has scaled dramatically: between April 2024 and March 2025, ISBA co-hosted six clinics serving more than 250 clients from across the state in multiple languages.
To better meet the community’s needs, the Pro Bono Committee has recently introduced themed one-off clinics held in conjunction with other community organizations. In February 2025, for example, ISBA partnered with the Immigrant Welcome Center to host an immigration-focused clinic, complete with multilingual interpreters and a safe meeting space (to ease rising fears of ICE intervention).
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 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 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 Meeting in Toronto.
The Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) was selected this year for its exemplary work to expand access to justice, especially for underrepresented communities and Hoosiers facing immigration concerns, family law issues and barriers to expungement, through its Walk-In Legal Clinic Series.
The Clinic Series was conceived in 2022 to address the needs of underserved communities on Indianapolis’s northside that were facing increasing landlord-tenant issues, evictions and immigration concerns while lacking consistent access to legal aid.
Launched in January 2023, the Clinic Series uses a lawyer-staffed and community-driven model to bring free, in-person legal clinics directly into trusted community spaces, leveraging local connections to meet people where they are. Since then, the program has scaled dramatically: between April 2024 and March 2025, ISBA co-hosted six clinics serving more than 250 clients from across the state in multiple languages.
To better meet the community’s needs, the Pro Bono Committee has recently introduced themed one-off clinics held in conjunction with other community organizations. In February 2025, for example, ISBA partnered with the Immigrant Welcome Center to host an immigration-focused clinic, complete with multilingual interpreters and a safe meeting space (to ease rising fears of ICE intervention).
