Representatives from NYLAG, the New York Immigration Coalition and the Consulate General of Mexico join City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito at a large-scale clinic on March 29.

President Obama’s immigration relief program may be on hold following a Texas judge’s temporary injunction, but the City has not missed a beat in its support for New York’s immigrants. Most recently, on April 6, Mayor de Blasio and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that 70 cities and counties across the US – all members of the newly formed Cities United for Immigration Action, have joined them in filing an amicus brief arguing that the President’s program is in the best interests of the nation, and must move forward.

“Cities are where immigrants live, and cities are where the President’s executive action will be successfully implemented. Our cities are united, and we will fight for the immigration reform this nation needs and deserves – whether in the courtroom, in Congress, or in our communities,” Mayor de Blasio said in a press statement.

Representatives from NYLAG, Make the Road, Catholic Charities and MinKwon Center join the Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal at a press event promoting the April 12 clinic.

“NYLAG applauds the Mayor’s stance. The President’s plan is currently the only solution to the decades-long legislative deadlock in Congress over immigration reform,” said Irina Matiychenko, Director of NYLAG’s Immigration Protection Unit. “While it does not provide a pathway to full legal status, those who qualify will receive work authorization and other benefits. Parents and children will have a respite from the constant threat of separation, and hardworking immigrants will be able to find legal employment for a fair wage.”

The President’s program permits undocumented immigrants who have lived in the US for five years and are the parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to request deferred action and employment authorization through a new Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. The plan also expands Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy introduced in 2012 that provides temporary relief to immigrants who were brought to the US as young children. The judge’s order does not affect those eligible for original DACA, or DACA renewals.

Reaching Immigrants Now

NYLAG staff members and volunteer attorneys screen clients at an immigration clinic hosted at the Consulate General of Mexico on April 6.

Meanwhile, New York continues its focus on reaching out to immigrants in advance of the implementation of the President’s reforms. The City Council, under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), led by Commissioner Nisha Agarwal, have made it a priority to provide immigrants with accurate information and legal and other services to help them prepare for executive action, and to warn them of the dangers of fraud.

On Sunday April 12th, the City Council and MOIA will each host large-scale legal screenings, which are expected to draw hundreds of immigrants in need of assistance. The City Council’s event, to take place in Brooklyn, is part of the “Key to the City” initiative, co-sponsored by the New York Immigration Coalition. The MOIA screening, in Manhattan, is being held in partnership with NY State’s Office for New Americans and Catholic Charities Community Services.*

NYLAG, along with other legal services and community organizations, have helped to plan and promote the events, and will be staffing them. At the clinics, with the support of pro bono attorneys and other volunteers, they will be assessing all potential avenues for status relief for immigrants. Those who do qualify for DACA or DAPA will be told how to prepare for the filing process by collecting the necessary documentation, and reminded that they are still free, if eligible, to apply under the original DACA provision. Immigrants will be encouraged to be wary of unethical and fraudulent immigration services providers, and to seek legal advice only from licensed attorneys or BIA accredited representatives.

NYLAG has extensive experience in conducting large-scale, community-based screening clinics. They were first developed in 2010 after the earthquake in Haiti, when the US granted Temporary Protected Status to Haitian nationals residing in the US. Since then the agency has conducted screening clinics in neighborhoods across the City. In the last few months alone, since President Obama announced executive action, NYLAG has staffed nine clinics, and screened over 700 immigrants. The results have been promising.  Many of those screened are potentially eligible for relief under the new programs, but also have options for permanent relief that they would not have known about had they not received a legal screening.

According to Maryann Tharappel, clinic project coordinator and a staff attorney in the Immigrant Protection Unit who has been a leader in developing NYLAG’s clinic model, “The April 12th events were created out of an incredible collaboration across legal and social service providers, elected officials, City leaders and community organizations – all committed to helping immigrants prepare and know their rights. Even more important, since the injunction, these events are a way to make sure that immigrants affected by the ruling do not lose heart, and know that they have our support.”

*Update: The two April 12th clinics together provided assistance to 685 immigrants.

Joseph Schofield with NYLAG Housing Attorney Leigh Mangum.

Third-year law student Joseph Schofield finished his coursework at CUNY School of Law in December and took the New York State Bar exam in February. He came to NYLAG on March 2nd to devote his final semester to working full time as a New York State Pro Bono Scholar. Three days later, he was shadowing an attorney in Queens Housing Court, observing as she explained NYLAG’s retainer agreement to a client, negotiated with opposing counsel, and made arguments to judges. By his second week, Joseph was conducting client intakes, advising clients after consultation with a supervisor, obtaining court documents, and requesting documents from various state agencies. But that first visit to Housing Court remains vivid:

“From the moment you arrive, there is a distinct impression that people are being pushed along in the machine of a deeply impersonal bureaucracy. It was the day of one of our last big snow storms. People were waiting outside as the snow fell, then waiting again to get through security where they had to remove their belts and jackets and weren’t allowed to bring in food or water. Their next task was to wait as long as an hour or more for a landlord’s attorney to call their name and begin negotiations. Too often in Housing Court, things happen only at the mercy of the landlord attorney. It is such a privilege to be able to help level that playing field.”

