CONTACT INFORMATION

Bill Beardall
Executive Director
Equal Justice Center
510 S. Congress Ave., Suite 206
Austin, Texas 78704
Telephone: 512-474-0007
Cell phone: 512-784-0683
Fax: 512-474-0008
E-mail:
Website: www.equaljusticecenter.org

CAPACITY / CAPABILITY

Number of consultants (if group/company):

N/A

Area(s) of expertise:

Migrant legal services delivery and practice;
Legal services for low-wage workers, delivery and practice;
Legal services for immigrant workers, delivery and practice;
Structuring delivery of indigent criminal defense services as a civil right

JD and/or other degrees:

J.D. Harvard Law School 1978
B.A. Rhodes College, Memphis TN, 1975

Languages spoken other than English, and level of fluency:

Spanish: functional but not fluent.

Information regarding race, ethnic background, and gender: (optional - LSC and its recipients strive for racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in choosing consultants)

Anglo male

CONSULTING EXPERIENCE

Years of experience as consultant:

10 years

If applicable, please write a brief paragraph about your history as a consultant for LSC:

I have served as a consultant on migrant legal services delivery and practice issues to Texas Rural Legal Aid and, informally to numerous other LSC funded migrant legal services programs. I have organized and served as faculty for multiple professional education programs for LSC funded attorneys and staff related to migrants, employment practice, and welfare reform. I have participated in a variety of LSC advisory groups on LSC policy and practice. From 1990-2000, I was the principal organizer and architect of annual training programs for new and intermediated level attorneys and legal advocates doing migrant legal services work with LSC and non-LSC funded organizations. I also was a principal participant in creation of several advanced professional training programs for attorneys and legal advocates on employment rights of migrant advocacy, immigrant workers, and low-wage working people generally. Between 1996 and 2000, I also did a great deal of advanced consulting and training related to implementation of the 1996 welfare reforms.

If applicable, please write a brief paragraph about your history as a consultant for other organizations involved in the delivery of civil legal assistance, including local, state, and national organizations (NLADA, ABA, MIE):

Over the years, I have taken part in a number of advisory groups organized by CLASP, NLADA, and similar organizations related to formulation of legal services delivery strategies and policies.

Brief paragraph regarding other consulting experience:

N/A

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Professional experience (staff, board member, volunteer) in LSC-funded program(s):

1973-75 Paralegal: Memphis and Shelby County Legal Services, Memphis TN

1978-84 Staff attorney: Texas Rural Legal Aid, Migrant Division, Hereford, Texas

1984-2000 Migrant Division Director: Texas Rural Legal Aid, Weslaco, Texas

Experience in other legal aid programs (staff, board member, volunteer):

1976-78 student legal aid counsel: Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, Cambridge MA

1997-2000 board member Texas Appleseed

2000-01 Legal Director: Texas Appleseed, Austin, Texas

1997- present board member, Network for a Progressive Texas

2001- present Executive Director: Equal Justice Center, Austin, Texas

Other professional experience:

Leading expert on low-wage employment law and reform of indigent defense systems.

Led a successful coalition campaign in 1999-present to reform Texas indigent defense laws

Frequent faculty member at professional education events addressing basic worker rights, immigrant worker rights, and indigent defense reforms.

RATE / FEE INFORMATION

$50-$125 per hr, depending on financial means of the contracting organization

REFERENCES

Alan Houseman, Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy
202/906-8000

John McKay, former president LSC

David G. Hall, Executive Director Texas Rural Legal Aid
956/968-6574

RESUME

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