Thank you for inviting me to be the 2011 William Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecturer. I am honored to be among leaders of the bar, the judiciary and academia, and professors and students of Stetson University College of Law, who are here this evening to pay tribute to Reece Smith and the significant role he has played in pursuing equal access to justice.
Selecting a topic for my remarks was fairly easy for me because I have spent my entire career providing legal services to the poor. Equal access to justice is a fitting topic for an address honoring Reece Smith, who has devoted his career to enhancing the availability of legal services to the poor and the disadvantaged. It is also a timely topic, as our nation continues to experience the worst economic downturn in recent memory.