Editor’s note: The federal government withdrew grant funding for this research in 2025.
The pioneering (MLPC) has won national recognition for the free legal services it provides to vulnerable families in tandem with their community-based healthcare.
At the recent 2014 held in Seattle, Washington, MLPC Hawaiʻi was one of two organizations recognized by the National Center for Medical Legal Partnership and honored with a 2014 Outstanding Medical-Legal Partnership Award.
The MLPC team was formed as a project of the at the and involves both law students and law graduates in its work.
MLPC Hawaiʻi works within the , providing legal services to hundreds of families served by the grassroots community health center. In its five years of operation, the legal team has served more than 500 clients.
The entire MLPC Hawaiʻi team was in Seattle to receive the award, including Dina Shek, legal director and co-founder; Alicia Turlington, medical director; Randy Compton, staff attorney and Uʻilani Goods, law fellow.
“Our MLPC team sees our role as neighbors, as part of the community,” said Shek. “We're not just professionals reaching across disciplines. We’re professionals reaching through the trappings of professionalism to work hand-in-hand, side-by-side, with our patients, clients, children—our community.
Read the for more.