WJA 2023: Amy Hirsch Diemer

Director of Legal Services, St. Francis Community Services, Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry

The COVID-19 pandemic caused heartache and inconvenience for many people, but for individuals in low-income communities it was especially rough.

That’s when organizations like the St. Francis Community Services, Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry (CLAM) got creative with their compassion, helping clients get access to the internet, transportation, and the legal services they needed.

“Today I think back on how some of our clients had to manage participating in court when it was so difficult for them,” said Amy Diemer, director of legal services at CLAM. “Some clients would even call in from their bus as they were going to work because they were determined to do everything possible to resolve their legal matters.”

Those efforts were all in a day’s work for Diemer and her team of six attorneys and three support staff.

Diemer has been a lawyer for over 30 years. She came to CLAM in 2015 from her post as Assistant County Counselor for St. Louis County and Special Assistant to the United States Attorney-Eastern District of Missouri. She is only the second director in the organization’s 36-year history.

She credits her father with leading her into the law.

“My dad is a retired lawyer, and when he invited colleagues to our house, I enjoyed listening to their conversations, she said. “I think there was an expectation that I would become a lawyer too.”

CLAM is funded through grants, private donations and the St. Louis Archdiocese and Catholic charities. The Saint Louis University School of Law donates office space and IT support. Diemer orchestrates it all and finds her role rewarding.

“I enjoy working with people who are under-resourced and who have legal needs that impact their ability to exit poverty, from retaining their driver’s license to having stable employment and housing, and other issues that are not eligible for a court-appointed lawyer,” she said. “Our office has a culture of service that guides us in getting to know and respect each individual, to understand where they’re coming from, and to spend the time diving a little deeper to learn how we can assist them in many ways, even beyond their legal needs.”