Joseph is one of 13 law students who have made the choice to devote their last semester of study to pro bono service at NYLAG through the State’s Pro Bono Scholars Program, the brainchild of NY State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, who launched the program last year. They come from five law schools: CUNY, Fordham, Cornell, St. John’s, and Hofstra. All of them, and the scores of other scholars working at legal service agencies and law firms across the State, have one thing in common — they are pro bono pioneers. They have chosen a different path to becoming a lawyer, one that will get them there more quickly, with more practical lawyering experience, and a deeper understanding of the role pro bono work plays in closing the justice gap.

NYLAG welcomes the 2015 class of Pro Bono Bono Scholars at a reception.

In addition to housing law, Pro Bono Scholars are working with NYLAG attorneys in the areas of immigration, special education, public benefits, elder law and consumer protection. Each area’s project is structured differently to accommodate the interests of individual students, the preferences of law schools, and the areas of greatest need for expanded resources within NYLAG.

The CUNY program is focused on housing, and because housing law is not always predictable, Ann Cammett, a professor at CUNY, and NYLAG’s Associate Director, Housing Law, Kamilla Sjödin, designed it to be flexible.  NYLAG’s four CUNY scholars are supervised by housing attorneys, yet have a degree of flexibility in the work that they do, and manage their own schedules. They understand that they need to be able to respond quickly and reprioritize in order to assist clients who have been locked out, or face imminent eviction or another crisis situation.

According to Sjödin, “While structure and training is important, we wanted students to have their own cases, and have their own clients right away. We support them, but ultimately, jumping in right away is the best way to teach them how to be lawyers. What I hadn’t expected is how their presence has reinvigorated our staff. Their excitement and dedication is contagious.”

NYLAG’s partnership with Fordham Law evolved somewhat differently. Marcella Silverman, Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Fordham, who teaches a Consumer Litigation Clinic and actively practices consumer law, approached Daphne Schlick, Associate Director of NYLAG’s Consumer Protection Project, about setting up a pro bono clinic.

“Marcella is an active consumer law attorney who has deep hands-on experience supervising students who participate in Fordham’s Consumer Litigation Clinic, so this was just such a natural fit for us. Together we have designed a program that balances real-world and academic learning,” says Schlick. “NYLAG’s consumer protection attorneys and the pro bono scholars, working closely with Marcella, have forged a true partnership that is giving our scholars the opportunity to gain practical legal experience and bring legal services to more New Yorkers. We are thrilled to have them and impressed by their commitment.”

There are many synergies: Students in Fordham’s Consumer Litigation Clinic work with legal services and private attorneys to enforce the rights of low-income consumers against merchants, lenders, assignees, and credit reporting agencies. NYLAG’s consumer protection attorneys leverage the support of law students and other volunteers to fight a wide range of consumer fraud, including predatory lending, illegal debt collection practices, and identity theft. The added support of the Pro Bono Scholars means NYLAG staff can take on more cases and litigate cases for which they may have otherwise only been able to provide advice.

“This partnership between Fordham Law School’s Consumer Litigation Clinic and NYLAG is an important and valuable one,” says Professor Silverman. “Educationally, it immerses these full-time Clinic students in a rich range of practice areas and settings, and allows them to work with and learn from a team of clinical faculty and practicing legal services lawyers.  In turn, these students contribute their professional training, talent, skill and passion to serve low-income people, and enable both the Clinic and NYLAG to expand their delivery of legal services to protect consumers’ rights.”

New York State leads the way in developing cutting edge initiatives that can improve the delivery of justice for everyone, but especially for the poor and most vulnerable. The Pro Bono Scholars program is just the latest innovation – one that NYLAG is proud to be a part of.

Complete list of NYLAG’s Pro Bono Scholars

Melissa Brumer, Fordham University School of Law, Consumer Protection

Michael Connors, CUNY School of Law, Housing

Scott Davidson, Cornell Law School, Special Education

Austen Ishii, Fordham University School of Law, Consumer Protection

Steven Lee, Hofstra University School of Law, Immigration

Philip Mercadante, Cornell Law School, Elder Law

Sharone Miodovsky, CUNY School of Law, Housing

Grace Nam, Fordham University School of Law, Consumer Protection

Alin Onefater, Fordham University School of Law, Consumer Protection

Walsy Saez, Fordham University School of Law, Consumer Protection

Philippo Salvio, CUNY School of Law, Housing Project

Joseph Schofield, CUNY School of Law, Housing Project

Robert  Stanton, St. John’s University School of Law, Public Benefits

L to R: Supervising Attorney of the LGBTQ Law Project Anya Mukarji-Connolly, Advisory Board members Christopher Riano, Deborah Berkman, David O’Connell and Erik Graham-Smith

NYLAG’s LGBTQ Law Project celebrated the arrival of spring and recognized the support of its Advisory Board, LGBTQ organizations and law firm partners at a reception on May 14. The event was hosted by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, a strong supporter of NYLAG.

Click here to view photos from the event.

Anya Mukarji-Connolly, Supervising Attorney of the LGBTQ Law Project, welcomed guests, recognized the contributions of the Project’s staff, and thanked the Advisory Board members for their support. The board was established in 2014 to provide guidance and propose initiatives that can further the impact of the LGBTQ Law Project.

