III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 613 

Recognizing the 50th anniversary of North Mississippi Rural Legal Services 

in Oxford, Mississippi. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 

Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 50th anniversary of North Mississippi Rural 

Legal Services in Oxford, Mississippi. 

Whereas North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, originally 

called Lafayette County Legal Aid, was organized in 

1966 as a training program for law students at the University of Mississippi School of Law; 

Whereas North Mississippi Rural Legal Services was organized to combine the provision of legal services with a 

teaching program to develop a law school curriculum with 

a focus on the legal problems of low-income individuals, 

and North Mississippi Rural Legal Services was subsequently incorporated as an independent nonprofit corporation, receiving funds from the National Legal Services Corporation; 


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•SRES 613 IS 

Whereas the mission of North Mississippi Rural Legal Services is to provide high-quality attorney representation and 

advocacy to ensure equal access to justice for vulnerable 

members of society through constant training, self-analysis, and community involvement; 

Whereas North Mississippi Rural Legal Services provides the 

highest quality of legal and technical assistance, which 

improves the daily quality of life for low-income individuals and contributes to the attainment of social, economic, and legal equality; 

Whereas North Mississippi Rural Legal Services is governed 

by a 25-member board of directors appointed by the Mississippi Bar, the Magnolia Bar, and local advisory committees; 

Whereas North Mississippi Rural Legal Services has administrative offices in Oxford, Mississippi, and offices in 

Clarksdale, Greenville, and West Point, Mississippi, all of 

which strive daily to meet the unmet civil legal needs of 

low-income Mississippians; 

Whereas there are more than 250,000 low-income individuals 

in the 39-county service area of North Mississippi Rural 

Legal Services, which, as of 2015, has served more than 

17,000 Mississippians, providing access to the legal system that might otherwise be unavailable to those individuals due to their economic situation; 

Whereas over the last 50 years, North Mississippi Rural 

Legal Services has partnered with various funders, attorneys, friends, and corporate and individual supporters to 

provide thousands of low-income clients with habitable 

and affordable housing, safety, healthcare, economic secuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Sep 30, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR613.IS SR613

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•SRES 613 IS 

rity, and financial independence while ensuring that each 

client maintains inherent human dignity; 

Whereas 50 years ago, the journey began to provide highquality legal representation to low-income Mississippians 

to ensure equal access to the courts of the State of Mississippi; 

Whereas in 2016, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services 

continues the quest for justice to serve individuals and 

families regardless of race, age, gender, and ethnicity; 

and 

Whereas the partnership between North Mississippi Rural 

Legal Services and the University of Mississippi School 

of Law continues the work of educating law students to 

increase the number of attorneys in the State of Mississippi who are sensitive to the needs of low-income individuals and knowledgeable in the areas of the law that 

affect those individuals: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes and commends outstanding acts 

3 of public service like those of North Mississippi 

4 Rural Legal Services; 

5 (2) with great pride, joins in paying tribute to 

6 North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, a most ef7 fective and public-spirited organization, the advocacy 

8 of which on behalf of less fortunate Mississippians is 

9 a matter of record; and 


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•SRES 613 IS 

1 (3) recognizes the 50th anniversary of North 

2 Mississippi Rural Legal Services in Oxford, Mis3 sissippi. 

Æ 


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