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Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here. Thanks!

With the holiday season upon us and the end of the year not far behind, now is a time to be thankful for our blessings—and to keep in mind those who are less fortunate. Toward that end, last week I highlighted the new class of Skadden Fellows, who will spend the next two years meeting the legal needs of people living in poverty.

And this week, I’m welcoming to the podcast someone who has devoted her entire legal career to serving the poor: Twyla Carter, attorney-in-chief and chief executive officer of The Legal Aid Society (LAS). Before taking the helm at LAS, Twyla worked as a public defender and at the ACLU, making a name for herself as a leading advocate of bail reform.

In our interview, we explored Twyla’s impressive career, which listeners aspiring to enter the public-interest world should appreciate. But I also posed tough questions to Twyla about some of LAS’s more controversial projects, including its work on New York City’s “right to shelter” mandate, which LAS is defending in court amid claims that it is unworkable, and whether criminal-justice reform, which Twyla has worked on for years, has gone too far. So please do check out this episode—and consider donating or volunteering to support the Society’s important work.

Show Notes:

* Twyla Carter bio, The Legal Aid Society

* Leading Bail Reform Advocate to Take Reins as Legal Aid’s First Black Woman and Asian American to Serve as CEO, by Andrew Denney for the New York Law Journal

* Legal Aid Society Appoints Twyla Carter Attorney-in-Chief, CEO, Bloomberg Law

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