“I want to recognize and thank our Advisory Board – each of you has made personal and professional commitments to our work – spending many an early morning meeting with us to help grow this vital program,” said Mukarji-Connolly. “Together with our staff, community and law firm partners and elected officials, we have fought to protect our client’s relationships with their children, helped LGBTQ survivors of intimate partner violence access the courts and seek orders of protection, and ensured that transgender and gender non-conforming immigrants can access the courts to seek a legal name change.”

Christopher Riano, Partner, Drohan Lee LLP.

“It is so heartwarming to see so many old friends and new faces here tonight in support of the critical mission of NYLAG’s LGBTQ Law Project,” said Christopher Riano. “On behalf of the Advisory Board, thank you so much for supporting our work, which provides for our ability to offer direct civil legal assistance to those LGBTQ New Yorkers among us who are most in need.”

The LGBTQ Law Project was founded in 2008 at a time when there were few legal service programs addressing the wide range of civil legal needs among low-income LGBTQ communities in New York City. Many programs focused on a particular segment of the community or a particular issue. NYLAG saw the need for a comprehensive legal service program for low-income or no-income LGBTQ New Yorkers, regardless of age or immigration status.

In 2014, the LGBTQ Project’s legal staff and volunteers served over 350 people in over 450 legal matters including family law, employment, housing, public benefits, shelter access, name changes, gender marker changes, and life planning. NYLAG also works in coalition with community organizations, the Mayor’s office and the City Council to expand the rights of LGBTQ New Yorkers. In the last year, the City has made great strides: a gender affirming Municipal ID program was launched; State and City birth certificate policies were reformed; a trans-exclusion Medicaid policy was revoked, and stronger policies were introduced to enable New York City’s Commission on Human Rights and Human Resource Administration to better serve LGBTQ communities.

The Project staffs six monthly legal clinics in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, and works with LGBTQ organizations and City Council members in Queens and Brooklyn to provide Know Yours Rights trainings and legal clinics. NYLAG partners with LGBTQ social service providers across the city, including Destination Tomorrow, Center Families, NY LGBT Community Center, Rainbow Heights Club, LeGaL, Trinity Place Shelter, and SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders).

According to Daniel Brito, Art Coordinator and Guest Speaker Coordinator with Rainbow Heights Club, who attended the event, “Our consumers come to our program seeking culturally competent recovery support services in a safe and affirming environment. We are thrilled to be able to refer our consumers who suffer from mental illness to high quality legal services from a program that shares a similar mission and commitment to vulnerable LGBTQ communities. We are proud of our partnership with NYLAG’S LGBTQ Law Project.”

LGBTQ Law Project Advisory Board
Paris Baldacci, Cardozo School of Law
Deborah Berkman, New York Legal Assistance Group
Terry Boggis, Formerly of the NYC LGBT Community Center, Stonewall Foundation and Queers for Economic Justice
Brian Esser, Law Office of Brian Esser
Erik Graham-Smith, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Erica Kagan, The Kurland Group
Stephen Lessard Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
David O’Connell, Ewenstein Young & Roth LLP
Christopher Riano, Drohan Lee LLP
Fuaud Yasin, Conde Nast

The New York Legal Assistance Group has filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York to compel the US Department of Education to release documents outlining how students who have been harmed and misled by unscrupulous institutions of higher education can assert their rights to have their federal student loans cancelled.

NYLAG submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department on December 5, 2014 seeking disclosure of records related to student borrower options for seeking debt relief and related documents. To date, the Department has produced no documents in response to the request. This is despite the fact that 20 years ago the Department of Education was directed by Congress to establish policies and procedures for student loan borrowers seeking to have their federal loan debt cancelled based on the misconduct of the schools they attended.

“The continued delays of the Department are imposing significant harm on low income borrowers in the State of New York and elsewhere, who remain unaware of the procedures to assert defenses available to them regarding the repayment of their student loans, and the Department’s steps to implement the defenses guaranteed to borrowers under federal statutes, regulations, and the terms of their promissory notes,” said NYLAG Senior Staff Attorney Eileen Connor.

NYLAG’s action comes at a time when the Department’s failure to provide policies and procedures regarding borrower defenses to repayment has become a matter of public concern in light of the demise of Corinthian Colleges, Inc., a large chain of for-profit schools. The school’s predatory practices are the target of lawsuits by several state attorneys general, who, along with lawmakers and student advocates across the country, are calling for the Department to provide “clear guidance to all students on how to assert a claim for relief”.

Earlier this year, NYLAG submitted defense-to-repayment applications to the Department on behalf of clients who attended schools operated by the national for-profit chain Career Education Corporation (CEC). In 2013, the New York State Attorney General settled claims against CEC for myriad violations of New York consumer protection law. As has been the case with other students who have formally made defense-to-repayment requests, the Department has provided conflicting and confusing responses, offering virtually no guidance about how to assert these important rights.

