Juliet C. Holmes-Smith
December 14, 1962 ~ August 14, 2020
Resided in:
Portland, ME
Portland - Juliet Holmes-Smith passed away peacefully early Friday morning, August 14, 2020, at Maine Medical Center.
Juliet was born in Hong Kong on December 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 sister-in-laws, 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. Her heart was broken by the loss of her three beautiful nieces Lily, Sarah, and Grace Badger.
Visiting hours for Juliet will be held from 4:00-6:30pm, 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 Juliet'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 Volunteer Lawyers Project, 75 Pearl St., Suite 214, Portland, ME 04101.
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Juliet’s family, please accept my deepest condolences. I worked with her at PTLA and the VLP, and know first-hand how she quietly and resolutely worked for access to justice for low-income Mainers. I also know first-hand that she enjoyed a good time. We miss her. Laura Henderson
– Laura Henderson
in memory of a beautiful soul who made the world better every day
– my love to you all, chena
Your Friends in Oxford Hills express our deepest sympathy.
– Rick Colpitts and MSAD 17
Love from Daddy, with Nancy, Johnathan, Jane & Mary and all their children
– Tribute Store
Campbell, I am so very sorry to hear of Juliet’s journey and passing. You, Thomas, Mary and all your family are on my mind and in my heart. I always loved hearing about your family when we worked together. I am sending you strength and peace as you navigate through the hours and days ahead. I will hold you and your family in my thoughts. Peace. Nancy Mackin
– Nancy Mackin
I am at a loss for words. My heart has a hole in it.
– Frank D’Alessandro
What a wonderful and rich life.
– Alastair Beattie
Campbell & Family, Please accept our most heartfelt sympathies for your loss… Our thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.
– Tribute Store
With my deepest sympathy, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
– Eileen King
Campbell, She was an amazing individual. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Our deepest condolences and love,
– Lynn & Rick Saunders
We are so sorry Mary, Tom & Campbell. Juliette was more than a client to us, she was our friend. We will miss her dearly. Sending you love and light.
– Stacey & Sarah – Ollo Hair Salon
Dear Campbell, Nancy and families, We were so sorry to hear of Juliet’s untimely passing. I still have fond memories of her as both a classmate and friend many years ago. As a teenager, Juliet was fashionably stylish, effortlessly cool and endlessly charming, smart, quick witted and full of humour and fun – everything a young adult should be. But she also possessed a rare empathy and grace – she’d always root for the underdog and look out for, and take care of, the disaffected and disregarded around her; it comes as no surprise that she did the same things with such distinction throughout her adult career. It was so nice to meet her again at Ondrej’s wedding. Our thoughts and hearts are with you at this most difficult of times. With all good wishes, Robin and Marianne Kemp (Ayton School ’73 – ’80)
– Robin Kemp
On behalf of the Gorham Schools and myself personally … our prayers of support are with you and your family during this difficult time.
– Heather J. Perry
We will miss her so much. Anita and Ben
– Tribute Store
Juliet brightened every room she entered, and we will miss her dearly. Kathy and I are thinking of you and your family, Campbell.
– Brian Willing
Juliet was a colleague for many years. I just learned of her passing, and am stunned and full of sorrow. She was a lovely, sincere, compassionate person. I am so terribly sorry for your loss. Zichrona livracha. May her memory be a blessing.
– Judith Wohl
I knew Juliet just slightly and long ago, but I vividly remember her as someone who was beautiful inside and out. My memory of her is as a young woman, quiet but lively, with a lovely smile and a quick sense of humor. I am amazed to read about all she accomplished in her life, the enormous good she did, and deeply saddened that such a life has been cut short. My sincere sympathy to her family, friends, and colleagues.
– faye wolfe
Our thoughts are with you all during this difficult time. We are in debt to Juliet for her generosity to our community. She will be missed.
– Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office
Campbell, Thomas and Mary, what a wonderful woman Juliet was. Our hearts ache for you.
