Robert M. Spire's life was a demonstration of the highest ideals of what it meant to be an American. He grew up in Omaha during the Great Depression and became a WWII Combat Vet. He graduated from Harvard Law in the age of Brown v. Board of Education, and became a bloodied civil rights activist. He served as Attorney General for Bob Kerrey, a Nebraska Governor and U.S. Senator then US Presidential Candidate.
In 1982, Spire launched the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) through the Nebraska State Bar Association. Today, to honor Spire's legacy through VLP, more than 300 attorneys and law students helps roughly 10,000 low-income Nebraskans each year.
People hear the Miranda Rights read aloud so often on TV Crime shows, they assume they have a right to an attorney even if they cannot afford one on important civil matters, but that is not true. When they come to court for the custody of their children or their housing, especially in cases they didn’t have a choice about being in, they assume help will be there. When help is not there, they feel cheated by the system. Attorneys take an oath to honor the Constitution. When attorneys show up to represent the indigent pro bono in civil legal matters it makes our country stronger.
Lack of access to an attorney is the second most commonly sited reason for why victims of domestic violence are unable to leave their abuser, VLP attorneys help address that. Since 2021, VLP’s eviction defense program has helped more than 5,000 children in Nebraska’s largest county avoid homelessness.
Robert M. Spire was born in 1925 and he died in 1994. His life was not extremely long, but in his life time the United States became the national superpower, the Nazis were defeated, the UN was created, the Civil Rights Movement happened, state sanctioned segregation became illegal. All of that was possible because of hope and hard work. Nebraska lawyers volunteering with VLP are donating hope and hard work to build a better country too.
I work for VLP and love it because it is public service. My mom worked for Chuck Hagel when I was a kid. I remember playing in the Russell Senate building hallway outside of her office and seeing Senator McCain all the time (Hagel and McCain were both veterans and friends and had offices next to each other). I begged my mom not to go to work on September 12, 2001 - but she went anyway because the nation needed her to go to work. He believed in public service, and it is humbling to be able to continue his legacy through my work.
In 1982, Spire launched the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) through the Nebraska State Bar Association. Today, to honor Spire's legacy through VLP, more than 300 attorneys and law students helps roughly 10,000 low-income Nebraskans each year.
People hear the Miranda Rights read aloud so often on TV Crime shows, they assume they have a right to an attorney even if they cannot afford one on important civil matters, but that is not true. When they come to court for the custody of their children or their housing, especially in cases they didn’t have a choice about being in, they assume help will be there. When help is not there, they feel cheated by the system. Attorneys take an oath to honor the Constitution. When attorneys show up to represent the indigent pro bono in civil legal matters it makes our country stronger.
Lack of access to an attorney is the second most commonly sited reason for why victims of domestic violence are unable to leave their abuser, VLP attorneys help address that. Since 2021, VLP’s eviction defense program has helped more than 5,000 children in Nebraska’s largest county avoid homelessness.
Robert M. Spire was born in 1925 and he died in 1994. His life was not extremely long, but in his life time the United States became the national superpower, the Nazis were defeated, the UN was created, the Civil Rights Movement happened, state sanctioned segregation became illegal. All of that was possible because of hope and hard work. Nebraska lawyers volunteering with VLP are donating hope and hard work to build a better country too.
I work for VLP and love it because it is public service. My mom worked for Chuck Hagel when I was a kid. I remember playing in the Russell Senate building hallway outside of her office and seeing Senator McCain all the time (Hagel and McCain were both veterans and friends and had offices next to each other). I begged my mom not to go to work on September 12, 2001 - but she went anyway because the nation needed her to go to work. He believed in public service, and it is humbling to be able to continue his legacy through my work.