The trillion-dollar federal student loan program is an important source of financing for student borrowers – in particular low-income borrowers. But they have also been used as a major source of revenue by for-profit colleges and universities that encourage students to enroll and to fund their education with federal loans through false and misleading representations to the students. A 2012 report of the United States Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, as well as other studies regarding for-profit colleges, has documented the schools’ abusive practices. Certain higher-education institutions have maintained their eligibility to participate in the program only by making false and misleading representations to the Department, as well as to state regulators and private accrediting agencies. These exploitative practices have caused borrowers to become saddled with extensive debt that the borrowers have little chance of being able to repay.

NYLAG provides free civil legal services to a large number of low-income student loan borrowers. NYLAG’s client base encompasses individuals who are most often targeted by abusive schools: those with low incomes, who are foreign-born, or who come from minority communities. NYLAG’s services include direct representation, case consultation, advocacy, community education, training, financial counseling, and impact litigation. In 2014, through NYLAG’s For-Profit Schools Project and related financial counseling services, NYLAG counseled approximately 500 individuals about their student loan debt.

Melissa Chua, Supervising Attorney, Immigration Protection Unit, (pictured right) was honored in May by Damayan, a grassroots organization that helps low-wage Filipino workers fight for their labor, health, gender and im/migration rights. Chua has supported the organization since 2009 by providing Know Your Rights training and legal clinics, as well as representing members in gender-based violence cases. She played a central role in local organizing for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Filipinos following Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. She has been an invaluable resource for issues related to deportation, domestic violence, and the complexities of the immigration system as whole.

Kim Susser, Director, Matrimonial & Family Law Unit, was awarded the 2015 New York City Bar Association’s Legal Services Award, an award that established to recognize the efforts of lawyers and non-lawyers who have directly provided free legal services to indigent clients on a full-time basis for an extended period of time.

Photo (L to R): Randal Jeffrey, Director, General Legal Services; Randye Retkin, Director, LegalHealth a Division of NYLAG; Julie Brandfield, Associate Director, LegalHealth; Kim Susser (with award), Ben Taylor, Senior Staff Attorney, General Legal Services; Valerie J. Bogart, Director, Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program, a division of NYLAG.

Randye Retkin, Director, LegalHealth, (pictured right with Harold Freeman) was recognized in June by the Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute for the contributions she has made in improving the lives of people living with cancer, both through her work at NYLAG and as a Patient Navigation instructor. The concept of patient navigation was pioneered by Dr. Harold P. Freeman in order to eliminate barriers to timely cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care.

Unrepresented defendants in Staten Island Civil Court will now be able to access services through the VLFD Program.

The New York Legal Assistance Group in partnership with the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program has recently expanded our Volunteer Lawyer For the Day (VLFD) program to Staten Island Civil Court, the last of the five boroughs to benefit from this program. NYLAG already runs VLFD in the Bronx and Queens Civil Courts. The VLFD program was initiated by the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program to address the staggering increase in the Civil Court Consumer Credit docket following the economic downturn. NYLAG, along with our program partners the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project and the New York County Lawyers’ Association, operate VLFD programs in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens Civil Courts.

“The NY State court system is grateful that NYLAG stepped forward to start a VLFD consumer program in Richmond County. NYLAG’s presence insures that consumer defendants are represented which in turn helps balance the scales of justice. NYLAG’s commitment to providing quality legal services to the needy is evident by its participation in the VLFD program,” stated Fern A. Fisher, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for NYC Courts and Director, NYS Courts Access to Justice Program.

VLFD provides limited scope representation to pro se litigants who are being sued for consumer debts. Pro bono attorneys, law school graduates and law students, supervised by an on-site coordinating attorney with expertise in consumer credit law, advise clients of their legal rights, represent clients in court, negotiate with opposing counsel, and argue before a Judge. Student volunteers gain invaluable courtroom experience, while seasoned attorneys are able to expand their practice areas and help provide access to justice for some of New York’s most disadvantaged civil litigants.

L to R: NYLAG Consumer Protection Project staff members Daphne Schlick, Associate Director, Shanna Tallarico, Senior Staff Attorney; Sarah Rosenthal, Staff Attorney; and Anna Park , Staff Attorney.

When VLFD was launched in 2009, 99% of consumer defendants were unrepresented while 100% of plaintiffs had attorneys. The VLFD program helps to level the playing field, ensuring that both parties approach the case on equal footing. Although the services are limited in scope, the program is invaluable in its ability to help pro se defendants understand their rights in litigation and learn how to assert those rights during the course of the lawsuit.

Most consumer credit cases involve credit card accounts that have been purchased by third party debt buyers for pennies on the dollar. Defendants often do not recognize the account for which they are being sued, either because the debt is owed by someone else, their identity was stolen, or because the account has been sold so many times that defendants do not recognize the name of the plaintiff.

To win these cases, debt buyers employ deplorable tactics, such as improperly serving or failing to serve defendants in order to win cases by default. When the defendant does appear in court, the creditor will postpone trials hoping defendants will fail to show up, file motions that a pro se defendant does not understand, or try to get the defendant to admit to owing the debt. To avoid having to take time off for court appearances, or to maintain their credit score, debtors often enter into unaffordable settlement agreements, without fully understanding the consequences. The problem is so acute (State regulators received more than 20,000 complaints about debt collection practices in 2014.), that this year several new regulations went into effect protecting the rights of consumers unfairly harassed and often defrauded by unscrupulous debt collectors.