– Susan and Nick
For almost 22 years, Juliet has been a key part of Maine’s small legal aid community. Right now, it seems impossible that we must proceed without her insight, creativity and determination to make the civil justice system work for low-income individuals in our State. Only serendipity of the highest order could have ensured that Pine Tree Legal had an opening for a domestic violence attorney at the precise moment that Juliet was graduating from law school. At the time, all I knew was that the position had attracted the attention of a recent Maine Law graduate (cum laude) who had also received her BA in History from U Mass in Amherst while working on a part-time basis with teen mothers in Holyoke MA as a GED and writing teacher. After graduation, she had served as a facilitator of a year-long self-esteem group for at risk girls at King Middle School in Portland before taking a position at Family Crisis Services in Portland as a children’s advocate, focusing on how domestic violence affected families. In her cover letter, Juliet wrote, I decided to apply to law school while I was working as an advocate at the Family Crisis Center. I hoped that after I gained my law degree, I would have the opportunity to provide legal advocacy to victims of domestic violence in Maine. At the time I believe strongly that there was a need for more attorneys who understood the dynamics of domestic violence who could work more positive with victims of this type of abuse and I wanted to become one of those attorneys… Her letter also described some of her cases at the Law School Clinic (one of which had involved a full PFA hearing), her decision to focus her independent writing project on the domestic violence provisions in TANF, and her selection as a member of the four person Advanced Trial Advocacy Team. I was concerned that someone who had been working so long in domestic violence might only last a couple of years in the litigator role, but Juliet wowed everyone involved in that interview — and her references were equally powerful. Lois Reckitt had been Juliet’s supervisor and made it clear that only a complete idiot would fail to offer Juliet the position and do everything necessary to get her to say “yes.” The Clinic Director at the time was just as blunt in praising Juliet’s outstanding credentials as a student litigator and in making sure I knew she was one of the best he had seen. The next nine+ years both confirmed the wisdom of that original hire and disproved the myth that no legal aid attorney can last long doing domestic violence work. Juliet handled over 2,000 cases during her time in that role. Not surprisingly, most were protection from abuse proceedings in which she met just once with the client and then fiercely advocated on their behalf with the Court just days later. Eighty percent of her cases involved negotiation or a court hearing and her win ratio was 98%. People unfamiliar with this work might assume that all PFA cases involve basically the same issues: the following examples illustrate what she confronted on a weekly basis in Court: * The boyfriend who told our client their baby wasn’t “white enough” and made her older child stand outside in the snow for hours. * The abuser’s mother who tried to get custody of the child in the PFA hearing after her son went to jail as a result of the violence. * The abuser who had told our client that he would kill her but didn’t want to agree to a Court order because he wanted to keep his guns. * The abuser who tried to compel our client to bring their children for visits while he was in jail for assaulting her. * The 8-month pregnant mom whose abuser was trying to keep her from having their new baby furniture. Juliet also became a predictable fixture in Portland District Court on Friday mornings, evidenced by the following story from 2007 from another PTLA attorney who handled this work: I was covering PFAs for Juliet a few months ago, sitting in courtroom 2 and waiting for the docket call to start. 8:45 and still no judge on the bench, and the bailiff hustled out of chambers to talk to Family Crisis. I overheard what he was asking- “where is Juliet?” I walked over and let him know she wasn’t coming — they would have to make do with me. “Oh, I didn’t know!” he said. “I’ll tell the judge we can start now.” Not surprisingly, Juliet’s growing reputation for advocacy in this area began attracting wider attention, leading to appointments on virtually every board or committee addressing domestic violence and sexual assault issues: the Cumberland County’s Violence Intervention Partnership, the Maine Commission on Domestic and Sexual Abuse, the Court’s internal Domestic Violence Advisory Committee. the Family Law Advisory Committee, and the Victim Compensation Board. In 2004- 2005, Juliet was asked to develop a new initiative for private attorneys to provide pro bono assistance to victims of domestic violence, which she managed beautifully (and which continues to the present time under the auspices of the Volunteer Lawyers Project). Juliet also began taking more of a leadership role within Pine Tree, working on various grant proposals and becoming a managing attorney of the growing PTLA Family Law Unit in 2006. In January of 2008, she finally accepted our urging to become the VLP director, a role which has utilized all of her skills and talents on behalf of low-income Mainers needing legal assistance. For nine years, she led the VLP within Pine Tree. In 2017, her leadership made it possible for VLP to successfully become a standalone nonprofit, allowing it to leverage the full range of legal services/skills and capacity within Maine’s private bar. Over the past 3.5 years, Juliet and her skilled staff at VLP have continued to innovate and add to their menu of opportunities – even in the midst of the current pandemic, creating access to justice for Maine residents on a daily basis. I have also admired her ability to maintain a healthy work/life balance, always prioritizing her immediate and extended family ahead of every other commitment. And that enviable serenity which I like to credit to her regular yoga practice. And that fierce competitive streak that pushed her to success over and over again. And countless other attributes and actions that will undoubtedly come to mind in the weeks and months ahead and give me new cause for sorrow at the tremendous loss we now confront. Nan Heald
– Nan Heald
Campbell. My deepest condolences to you and your family. I only met julliet a few times but she was a very kind soul
– Bernie Mailloux
In deepest sympathy and with sincere condolences. From the Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
– Tribute Store
I had the privilege to work with Juliet and VLP as a Preble Street coordinator in the Maine Homeless Legal Project. Juliet was a force for good and a woman of great integrity and concern for others. I am sorry for her loss and know how much she will be missed by the legal community and all those whose lives were made better because of her efforts. My sincere condolences to Campbell, Thomas, and all the family. Mitzi Cerjan
– Mitzi Cerjan
Please accept our most heartfelt sympathies for your loss… Our thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.
– MSMA, MSBA and MSSA
Please accept our most heartfelt sympathies for your loss… Our thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.
– Tribute Store
I would not be the lawyer I am today had I not started my career under Juliet’s care at Pine Tree. Her zealous advocacy for victims of domestic violence was not lost on me and I continue to this day and will always work tirelessly to give victims a voice in court just the way Juliet taught me. I will miss her as my mentor, my colleague but most of all, as my friend. There is no one like her.
