As I prepare to retire as Executive Director of Northwest Justice Project (NJP) at the end of this month, I have been reflecting on the incredible privilege it has been for me to serve in this role, and on where NJP is today. In that regard, I am thrilled that Director of Advocacy Abigail Daquiz and Deputy Director/General Counsel Hickory Gateless – two senior members of our outstanding leadership team – will serve as interim co-executive directors during the transition to NJP’s next executive director.
I have been extremely fortunate to be able to dedicate my career to the cause of equal justice as a legal aid lawyer. I have been inspired by the courage and perseverance of our clients, and it has been an honor to work with committed, brilliant colleagues, most recently at NJP and with our Alliance for Equal Justice partners. Time and again, they go the extra mile and put the needs of our clients and their communities front and center.
The work of legal aid is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s when the first federal legal aid program was created. Legal aid exists to confront the injustices visited on people who are least able to access the legal resources needed to meet fundamental needs, protect themselves, and respond to private and government institutions invested in maintaining systems of inequity and deeply rooted in legacies of racism.
NJP more than doubled in size during my tenure as our small but mighty Admin Team seized opportunities to maintain and expand access to justice. We maintained core services such as advocating for survivors of domestic violence, protecting subsidized housing residents, securing health care and public assistance, and representing farmworkers. We also developed an innovative medical-legal partnership practice, and a consumer advocacy practice to fight unlawful debt collection, unfair legal financial obligations, and abusive commercial practices. We responded to two foreclosure crises, launched robust representation of low-income veterans, and strengthened services to indigenous communities across the state.
Today, our client communities – and low- and moderate-income people across the country – are suffering from a catastrophic lack of affordable housing, a result of the obscene concentrations of wealth that govern our lives and distort our nation’s priorities. Secure, stable, and affordable housing is the foundation for well-being, education, employment, and opportunity in all aspects of life. Thankfully, the Washington Legislature funded a first-in-the-nation Right to Counsel Program with NJP primarily responsible for most counties in the state and for a centralized call center for tenants facing eviction.
Critically important, NJP put into place the essential infrastructure and systems needed to operate as an integrated state-wide law firm advocating for low-income communities. We continue to build on this foundation to advance our mission of Combatting Injustice • Strengthening Communities • Protecting Human Dignity.
As legal aid attorneys, we use the law and our own ingenuity to fight poverty and its indignities, striving to meet basic human needs and amplify our clients’ voices. Washington’s equal justice community stands among the nation’s leaders, thanks to visionary legal aid pioneers who established enduring institutions: the Access to Justice Board, the Legal Foundation of Washington, the Endowment for Equal Justice, and the Office of Civil Legal Aid.
I am today filled with gratitude for the dedicated staff, board members, and all our supporters over the years who make NJP’s work possible. Our work is far from finished, but I know NJP will continue to be a powerful force promoting equal justice for all Washington residents. Thank you for your support and your unwavering commitment to justice.
César Torres
Executive Director
Northwest Justice Project