We became aware of a particularly critical need for assistance in Staten Island due to our NYLAG foreclosure prevention attorneys who were already on the ground assisting clients with financial hardships, as well as the work our consumer protection attorneys were doing through a separate project assisting those negatively affected by the economic downturn with debt, in order to become financially stable. Unlike some of the other boroughs, clients in Staten Island seemed much more isolated in terms of obtaining legal services, especially defendants facing consumer credit actions in court.

Staten Islanders are coming to court struggling with credit card debt, medical debt and landlord disputes. But in addition to collectible debt, many consumers we see in Staten Island Civil Court are homeowners facing foreclosure or liens on their homes. These are people who are often older, unemployed or underemployed, or retired or disabled and living on a fixed income.

According to NYLAG staff attorney Sarah Rosenthal, who serves as a VLFD coordinating attorney in all three boroughs, “The people we work with in Staten Island often had been going along fine, meeting their obligations until something happened – a divorce, job loss or illness – that suddenly puts stress on their ability to keep up with their payments. Opposition attorneys prey on their fear, knowingly misrepresent facts, and press hard for a settlement. Sometimes, all it takes for the plaintiff to back down is having a lawyer there who knows our clients’ rights. But if a settlement is reached, at least we can make sure that it is fair.”

Walsy Saez, Law Graduate and Pro Bono Scholar

In court, Sarah supervised the work of Walsy Saez, a Fordham Law graduate who was with NYLAG until June participating in New York State Courts’ Pro Bono Scholars Program – another innovative court program introduced last year by Chief Judge Lippman. Walsy joined NYLAG fresh from taking the bar exam, and began working with our unit on consumer protection matters, including joining Sarah in Staten Island Civil Court.

According to Walsy, VLFD has been an invaluable learning experience: “I have had the chance to advise clients about their options, read body language and unspoken signals that are so important in a courtroom setting, correct opposing counsel when they are out of line, and push for what’s best and fair for the defendant. Most of all, I have seen how even the simplest legal procedure can damage people’s lives – and what a difference a lawyer can make.”

The Staten Island program is still in its pilot stage, but in the last six months we have assisted on 171 consumer cases. Overall, since its inception, NYLAG’s VLFD program has provided assistance on 6,996 cases, and helped defendants avoid making over $3 million in unnecessary payments. These numbers alone demonstrate the incredibly high impact nature of this project and its concrete outcomes on improving people’s lives.

Thanks to our talented VLFD team, and our partnership with the NYS Courts Access to Justice Program, we have been able to have a positive impact on vulnerable New York families who need our assistance most, and pave the way for better advocacy on behalf of consumer debtors who are so often stigmatized and marginalized.

Maya Wiley, center, counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, with NYLAG President & Attorney-in-Charge Beth Goldman, left, and Board Chair Abby Milstein.

On Tuesday, July 14, NYLAG welcomed 250 guests to its downtown Manhattan offices to celebrate the contributions that NYLAG alumni, staff members, volunteers and friends have made to improving the lives of vulnerable New Yorkers since the agency began its work 25 years ago.

Click here to view photos from the event on Facebook.

The event, Get Social for Justice, had something for everyone: a keynote address by Maya Wiley, Counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio; tours of NYLAG’s expanded offices; a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program; and a festive cocktail reception.

In her welcoming remarks, Abby Milstein, Chair of NYLAG’s Board of Directors, said, “I know that, like me, many of you have ties to NYLAG that go way back: you spent a summer interning with us, or perhaps a semester of law school in one of our clinical programs. Some of you have moved on to other places – in government, the private sector or other nonprofits. But I know that each of you, and all of us at NYLAG, continue to share the same passion for justice that brought us together in the first place.”

Training on the Ethics Surrounding Student Loan Debt

The CLE was presented by NYLAG’s Special Litigation Unit staff members Jane Stevens, Director; Eileen Connor, Senior Staff Attorney; and Jason Glick, Staff Attorney and Skadden Fellow.

For attorneys seeking to learn about a rapidly expanding field, the event kicked off with the CLE program, Defending Student Loan Victims: Obstacles and Options, in the late afternoon.  Presented by NYLAG’s Special Litigation Unit, the training focused on NYLAG’s current work in the area of for-profit schools. Topics included investigating the potentially illegal practices of certain schools, exploring ways to improve general oversight of for-profit schools, and seeking systemic relief for students burdened by unfair federal student loan debts.

Reconnecting with Old Friends

NYLAG staff hosted guests for an open house in their offices, which occupy the better part of three floors at 7 Hanover Square in the financial district. NYLAG moved to the building in 2011 and, driven by the agency’s significant growth (the staff size has doubled in the last four years), has since expanded to occupy more than 67,000 square feet. Guests greeted members of NYLAG’s management team, reconnected with former colleagues and friends, and enjoyed drinks and snacks.

Hannah Pennington, Executive Director of the Manhattan Family Justice Center, far left, with staff members, volunteers, alumni and friends of NYLAG’s Matrimonial & Family Law Unit .

