����51

The Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship is created to attract talented lawyers to public interest law. Initially sponsored by the OEO’s Legal Services Program, the program moved to ����51 in the mid-1970s. From 1967 to 1985, when the program ended, there were approximately 2,000 “Reggies.” 

The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) launches the Legal Services Program, a precursor to ����51. The program serves as an early testing ground to learn about funding legal services for low-income Americans. Within nine months, 130 OEO legal services programs are being funded.