Turner, Skowhegan attorneys among first recipients of Access to Justice tax credit

HALLOWELL – Attorneys from Turner and Skowhegan are among the 2022 recipients of a tax credit from the Access to Justice Tax Credit Program, the Maine Justice Foundation announced.
The Access to Justice Tax Credit was created by the Maine Legislature to encourage attorneys to provide services to underserved areas of the state. Starting this year, the program will authorize five lawyers a year who practice in underserved areas and maintain eligibility for five successive years to claim a $6,000 state income tax credit.
The 2022 attorneys selected are Cassandra Rogers and Benjamin Everett of Presque Isle, Taylor Kilgore of Turner, Gregory LeClerc of Standish and Ryan Rutledge of Skowhegan.
The foundation accepted applications from eligible attorneys from June 1 through July 5, and received submissions from eligible applicants statewide representing Penobscot, Hancock, Waldo, Aroostook, Somerset, Androscoggin and Cumberland counties.
To be eligible for selection, the recipient attorney has committed to practicing law in an underserved area for at least five years, are rostered by the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services to accept court appointments to represent clients in an underserved area and agree to perform pro bono legal services in an underserved area. Once eligibility was determined, the five recipients were made by random selection.