The Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project honors Juliet C. Holmes-Smith, our beloved Executive Director and friend, who passed away on Friday, August 14, 2020.

Juliet was a shining light in the nonprofit legal community. She was a tireless advocate for Maine’s poor and underserved. She took on the enormous task of creating and running the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project as an independent entity. She surrounded herself with an exceptional staff dedicated to providing access to justice for all Mainers. Juliet oversaw, nurtured, and guided several successful new legal clinics throughout the state and more programs were in the works. Wherever Juliet saw a need for legal access, she sought to fill it.

When she first fell ill, Juliet was very concerned about the VLP continuing in her absence and we assured her we would carry on. The VLP Board and Staff are committed to honoring her wishes and will continue her work. Her light and legacy will live on through the countless coalitions and community relationships she helped to build, the services she administered to those in need, and the invaluable mentorship she provided to so many of us.

In order to honor her memory, the VLP is collecting donations that will be used to further support legal representation for parties impacted by domestic violence throughout the state of Maine.

Juliet was more than the Executive Director of the VLP; she was the heart and soul of the organization. She was a wife and mother and friend, and a fierce advocate for justice. She will be dearly missed.