SIKESTON LAWYER NAMED NEW LEGAL SERVICES DIRECTOR

CHARLESTON -- Lew Polivick knows he is stepping into some pretty big shoes.

Polivick, 39, of Sikeston was named executive director Wednesday of Southeast Missouri Legal Services Inc. The decision was made when former Missouri Gov. Warren E. Hearnes, who directed the organization for 16 years, announced his retirement.

"The shoes are huge," Polivick said. "This is the man who took it from not doing a very good job to doing an excellent job."

Polivick is a good lawyer and has been one of the few staff lawyers for the legal aid organization, which mainly uses private lawyers, Hearnes said.

"He's been here for five years and he's seen the ins and outs," Hearnes said. "He'll do a good job."

The organization, based in Charleston, serves all of Southeast Missouri, from Perryville to the Arkansas line, by providing legal aid to those with little money.

Polivick grew up in Sikeston. He went to college at Murray State University in Kentucky and then to law school at the University of Missouri. He was in private practice in Sikeston until five years ago when he accepted the job of staff attorney for the legal services agency.

The board of directors whittled eight candidates to two: Polivick and former circuit judge A.J. Seier of Cape Girardeau.

"A.J. and Lew each had different strengths," said Steve Holden, senior member of the board of directors. "But I guess the board chose Lew because he's been with the program for five years. The board wanted to promote from within someone with a working knowledge of how the program works."

These skills are much needed for a job that requires administration of staff and reviewing eligibility guidelines, cases and clients. And the director has to make sure that the program stays within its $600,000 annual budget.

Polivick said he came on board five years ago with his eye on Hearnes' job. "I didn't want to be a staff attorney forever," he said.

He hopes to educate people as to how the operation works and what it does by going to civic organizations to give talks that will hopefully be covered by the media.

"We've been around many years. Still, people don't know what kind of cases we handle," he said. "It's very important."

The organization mainly handles civil matters such as child custody, divorce, bankruptcy, contractual problems, and drawing up of deeds.

He sees his biggest job as director to find more funding for the program.

"Every year Congress wants to cut us back," Polivick said. "Warren has been very instrumental in getting state funding, but we're still turning people away all the time.

"That's disappointing. Everybody should have access to the justice system. We can do more with more money."