The Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project honored Chancellor Bennie Richard of Greenville with the 2024 Beacon of Justice Award during a ceremony on Dec. 10 in Jackson.
Judge Richard was recognized for his work providing access to the court through quarterly family law clinics for low-income people.
“The Beacon of Justice Award began in 2014 with the focus on honoring a member of the judiciary who expressed the desire to promote access to justice within the courtroom and implemented programs to serve vulnerable populations within his or her community,” says Gayla Carpenter-Sanders, Executive Director and General Counsel of MVLP. “Since taking the bench in January 2019, Judge Richard’s steadfast leadership and unwavering commitment to the community has created access to justice for 864 individuals, granting them the opportunity to pursue a fresh start in life through the resolution of their divorces.” Judge Richard presided over twenty-four family law clinics for self-represented litigants. His work “has set a gold standard for access to justice, with his model being replicated in clinics across the state.”
Richard continued the program which his predecessor, former Chancellor Marie Wilson, began in 2007. Wilson was honored as a Beacon of Justice recipient in 2016 for her development and oversight of the quarterly free family law clinics.
Richard says that the family law clinic model has been refined so that a majority of the litigants are able to finalize their matters in court at the clinic or shortly thereafter. Some of the change came about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Because of the pandemic, we were no-contact or virtual. We learned how to do this more efficiently,” he says.