– Kim Pittman
Dear Campbell, Mary, Tom and family, Juliet was indeed a very special person who had an impact on everyone she came in touch with. I was honored to have worked for and with her and am deeply saddened by her loss. You all are in my thoughts and prayers and may you find inner strength and peace to guide you through this time of tremendous loss. I think back to when she attended the MBA’s summer meeting in Bar Harbor and Richard Dryfus was the guest spearker. I recall that Juliet was not impressed with his attitude and when she had the opportunity to ask him a question, she commented on how grumpy he was which apparently didn’t go over well with him. We all had a good laugh when she shared that story. Respectfully, Janice Farwell
– Janice Farwell
We are so sorry to hear about Juliet. What a great loss to you, Campbell, Mary and Thomas, as well as the impoverished and disenfranchised seeking justice. Her legacy of empathy and selflessness will surely endure. Chris Williams and Sarah Cecil
– Chris Williams
Juliet was a force. But even more important was a sweet and loving individual who spoke often of her love for her husband and children. I have known her since her days at the Family Crisis Shelter and worked with her when she was at VLP. I am so sad to hear of her loss. I am sorry that I won’t be able to attend calling hours but hope to join you when a celebration of her life is scheduled next year. She made a difference for a lot of vulnerable people. She will be missed. Anita St. Onge
– Anita St Onge
My sincere sympathy to Nancy and all of Juliet’s family. May she rest in peace. Cathy Clifford, Cahirciveen.
– Cathy
With love our most heartfelt condolences.
– Your Drummond Woodsum Family
I am writing to express our deepest condolences and sympathy to Juliet’s family. I know I speak on behalf of the entire judiciary and legal profession when I say that she was held in the highest esteem by judges and lawyers. We are all shocked and saddened beyond words to hear of her untimely passing I had the pleasure of working with Juliet in several capacitates in my role as Chair of the Justice Action Group. Juliet was the VLP representative to that group and she was an active and effective advocate for Maine’s underserved populations and the need for meaningful access to the courts. Seeking volunteers is always a challenging task, but Juliet’s compassionate demeanor and dedication made it impossible to say no. The people of Maine and the legal profession were well served by her commitment to access to justice. Her work remains as a lasting legacy to the highest virtues of the legal profession. Again, we offer our heartfelt condolences. Hon. Andrew M. Mead Acting Chief Justice Maine Supreme Judicial Court
– Andrew Mead
Remembering Juliet and all she has meant for access to justice in Maine
– Tribute Store
Campbell, Tom and Mary, I am so sorry to hear of Juliet’s untimely passing. It is hard to accept that such a strong woman is no longer with us. But her legacy, her gifts, her commitment and her love will live on forever in your hearts and minds. She clearly lived her life by the ideals embedded within her soul. I know that you will find strength in each other’s love now. She was a fine and honorable woman….I and so many others will miss her. Lin Martin-Hunt
– Lin Martin-Hunt
From Juliet’s friends at Through These Doors, formerly Family Crisis Shelter. Her contributions are with us still; her work and words inspired many.
– Tribute Store
My deepest condolences for the passing of Juliet. In 1980 I was a classmate of Jane Holmes-Smith in Great Ayton, England, and was hoping to get in touch with Jane. Jane, if you read this, please reach out to me. I live in Harrisburg, PA. I am hoping you remember me. Sincerely, Farzad Sharif (717) 772-4887
– Farzad Sharif
Juliet was an outstandingly positive and principled girl (We were at the same boarding school) Remember many discussions re the truly important things in life. Never forgotten. Big hugs to Badger n family, Kathy Wyatt ( UK)
– Kathleen Wyatt
The thing I most admire about Juliet is that she knew how to be fierce, calm, kind and funny – all at once. Not many humans have figured out how to do that.
– Kathleen Caldwell
Our deepest sympathies and condolences.
– Regional School Unit #57
Juliet was one of the the most lovely people I have ever known. I am so very sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences, Anie Kline (PTLA)
– Tribute Store
Georgia Houle Dear Campbell, Tom, Mary and family: I was so sorry to hear of Juliet’s illness and passing. She was such a caring person and a joy to work with. I have many fond memories of the times I was lucky enough to share some afternoon tea and bond with friends at the VLP. Take care of each other and know I think of your family often. Georgia
– Georgia Houle
With deepest condolences.
– Tribute Store
Always remembered
– The Smith Family, Ireland
With caring thoughts,
– Richard and Denise McGee
Juliet improved the lives of so many people in our community, and inspired others to see how they too might make a difference. We will miss her very much. Bill Kayatta
– William Kayatta
With love to the family From Juliets Board of Directors
– Tribute Store
She walked me home, along the Falls Road, when I was ill. With her background the teacher should never have allowed it.
Just googled Juliet as I found a drawing from primary school and was very sorry to see this.
Juliet briefly attended a primary school in Northern Ireland