Carolyn E. Johnson named Chief Counsel

(Jan. 24, 2023)

Carolyn E. Johnson, Esq., Legal Aid of Southeastern PA Chief Counsel

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP) Executive Director Shawn Boehringer announced that Carolyn E. Johnson, Esq. will be LASP's new Chief Counsel, effective Feb. 1, 2023. Carolyn replaces Kesha James, who became Executive Director for Management Information Exchange (MIE). Kesha served as LASP’s Deputy Director for Advocacy from 2013-2022.

“As Chief Counsel, Carolyn’s focus will be to guide the overall service delivery of the organization and maximize the impact of LASP's legal work,” Boehringer said. "Carolyn has been a leading legal services bankruptcy lawyer for a number of years and is one of the foremost consumer lawyers in the state."

Most recently, Carolyn served as Interim Supervising Attorney for LASP’s Regional Housing Unit. The unit assists homeowners who face losing their homes to mortgage foreclosure or tax sale. She is a career legal aid attorney with experience advocating for the legal, financial, and health care service needs of low-income communities.

Carolyn stated, “I look at legal services from a broad perspective, asking, ‘How do we help the overall community as well as individuals?’ and what legal steps would be most impactful for our eligible clients, including their housing, their families, their finances and all the issues that impact them.”

She cited some of LASP’s newer areas of focus: expungements, disaster legal aid in response to Hurricane Ida, and veterans advocacy. “I've found this organization to be responsive to the community. I have been impressed by that,” she said. Looking forward, Carolyn anticipates an increased need for LASP services due to inflation and the end of pandemic programs that provided economic support to low-income people.

Carolyn is the former Executive Director of Community Impact Legal Services (CILS) and Legal Aid of Chester County, where she directed operations, fundraising, community outreach, messaging, events, and staffing. In 2022, she was an Honoree at LASP's Fête for Justice. She also has received the Don’t Borrow Trouble Suburban Philadelphia Award and the United Way of Chester County Community Partner Award. Carolyn is significantly involved with community organizations in the Coatesville area. She was the co-founder, and is current President of, the Coatesville Center for Community Health and also serves as President of the Coatesville Area Public Library.