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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Melanie Shakarian, a key player in growing The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s budget and impact for more than two decades, will leave the agency at the end of the month.

Legal Aid provides legal services in civil matters at no cost to low-income clients. Cleveland’s Legal Aid was the fifth such society to be founded in the United States in 1905. Pro bono volunteers handled the workload until 1959, when Legal Aid began to employ full-time attorneys who became experts in poverty law.

Trained as an attorney and with a background in fundraising and marketing, Shakarian was the first person to serve as Legal Aid’s director of development and communications. She has been instrumental in raising money through private philanthropy.

Shakarian spoke from a basement conference room at 1223 W. 6th St. A floor above, legal pamphlets lined the wall of a carpeted waiting room. On another wall hung signs in English and Spanish. They displayed messages like “Your civil rights are protected,” and “Legal Aid has answers.” The downtown office is one of three locations serving five counties: Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake and Lorain.

The waiting room was mostly empty Wednesday. Years ago, it would have been packed, Shakarian said. Now, down a hallway from the room, about a dozen people equipped with questionnaires crafted by attorneys staff a call center. Most people seeking aid today go through phone or internet.

For example, low-income people facing evictions in Cleveland Housing Court historically were at a disadvantage. Unlike criminal matters, citizens are generally not guaranteed a right to counsel in civil matters.

As a result, many cases in Housing Court resulted in default judgements in favor of landlords. Legal Aid attorneys educated public officials on the “significant unfairness” of this, Shakarian said, and Cleveland City Council in 2019 legislated a right to counsel for low-income tenants in eviction matters.

Shakarian has also partnered with colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth in fundraising efforts. Issues that Legal Aid helps with, such as access to education and domestic health and safety, are sometimes intertwined with medical issues.

Vanetta Jamison reached out to Legal Aid over 20 years ago when she found herself unsure of how to respond to her life’s circumstances.

The experience left such an impression on Jamison that she later volunteered with Legal Aid and has been involved in some capacity ever since. Now a former board president of the society – the first non-attorney to serve in that role – she also serves on a committee with the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation. She referred to Shakarian’s skill at networking and organizing projects as “Melanie magic.”

“There are a lot of unknowns going forward, I think,” Shakarian said. “Are there going to be potential changes with education law? Are there going to be potential changes with benefits law?

The depth of diversity in Legal Aid’s funding, thanks to Shakarian, means the organization will likely remain a Cleveland institution well into the future.

As for Shakarian, she said this is the end of her “act one.” She plans to create her own practice to help other legal aids and consult law firms in their pro bono programs. She said she’ll continue to stay involved with Legal Aid through pro bono work.

“We’ve seen that because when I started, we had zero donors. And as we grew donors, we were skewing a little more towards the attorneys. But going forward, and where we’re at now, it’s much more diverse. And I think that growing recognition, because of the important role we play in the community, means a lot. And I hope that continues.”

People who wish to make a gift to Legal Aid in Shakarian’s honor can go to https://lasclev.org/melanieretirement/.