A memorial service for longtime advocate Jack Daniel will be held Saturday, March 6 in Fresno. The service will take place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cecil C. Hinton Community Center, 2485 S. Fairview Ave., Fresno.

Please see the original announcement (posted on Jan. 5) below:

LAAC is sorry to share that our friend Jack Daniel at Central California Legal Services passed away over the weekend. Jack was an amazing advocate,  someone who wore different hats at different times, always willing to work another angle in the fight for justice. Below is a tribute from his friends at CCLS.

Please also visit http://www.jackdanielremembered.blogspot.com/ to share your favorite memories. All who had the good luck to meet him have one.

Jack Daniel Passes

I just received news that Jack Daniel died on Saturday. He went into a coma on New Year’s Eve and remained comatose for thirty six-hours. His wife Mary and family members were with Jack during his final hours. Home hospice workers helped make the final hours as comfortable as possible for him.

Mary informs me that memorial services have not yet been planned. She will inform me when plans are finalized.

Jack’s first association with legal aid was that of client in the early 1970’s. Later he collaborated with legal aid as a community organizer. Eventually Jack worked with several legal aid organizations. He held numerous positions including: paralegal; attorney; trainer; managing attorney; director of litigation; regional counsel and any other position where he could be of service to the client community.

Jack worked with Legal Aid of Western Michigan, East Texas Legal Services, Benchmark Institute, California Rural Legal Assistance had three “tours of duty” at CCLS. He also squeezed in stints as deputy public defender, general counsel of the United Farm Workers of America Education and Legal Defense Fund and as a civil rights specialist at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In each of his positions Jack has brought a zeal for the work that inspired those around him.
Jack was never been a nine-to-five person. Almost anyone who worked with Jack has been the recipient of 2:00 AM emails in which Jack sought to share a litigation strategy or novel legal argument that he had just thought up. Many times on a Monday morning one would find their email in-box crammed with messages from Jack sent throughout the weekend.

No matter where he is worked, he always found time to do pro-bono work. Jack believed that legal aid attorneys who ask private attorneys to work pro-bono should lead by example. When congress placed restrictions on the work that legal aid attorneys could do, Jack voluntarily reduced his hours of work. No longer employed full time as a legal aid attorney he used his freed up time to work pro bono on cases that he could not work on at an LSC funded legal aid organization.

In 1999 Jack received the State Bar President’s Pro Bono award for work on cases he did outside of his already heavy load at Central California Legal Services.

In his career with legal services Jack was been involved in almost every area of poverty law. He worked on service cases and impact cases. He forged alliances with numerous organizations and agencies. He took special pride in his work with youth.
Jack worked collaboratively with other legal aid organizations and private attorneys. He recognized the strength in bringing together differing views and perspectives to get the best result possible.

Jack believed that legal aid work best when we work with community based organizations. Client participation and leadership was paramount to Jack. He effectively worked with CBOs to identify impact issues. Once the issues were identified Jack sought solutions that promoted community involvement and empowerment.

Jack was a tireless advocate for justice for disenfranchised individuals and communities. His commitment to justice was infused with a singular sense of humor that kept him, co-workers and often his clients, going through the most difficult of challenges.

Rest in peace, Jack.