Grisham hosted Legal Aid learning party

Thursday, October 23 was a festive yet thought-provoking night at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, as benefactors and friends of the Legal Aid Justice Center gathered to see a new film that tackles the thorny subject of immigration as it has played out in Prince William County.

Best-selling author John Grisham, a longtime Center benefactor, served as master of ceremonies for the film and panel discussion that followed.

The event, the Center’s annual fundraiser, raised $150,000, according to the development director, Susan Kruse. Were the pledges made before the financial panic? “People have been giving generously,” answered Kruse, “all year.”