One guest, Hannah Pennington, Executive Director of the Manhattan Family Justice Center at the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, caught up with Kim Susser, Director of NYLAG’s Matrimonial and Family Law Unit.  “I volunteered as an intern during law school, working with Kim,” said Pennington. “My work not only provided me the opportunity to gain real practice skills but introduced me to a domestic violence and social justice advocacy community that has been a constant in my legal career – in private practice, full-time public interest work and now in my work for the City.”

Celebrating the Role of Legal Services

L to R: Board members Bridget Healy, Linda Jesselson and Abby Milstein.

Held in a lovely event space with harbor views, the cocktail reception featured a new five-minute video highlighting the work and dedication of NYLAG’s staff members. Beth Goldman, NYLAG’s President and Attorney-in-Charge, introduced Maya Wiley and praised the City for recognizing the central role of legal services in combatting poverty. “The administration and the City Council have displayed an unprecedented commitment by dramatically increasing funding for legal services to help safeguard and secure the rights of the poor and disenfranchised. This includes initiatives to prevent evictions, protect tenants from landlord harassment, and increased access to legal assistance for immigrants, victims of domestic violence, veterans, the working poor, and the elderly. Further evidence of the administration’s extraordinary commitment was the creation earlier this year of an Office of Civil Justice, which will monitor and improve access to representation across the city.”

Wiley advises the Mayor on legal matters involving City Hall and the executive staff, and the legal aspects of policy and administrative matters. She also spearheads special projects, such as expanding affordable broadband access across all five boroughs. In her remarks, she emphasized how key the legal community has been in combatting inequality and contributing to the Mayors’ vision of “one city, rising together,” because they can remove the barriers that prevent people from taking care of themselves, their families and their communities.

“We’ve done a lot to expand access to legal services, but it’s still not enough. We need to move the dial for the 46 percent of people in New York struggling to make ends meet. For them, the difference between being able to work, stay in their homes, and be healthy — or falling off the cliff — is often whether or not they have a lawyer – and too often they do not.”

Making a Difference

Erin Marie Meyer, Hogan Lovells

Erin Marie Meyer, an associate at Hogan Lovells’ New York office attended Get Social for Justice. Since 2012, the firm’s pro bono attorneys have partnered with NYLAG’s LegalHealth division in providing legal advice on advance planning issues to assist low-income and medically under-served New Yorkers living with cancer.

“By dedicating just a few hours of time, a pro bono attorney can make a meaningful difference in a client’s life by helping to ensure that their medical wishes will be carried out and financial decisions will be in the hands of a trusted agent,” said Meyer, who previously managed Hogan Lovell’s New York office pro bono practice. “Partnering with NYLAG has been a privilege – and today’s event was a great way to celebrate the work that we do together.”

Get Social for Justice was made possible through generous underwriting by the following individual and corporate sponsors:

Builders
Nancy & Paul Levy • Abby & Howard Milstein • Pfizer

 Patrons
Linda & Michael Jesselson • Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP • Latham & Watkins LLP • Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC • Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP • Proskauer Rose LLP • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP • Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

 Benefactor
Bridget M. Healy

Sustainers
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP • Theodore N. Mirvis • Janet Aspen & Joseph Polizzotto

Provider
Jill Rosenberg

Supporter
Casey Greenfield

A group of summer interns attend a brown bag lunch during their first week at NYLAG.

In early August, NYLAG’s summer interns met for Happy Hour at the storied Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan to enjoy one last gathering before saying good bye and heading back to law school.

The class of 2015 interns worked alongside staff members in a number of practice areas, assisting the elderly, veterans, members of the LGBTQ community, domestic violence survivors, unrepresented consumer debt defendants, immigrants and others with a range of legal services. In addition to handling substantive work, interns had the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive training program covering the civil legal services practice in New York City. There was also a series of brown bag lunches on fellowships, clerkships and other topics of interest, and social events in and around NYLAG’s office in the financial district.

NYLAG first recruited summer interns in 1996. Twenty years later, the program has grown and flourished, providing much-needed support within units and projects across the agency, while giving students hands-on legal and courtroom experience and the chance to work with seasoned public interest attorneys. Each student commits to working 10 weeks, generally from late May to early August. There were 66 summer interns in the 2015 class (primarily rising second- and third-year law school students), chosen from of a field of 750 applicants.

Here are just a few of this year’s interns, sharing thoughts about their summer at NYLAG:

Shreya Patel, Michigan State University College of Law

“I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been a part of the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program at NYLAG. My favorite experience was being given the chance to work with clients directly. Law school can only teach you so much in theory; it was really the practical experience that I gained during my time here that was invaluable to me. My supervisor, Marie Vaz, not only coached me through my interactions with my clients, but she also would take the time to give me a comprehensive background of the law for every assignment she gave me. I have learned more about Medicaid and Medicare law interning under her than I could have possibly learned from any course.”

