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Jeff Been, ’84, who taught legal writing at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law from 1984 to 1987, will retire as executive director of the Legal Aid Society in Louisville. He will step down as soon as the board of directors names a new individual to the post in late 2015 or early 2016.

Been joined the Legal Aid Society in 1992 and has held a number of positions in the organization, including director of the HIV/AIDS Legal Project, and associate director. He has served as executive director, the group’s fifth since it was founded in 1921, for more than 10 years. During his time leading the society, it moved to a new building, saw a 30 percent growth in annual funding, a 60 percent growth in attorney and private gifts, and a 100 percent increase in clients served each year. Also during Been’s tenure as executive director, the Legal Aid Society saw the creation of its first endowment, and the establishment of more than 15 collaborative partnerships that leveraged federal funds to help clients on economic, housing, and family law issues, and more than $1.2 million in technology grants to expand access to legal services for low-income clients.

“It has been an honor and privilege to work at the Legal Aid Society,” Been said. “During law school, many of us aspire to advance justice and do the right thing in our careers as an attorney. I appreciate Legal Aid fulfilling that dream for me. The clients of Legal Aid inspire all of us with their courage and fortitude. The attorneys, staff, and volunteers of Legal Aid pursue justice every day. It is often demanding work that does not garner the spotlight, but it is work that advances families in crisis, empowers the disabled, and protects those living at the margins who most need the protection of the law. I am deeply proud of my colleagues and the dedication they have to our clients.”

Prior to joining the Legal Aid Society, Been clerked in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and was a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.