PORTLAND – Juliet Holmes-Smith passed away peacefully early Friday morning, August 14, 2020, at Maine Medical Center. Juliet was born in Hong Kong on Dec. 14, 1962 to Jennifer Holmes-Smith and Dr. John Holmes-Smith OBE, a pediatrician in the British Military. As a child, Juliet lived on army bases throughout Europe and the Far East, but she always felt that North Yorkshire was her true home. Juliet attended Great Ayton Friend’s School, in the Northeast of England, where she met her future husband, Campbell. After graduating from high school, she spent a year in Paris before moving to the United States at age 18 to join Campbell. Juliet attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and got a B.A. in Women and Gender Studies. After graduation, Juliet worked in Holyoke, Massachusetts helping teenage mothers obtain their GED. Her time at the Center informed her future life work, namely helping to improve the lives of the underserved. Juliet moved to Portland, Maine and worked at the Family Crisis Shelter as an advocate to ensure that children were safe and not silenced by trauma caused by domestic violence. Juliet subsequently obtained her J.D. at the University of Maine School of Law and worked at Pine Tree Legal Services representing victims of domestic violence. Juliet went on to become the Executive Director of the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP), and successfully established it as an independent agency. The VLP is a non-profit that provides access to justice for those who otherwise cannot afford it by coordinating services with pro bono attorneys. As the Executive Director, Juliet understood that our legal system only works if each party can fully avail themselves to the legal process. Wherever Juliet saw an obstacle, she worked to find ways to overcome it. As such, she started or worked to support a number of initiatives to give all Mainers the ability to access our legal system, including establishing legal clinics in courts across Maine. She also helped to establish a clinic at Preble Street Resource Center for those experiencing homelessness, a guardianship program to assist families affected by the opioid crisis, a bankruptcy clinic, and a clinic for small businesses impacted by the pandemic, as well as Law in Libraries and Free Legal Answers. In all these endeavors, Juliet worked quietly and without fanfare in true British fashion. She helped others with empathy, compassion, and great resolve. She was eternally grateful for those dedicated members of the legal community who made all these programs a success. Juliet was also active in the legal community. She joined Cumberland County’s Violence Intervention Partnership upon becoming an attorney; in 2001, the Governor appointed her to the Maine Commission on Domestic and Sexual Abuse. The Court sought her help as a member of their internal Domestic Violence Advisory Committee. In 2004, she was appointed to the Family Law Advisory Committee (which she continued to serve as their longest tenured member) and she was later appointed to the Victim Compensation Board for the State of Maine. Prior to her death, she served as Chair of the Justice Action Group Pro Bono Sub Committee.Juliet was a strong and fearless person. She had an unerring sense of justice and advocated for those who were less fortunate. She was not satisfied with the status quo and worked tirelessly in her efforts to afford everyone equal access to our legal system and the right to be treated with dignity. She was intellectually curious, loved to argue, debate, and even cross-examine, and her knowledge of history, culture and human motives allowed her to discern the essence of any issue. Most of all she was a warm, loving and kind human being. She helped others without judgment. Juliet had eclectic interests and could be equally found reading the Life of Thomas Cromwell to the fantastic adventures of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, watching Korean soap operas while eating chocolate, or tending to all the beautiful flowers in her garden. Juliet was a caring and nurturing mother to her two children, Thomas and Mary, and a loving (and often forgiving) life partner to her husband, Campbell. She was the center of her family and fills our lives with love, magic, and unending support.Juliet is survived by her husband, Campbell Badger; her two children, Thomas and Mary Badger; her father, Dr. Johnathan Holmes-Smith; her four siblings, Nancy, Johnathan, Jane, and Mary; her two sisters-in-law, Joanna Badger and Madonna Badger; and her many wonderful nieces and nephews, Sam and Alice Badger, Callum, Gareth, and Finn Smith, Sam and Ruby Holmes-Smith, Ada and Avery Carpenter, and Lettice and Willy Lledo.Visiting hours for Juliet will be held from 4:00-6:30 p.m., on Friday, August 21, 2020, at the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland. Appropriate social distancing and masks will be required. A private burial will be held at Evergreen Cemetery, Portland. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Juliet’s family have decided that a memorial service in J
uliet’s honor will have to wait until next year when we hope that it will be safe for her friends and colleagues to gather. Memorial contributions may be made in Juliet’s memory to the:Campaign for Justice
Volunteer Lawyers Project 75 Pearl St., Suite 214 Portland, ME 04101