[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       TRIBUTE TO SUSAN ERLICHMAN

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I rise to recognize the 
extraordinary career of Susan Erlichman, Esquire, the executive 
director of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation, on the eve of her 
retirement after 32 years of remarkable public service. Susan is a 
devoted public servant and tireless advocate for civil legal services 
for those who need them most in the State of Maryland.
  The Maryland Legal Services Corporation--MLSC--is the state's largest 
funder of civil legal aid. Its mission, as established by the Maryland 
General Assembly, is ensuring that low-income Marylanders have access 
to reliable, productive, and worthwhile civil legal assistance by 
distributing and overseeing grants to nonprofits statewide. Since its 
creation in 1982, MLSC has distributed grants totaling over $312 
million. In turn, grantees have assisted Marylanders in more than 3.5 
million legal matters, ranging from family to housing to employment to 
healthcare cases, in which they would otherwise have been hard-pressed 
to access legal aid.
  Susan Erlichman's career with the MLSC spanned an incredible 32 
years, including 17 as the organization's executive director. During 
her tenure in that position, Susan oversaw the tripling of MLSC's 
annual budget, from $6 million to $20 million. She also helped to found 
a robust working relationship between the Administrative Office of the 
Courts and MLSC that significantly expanded Maryland's Judicare Family 
Law program and the number of residents it serves. Perhaps one of her 
greatest accomplishments, however, was pioneering an innovative program 
to remove barriers to employment in Maryland by placing civil legal aid 
lawyers in projects aimed at the fostering of more productive and 
prosperous workforces.
  From the 2008 recession to our current-day COVID-19 pandemic, Susan's 
drive, tenacity, and compassion has been an invaluable asset to our 
state. Through the projects I have mentioned and the countless others 
that she has led, Susan has utilized her institutional insight and 
diplomatic skills to bring together a wide coalition of allies to 
support and strengthen civil legal services. Susan has been an 
incredible leader to MLSC staff, even during the hardest of times.
  Access to justice is a significant, growing challenge in Maryland and 
nationwide that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 
most cases, low-income Americans receive inadequate or no legal help 
due to lack of available resources, even though they are eligible and 
entitled to this legal assistance. During the pandemic, the Legal 
Services Corporation--LSC--reported that 94 percent of grantees 
surveyed said they were providing services to clients who were newly 
eligible for legal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. I credit Susan and 
the excellent work of MLSC with making it as easy as possible for me to 
advocate for Federal funding. Her work and that of her peers nationwide 
has generated bipartisan support in Congress that was significant 
enough to turn back an effort to disband the agency entirely in the 
last administration. There is no doubt that Susan's leadership has 
allowed MLSC to endure as a beacon of hope in the face of the surge in 
demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  The MLSC is an organization near and dear to my heart. From August 
1988 through June 1995, I was privileged to serve as its chair. 
Previously, I chaired a task force that produced an Action Plan for 
Legal Services to Maryland's Poor in January of 1988. Many 
recommendations from the action plan, such as conversion of the 
Interest on Lawyer Trust Account--IOLTA--program from voluntary to 
mandatory, were ultimately adopted. I enjoyed working with Susan, who 
coincidentally joined the organization in 1988, to implement the action 
plan and make other improvements. Although I moved on from MLSC a few 
years later, I was happy to know the organization was in such good 
hands. I am also confident that Susan's successor, Deb Seltzer, will 
continue Susan's legacy and make great progress towards achieving the 
mission of the MLSC.
  In announcing Susan's retirement, MLSC board chair Natalie McSherry 
had this to say: ``Susan Erlichman is a giant among all leaders of 
IOLTA and other funding entities for civil legal services. We have been 
incredibly blessed to have had the benefit of her leadership for so 
many years.'' It is clear that Susan's impact on the Maryland Legal 
Services Corporation, and the State of Maryland for that matter, will 
be felt for years to come. For that, I sincerely thank her for her 
service to our State's citizens and wish her a happy and well-deserved 
retirement.

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