Sam Stanton, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

“While as a queer person of color I’ve always had to fight for my education (and continue to do so), I know that I have tremendous privilege as a law student. I also know how extremely important it is to see people that look like you in agencies and in positions of power. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to use my privilege to help our clients work against institutionalized racism, heterosexism and transphobia. I also feel very fortunate to have had the guidance and mentorship of the tireless advocates in the LGBTQ Law Project, who remain critical of legal establishments that continually marginalize queer and transgender people of color.”

Rita Vega, New York Law School

“My summer at NYLAG has really bolstered my decision to go into go into public interest. All the attorneys in the Storm Response Unit are true advocates who fight tirelessly for the rights of their clients. Further, everyone here has fostered a great learning environment where I am encouraged to interact with multiple attorneys, attend educational seminars, and engage in legal outreach. One of my favorite moments was going to the Rent Guidelines Board hearing on rent stabilization with Sunny Noh, Kamilla Sjodin, and my fellow intern Rachel Russell and hearing passionate speeches from the public about the widespread need for affordable housing. It was great to see New Yorkers mobilize in order to effectuate change – and NYLAG’s support of their efforts.”

Brian Highsmith, Yale Law School

“Over the course of my internship with the Special Litigation Unit, I have gotten the opportunity to apply a longstanding passion for economic justice to my interest in using impact litigation and other innovative legal strategies as a tool to advance important policy goals. For example, I researched legal issues in a class action lawsuit we initiated against a group of debt buyers who had wrongfully obtained and enforced millions of dollars of default judgments against low-income New York families. Without legal representation, our named plaintiffs faced long odds in going up against these sophisticated, repeat-player debt buyers. But with help of the dedicated and deeply-caring lawyers at NYLAG, our clients were able to bring a suit on behalf of the entire class of individuals who had been wronged ”” and work to secure relief not only for themselves, but also for tens of thousands of other low-income New Yorkers.”

Jennifer Cao, Queen’s University Faculty of Law

“My time with LegalHealth at NYLAG this summer has been one of both professional and personal development. I had the opportunity to work under four incredible attorneys in matters involving veterans and undocumented persons. I wrote numerous memos regarding housing, immigration, wills, social benefits and family law. I especially enjoyed meeting with clients and seeing our work make a true and positive difference during a hard time in someone’s life. At NYLAG, I witnessed firsthand the human side of the legal profession and the immense dedication, care and passion each attorney brought to work every day. It has been an inspiring and invaluable journey and one that I will always hold in my heart.”

Jenna Cohn, Touro Law Center

“In the Elder Law Practice, many of our clients are in poor health and have to face inevitable end of life decisions. Understandably, clients may be hesitant or fearful to discuss their end of life wishes, which are required to draft advance directives. For some, it is a difficult process to acknowledge that the end of their life may be near. I found that through multiple conversations and a display of compassion and respect for the aging client, I was able to ensure a higher level of comfort and trust. I found it very rewarding and humbling to know that I was able to provide integral legal services to vulnerable individuals who deserve to have their end of life wishes and assets sufficiently protected.”

A group of summer interns attend a brown bag lunch during their first week at NYLAG.

In early August, NYLAG’s summer interns met for Happy Hour at the storied Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan to enjoy one last gathering before saying good bye and heading back to law school.

The class of 2015 interns worked alongside staff members in a number of practice areas, assisting the elderly, veterans, members of the LGBTQ community, domestic violence survivors, unrepresented consumer debt defendants, immigrants and others with a range of legal services. In addition to handling substantive work, interns had the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive training program covering the civil legal services practice in New York City. There was also a series of brown bag lunches on fellowships, clerkships and other topics of interest, and social events in and around NYLAG’s office in the financial district.

NYLAG first recruited summer interns in 1996. Twenty years later, the program has grown and flourished, providing much-needed support within units and projects across the agency, while giving students hands-on legal and courtroom experience and the chance to work with seasoned public interest attorneys. Each student commits to working 10 weeks, generally from late May to early August. There were 66 summer interns in the 2015 class (primarily rising second- and third-year law school students), chosen from of a field of 750 applicants.

Here are just a few of this year’s interns, sharing thoughts about their summer at NYLAG:

Shreya Patel, Michigan State University College of Law

“I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been a part of the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program at NYLAG. My favorite experience was being given the chance to work with clients directly. Law school can only teach you so much in theory; it was really the practical experience that I gained during my time here that was invaluable to me. My supervisor, Marie Vaz, not only coached me through my interactions with my clients, but she also would take the time to give me a comprehensive background of the law for every assignment she gave me. I have learned more about Medicaid and Medicare law interning under her than I could have possibly learned from any course.”

Sam Stanton, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

“While as a queer person of color I’ve always had to fight for my education (and continue to do so), I know that I have tremendous privilege as a law student. I also know how extremely important it is to see people that look like you in agencies and in positions of power. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to use my privilege to help our clients work against institutionalized racism, heterosexism and transphobia. I also feel very fortunate to have had the guidance and mentorship of the tireless advocates in the LGBTQ Law Project, who remain critical of legal establishments that continually marginalize queer and transgender people of color.”

