Harvey Bernard Rubenstein President, Board of Directors

Delaware Bar Foundation

     The Delaware Bar Foundation was established on May 12, 1981, as a nonprofit corporation for the purposes of improving and facilitating the administration of justice, promoting study and research in the field of law and the continuing education of lawyers, and publishing legal treatises and literary works.  To achieve those purposes, the foundation receives membership dues and gifts and bequests.

     The program known as Interest On Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) was created two years later by Supreme Court Order of September 29, 1983. The primary purpose of the IOLTA program was to provide funding for legal services to the poor. While the grants from the IOLTA fund are made by the Supreme Court, the foundation reviews all of the applications and makes recommendations to the Supreme Court for its action. The foundation also is charged with administering the IOLTA fund.

       Although the first year's IOLTA grants totaled less that $200,000, the grants in 2001 alone totaled almost $2 million. In the past, over $15 million in grants have been awarded. The principal grantees have been Community Legal Aid Society (CLASI), Legal Services Corporation of Delaware (LSCD), and Delaware Volunteer Legal Services(DVLS).

       The foundation is guided by a twelve-member board of directors serving staggered four-year terms. Four members are appointed by the Chief Justice of Delaware, four members are appointed by the president of the Delaware State Bar Association, and four members are elected by the bar association. The foundation's annual grants meeting usually is held at the end of May.

       The foundation’s executive director is Jacqueline Paradee Mette. Previous foundation presidents were Harold Schmittinger, Victor F. Battaglia, Sr., O. Francis Biondi, and Bruce M. Stargatt.

       Recently, the foundation established an endowment fund to assure future financial support. Under the banner of "Let Right Be Done," the endowment fund seeks contributions as a part of charitable giving and estate planning. The necessity for a long-range funding vehicle became readily apparent because of the constitutional attack on the IOLTA program and the economic downturn resulting in reduced interest rates.

       In its role of reviewing grant applications for the Supreme Court, the foundation also has been the catalyst for uniting the efforts of CLASI, LSCD, and DVLS and for avoiding duplication of services. The foundation has been active in advancing the need for immigration legal services and in promoting a Campaign For Justice in which CLASI, LSCD, and DVLS share.

       The foundation functions through several standing committees, including endowment, fundraising, bylaws, personnel, and finance. These committees give critical support to achieve the foundation's goals.

       The foundation also publishes Delaware Lawyer, which features articles of legal interest. Issued quarterly, Delaware Lawyer is operated by a 15-member board of editors. Richard A. Levine is the managing editor. Published for over 20 years, Delaware Lawyer is received by every member of the Delaware bar without charge.

       The foundation board is fortunate to include Justice Jack B. Jacobs as the judicial member. Justice Jacob's wise counsel and guidance together with the Supreme Court’s commitment to providing legal services to the poor have been instrumental in the foundation's success in fulfilling its important mission. Justice Randy J. Holland, the previous judicial member, is receiving for his years of dedicated service the coveted Delaware Bar Foundation Award at the bar association’s Law Day ceremony on April 27, 2005.