It was with great admiration and deep respect that we nominated Family Law Magistrate Jamie Adkins of the Talbot County Circuit Court for the 2026 Judiciary Maryland Pro Bono Service Award in recognition of her extraordinary commitment to expanding access to justice for the families of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
A magistrate’s role is, by its nature, one of adjudication — to hear the facts, apply the law, and render decisions. Most who hold such positions discharge those duties faithfully and well. Jamie Adkins does all of that, and then she goes further. She has come to understand, with clarity and conviction, that the formal legal system — however carefully and fairly administered — cannot fully serve the public if the public cannot meaningfully access it. That understanding has driven her to invest her time, her expertise, and her influence in service of families who would otherwise navigate the most consequential legal proceedings of their lives entirely alone.
Family law matters — custody disputes, protective orders, divorce, child support — carry stakes that are immediate and profound. They determine where children sleep at night, whether a parent can maintain a relationship with a son or daughter, and whether a family escaping domestic violence can find safety and legal protection. For low-income individuals and families on the Eastern Shore, geographic isolation, limited resources, and a shortage of affordable legal representation compound these challenges enormously. The gap between the legal system as it exists and the legal system as it is accessible to ordinary people is wide. Magistrate Adkins has played an important role in closing this gap for Eastern Shore families.
Magistrate Adkins has been a stalwart ally of pro bono services on the Eastern Shore. She regularly serves on informational panels to help engage and educate volunteer attorneys. She extends an open invitation to students, interns, volunteers, and new civil legal aid staff to observe her courtroom. Magistrate Adkins demonstrates every day a fundamental commitment to ensuring that the law operates justly for everyone who comes before it, regardless of income or circumstance. She has supported Shore Legal Access’s work in ways both formal and informal, lending her knowledge, her credibility, and her time to efforts that extend legal assistance to families who have no other means of obtaining it.
Magistrate Adkins swears in new volunteers for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) who serve as a vital support for children in family court proceedings. Child welfare and custody matters are among the most emotionally and legally complex cases in the family court system. CASA volunteers ensure that the interests and experiences of children are heard and considered, providing judges and magistrates with an independent perspective grounded in the child’s lived reality. Magistrate Adkins recognizes that access to justice for families must include the youngest and most vulnerable members of those families — children who have no ability to advocate for themselves.
Magistrate Adkins has responded to this reality with encouragement and engagement. She has worked to ensure that self-represented litigants understand what to expect, what is required of them, and how to get help. This work requires patience, empathy, and a genuine belief in the dignity of every person who walks through the courthouse door. Magistrate Adkins brings all of these qualities to bear.
It bears noting that Magistrate Adkins’ dedication to access to justice reflects not a job requirement but a personal and professional ethos — a belief that those who have been given access to the law have an obligation to extend that access to others. In a rural jurisdiction with significant unmet legal need, this ethos has made a meaningful and measurable difference in the lives of real families.
The legal profession has long recognized pro bono service as one of its highest callings. When a member of the judiciary embraces that calling — not merely as a participant but as a champion, a partner, and a leader — it sends a message to the entire legal community about what justice requires of us. Magistrate Jamie Adkins has sent that message loudly and consistently, through years of quiet, dedicated service to the families of Talbot County and the Eastern Shore.
She is, in every sense, deserving of this honor.