PORTLAND – The Maine Bar Foundation recently announced that Meghan Smith has been hired as the campaign coordinator for the Campaign for Justice.

Smith will head the foundation’s efforts to raise funds for the state’s six legal aid providers: Pine Tree Legal Assistance, the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project, Maine Equal Justice Partners, Legal Services for the Elderly, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project and the Cumberland County Legal Aid Clinic.

Smith, of South Portland, is a 1996 graduate of Colby College, according to a press release issued by the foundation. She returned to Maine in 2005 after working in development for nonprofit groups in South Carolina.

The Campaign for Justice was created in 2004 to combine the fundraising efforts of the state’s legal aid providers. Last year, the campaign raised $400,000, making Maine second in the nation for attorney contributions to legal aid organizations.

The funds raised in 2007 helped legal aid providers assist 20,450 clients throughout Maine, according to the foundation.