How Colleen Cotter Is Making Justice Work for Everyone in Cleveland

If ever there were an example of a perfect fit for an executive leadership position, Colleen Cotter is it. As executive director of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Cotter is the embodiment of everything this venerable 120-year-old organization stands for, leading an organization that provides a voice and representation for low-income and disadvantaged residents.

Technically, the mission of The Legal Aid Society is “to secure justice, equity and access to opportunity for and with people who have low incomes through passionate legal representation and advocacy for systemic change.”

“That’s our official mission,” says Cotter, “but I would simply say that we are lawyers for people with low incomes, and we make sure the system works for them.

“I was re-reading our articles of incorporation from 1905, and it says essentially that we were created as a nonprofit law firm to represent people who don’t have enough money to hire a lawyer. That’s the same thing Cleveland Legal Aid has been doing for the last 120 years.”

Before she ever attended law school, Cotter wanted to help people in need.

“I grew up as a first-generation college graduate, so in many ways I didn’t know what it meant to be a lawyer,” Cotter says. “But I knew that I wanted to be a part of a solution for our larger community — that I wanted to work with communities of lower income people to help them find their voice and be their advocate in our justice system.”

Cotter recalls an anecdote about one of her first cases that happened just before Thanksgiving. 

“My client was a woman with three kids who was struggling just to get food for her family,” Cotter recalls. “Even though she was totally eligible, she had been denied food stamps. Having a lawyer at her side to make her argument and present evidence made the system work. 

“After we won, she hugged me and cried. She was crying because she wanted to buy fresh fruit for her family. She was going to get a turkey, but instead of canned beans, she was now able to feed her children fresh fruit.” 

After that, she was hooked.

“Leading this organization can be very humbling,” she says. “And in some cases I do feel like a caretaker. But I also know this organization will be here long after I am gone.”

Indeed, Cotter has led Cleveland Legal Aid through numerous transitions, including major partnership and strategic alliances with other nonprofits as well as our city’s three major medical organizations; UH, Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth. 

“Colleen has been a tower of strength at Legal Aid,” says Cleveland legal legend Dick Pogue, formerly of Jones Day, Reavis and Pogue. “She always has a worthwhile point of view delivered with that engaging smile and enthusiasm.”

“Colleen understands that great leadership is not a solo sport,” adds Jim Sandman, former president of Legal Services Corp. as well as a senior consultant to the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. “She has worked with a broad coalition of other nonprofit groups, with the business community, with government and with the clients she serves to build an integrated, holistic and collaborative approach to delivering critical legal services to low-income people.”

“Under Colleen Cotter’s visionary leadership, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland has transformed into a powerhouse of advocacy and innovation,” says Quo Vadis Cobb, former president of The Cleveland Legal Aid Society’s board of directors. “Colleen’s bold approach — marked by creativity, collaboration and compassion — has not only elevated Legal Aid’s
impact but also reshaped how civil justice is delivered across Northeast Ohio.”

“In addition to the development of key programs that extend Legal Aid’s ability to enhance access to justice for those who otherwise cannot afford what many of us take for granted, I strongly believe that Colleen’s leadership has grown Legal Aid in less tangible but equally important ways,” adds Harlin Adelman, chief legal officer of University Hospitals Health System and newly elected president of the board of directors at Cleveland Legal Aid. 

Founded in 1905, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland is the fifth-oldest legal aid organization in the United States. Today it serves residents of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties.