Page 34 - Delaware Lawyer - Summer 2019

FEATURE
James G. McGiffin, Jr.
OF COUNSEL: Brian Hartman
Providing access to jus- tice is more than an ideal to Brian Hart-
man. It was a career. It is now a legacy.
These days, Brian en- joys retirement in the Catskill Mountains, com- muning with nature in the good company of his wife, Celeste. But for over 40 years, he devoted all of his professional energies to clearing paths for others who needed access to jus- tice in a variety of arenas.
A native of Chicago,
Brian came to Delaware
as a teen when DuPont
transferred his father.
Brian went to high school
and college here, at Salesianum and University of Delaware, where he studied political science and psychology. He developed an interest in making the system work for people with disabilities and attended Villanova Law School to realize that goal. While a law student, he volunteered for Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI). Upon his graduation, Brian was hired to do pov- erty law work with that agency.
In those early days with CLASI, Brian worked with children accused of status offenses or delinquency. Many of those children had disabilities but marginal access to support services to accommodate their needs. Having recently attended a seminar on legislative advocacy featuring Dave Swayze, Brian accepted that challenge, and his course was set.
At about the same time Brian was cutting his teeth as a new lawyer, CLASI was designated by the Governor as the Protec- tion and Advocacy (P&A) Agency for people with disabilities in Delaware, making it part of the national Protection and Advocacy System for people with disabilities. Part of the P&A mandate is a broad approach to legal advocacy, including the sometimes mysterious regulatory and legislative processes. Brian understood that one could have a profound impact on the lives of people with disabilities by representing their interests in the places where legal rights and responsibilities are first defined.
Brian partnered with the agencies, both gov- ernmental and non-prof- it, to develop a legal in- frastructure establishing the rights of people with disabilities to be free from discrimination, to enjoy due process of law, to par- ticipate in education, em- ployment, elections, and to receive necessary medi- cal and attendant services. He worked on changes to the law to prevent some injuries that result in disabilities (bicycle and vehicular helmet require- ments for minors, for ex- ample). Some of his work has also addressed issues with disabilities.
32 DELAWARE LAWYER SUMMER 2019
for the parents of children and adults
Brian spent thousands of hours working with a large list of
boards and commissions (as many as 19 at a time), often by gu- bernatorial appointment. These boards and commissions are populated by various stakeholders through legislative mandate, and the collaborative efforts of the diverse parties bear fruit in the form of positive changes in the law. Brian was always the voice of the consumer at the table, guided by the views of coali- tions of constituents and advocates.
Working to provide access to justice for people traditionally left out of the process was a personally rewarding experience, Brian explains. He appreciates that his work had a great deal of impact in Delaware, and his legacy (though he doesn’t like that word) is a framework that others can use to continue encourag- ing full participation by everyone in all the activities of life.
Brian now devotes himself to a “rustic” existence. Retire- ment is a “great phase of life,” as he lives lakeside, embraced by nature. He runs, he does yoga, he operates his backhoe and front-end loader and he and Celeste see the grandchildren regu- larly. His latest goal: to climb all 35 high peaks in the Catskills.
Brian Hartman broke a lot of ground with the work he did to develop the law in ways that help people with disabilities. Now he breaks ground to landscape his rustic home. He’s earned it.