Former CBA President Norman K. Janes has announced his plans to retire at the end of the year from his position as executive director of Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, ending a 40-year career almost exclusively dedicated to providing legal services to the low-income residents of his state. Aside from a four-year stint as a history teacher in the early ‘70s, Janes has worked with different legal aid programs throughout Connecticut since graduating from law school in 1968.

Looking back on decades of service to the poor, Janes says, “When I started in legal aid, my colleagues and I wanted to change the world. We wanted to use the law to eliminate poverty. Forty years later, it’s obvious there’s still work to be done, but we have definitely made some far-reaching changes, and we have definitely made a significant difference in the lives of innumerable individuals, and I am confident that SLS will continue to do so after I leave.”

Janes will serve as interim executive director of the Connecticut Bar Association for the first nine months of 2009.

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