Spider brings legal services to the underserved

Ariel Rothstein Clemmer, ’05, developed two essential leadership principles at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies: intention and authenticity. Today, she applies both as executive director of 603 Legal Aid, New Hampshire’s centralized intake organization providing free civil legal services.

Last year, 130,000 civil legal cases reached New Hampshire courts — and many more never made it that far. “We’re responsible for serving all of those people, including all the people that couldn’t get to the court system,” Clemmer says. Leading a team of 30 employees, she’s expanded the organization’s reach since arriving two years ago.

Before taking the helm at 603 Legal Aid, Clemmer practiced public defense and family law, finding satisfaction in one-on-one client work. Now, she’s redefined impact. “What I’m doing is really impacting the system as a whole,” she says. “I can look at the impact from the highest level and see how many people’s lives we’ve touched this year.”

Servant leadership, a concept central to her Jepson education, guides her approach. One semester, she worked at a juvenile facility doing art therapy with incarcerated youth — experience that foreshadowed her current calling. “I really see a connection with the education I received at Jepson to the work that I’m doing today,” she says.

Clemmer’s leadership style is hands-on and staff-centered. “I don’t believe in leading from a distance,” she says. “I stay close to the work, close to my team, and close to the communities we serve.”

That commitment extends to fundraising. When she started, 603 Legal Aid was about 70% federally funded. She’s since raised over $2 million, including launching the Hope for Heroes initiative, which provides veteran-specific legal support.

“The work we do changes lives,” she says. “I never lose sight of that.”