Rita Vega, New York Law School

“My summer at NYLAG has really bolstered my decision to go into go into public interest. All the attorneys in the Storm Response Unit are true advocates who fight tirelessly for the rights of their clients. Further, everyone here has fostered a great learning environment where I am encouraged to interact with multiple attorneys, attend educational seminars, and engage in legal outreach. One of my favorite moments was going to the Rent Guidelines Board hearing on rent stabilization with Sunny Noh, Kamilla Sjodin, and my fellow intern Rachel Russell and hearing passionate speeches from the public about the widespread need for affordable housing. It was great to see New Yorkers mobilize in order to effectuate change – and NYLAG’s support of their efforts.”

Brian Highsmith, Yale Law School

“Over the course of my internship with the Special Litigation Unit, I have gotten the opportunity to apply a longstanding passion for economic justice to my interest in using impact litigation and other innovative legal strategies as a tool to advance important policy goals. For example, I researched legal issues in a class action lawsuit we initiated against a group of debt buyers who had wrongfully obtained and enforced millions of dollars of default judgments against low-income New York families. Without legal representation, our named plaintiffs faced long odds in going up against these sophisticated, repeat-player debt buyers. But with help of the dedicated and deeply-caring lawyers at NYLAG, our clients were able to bring a suit on behalf of the entire class of individuals who had been wronged ”” and work to secure relief not only for themselves, but also for tens of thousands of other low-income New Yorkers.”

Jennifer Cao, Queen’s University Faculty of Law

“My time with LegalHealth at NYLAG this summer has been one of both professional and personal development. I had the opportunity to work under four incredible attorneys in matters involving veterans and undocumented persons. I wrote numerous memos regarding housing, immigration, wills, social benefits and family law. I especially enjoyed meeting with clients and seeing our work make a true and positive difference during a hard time in someone’s life. At NYLAG, I witnessed firsthand the human side of the legal profession and the immense dedication, care and passion each attorney brought to work every day. It has been an inspiring and invaluable journey and one that I will always hold in my heart.”

Jenna Cohn, Touro Law Center

“In the Elder Law Practice, many of our clients are in poor health and have to face inevitable end of life decisions. Understandably, clients may be hesitant or fearful to discuss their end of life wishes, which are required to draft advance directives. For some, it is a difficult process to acknowledge that the end of their life may be near. I found that through multiple conversations and a display of compassion and respect for the aging client, I was able to ensure a higher level of comfort and trust. I found it very rewarding and humbling to know that I was able to provide integral legal services to vulnerable individuals who deserve to have their end of life wishes and assets sufficiently protected.”

Financial Counselors Mark Alpert and Ervis Burda staff the Henry Street site four days per week.

In July, Henry Street Settlement and NYLAG launched a new partnership, funded by the Citi Foundation, to integrate financial counseling and education into Henry Street’s portfolio of workforce development programs. Over the coming year, NYLAG will facilitate financial education workshops for low-income participants of Henry Street’s workforce development programs and provide one-on-one financial counseling to individuals.

Henry Street, a multi-service nonprofit based on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, manages a portfolio of employment programs that reach thousands of low-income jobseekers each year through services tailored to the needs of public housing residents, English Language Learners, homeless shelter residents, and disconnected youth.

“We are proud to collaborate with Henry Street in expanding their financial counseling capabilities and look forward to enhancing their highly successful network of workforce development programs. By enhancing their financial skills and knowledge, we will be able to put hundreds of additional Henry Street clients on a path to meaningful employment and more stable lives for themselves and their families,” said Doug Ostrov, Director of NYLAG’s Financial Counseling division.

According to David Garza, Executive Director at Henry Street, “Our collaboration with NYLAG is a testament to the commitment and vision of the Citi Foundation and it’s alignment to our mission, which recognizes the importance of integrating financial education and counseling services into employment programs. We have seen a growing demand for these crucial services among our clients and are very pleased to be partnering with an organization of NYLAG’s caliber. This critical new project will greatly enhance Henry Street’s capacity to help low-income jobseekers achieve true economic independence.”

Two NYLAG Financial Counselors, Ervis Burda and Mark Alpert, are stationed at Henry Street’s workforce development headquarters four days a week to provide a range of financial empowerment services, including: educational workshops, individual financial counseling, assistance with opening bank accounts, building and improving credit, and dealing with debt. NYLAG and Henry Street staff collaborate to tailor all services to the unique needs of low-income job seekers.

The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. The foundation invests in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation’s “More than Philanthropy” approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill its mission and drive thought leadership and innovation.

NYLAG’s Beth Goldman, left, with Randal Jeffrey, right.

Randal Jeffrey has received a Public Service Award from the New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA) in recognition of his distinguished career as a public-service attorney. During his 17 years with NYLAG, Jeffrey has spearheaded innovative service delivery models that have been uniquely effective in addressing the rapidly expanding and changing legal needs of low-income New Yorkers. Jeffrey is the Director of NYLAG’s General Legal Services (GLS) unit, which has experienced substantial growth under his leadership, and handles over 13,500 cases annually.

Since 1990, the Public Service Awards have recognized public sector attorneys who have distinguished themselves as role models, innovators and problem solvers of complex legal issues. The 2015 Public Service Awards were presented to six public service attorneys, including Jeffrey, on September 17 at the NYCLA offices in downtown Manhattan, with special remarks given by Seymour W. James, Jr., Attorney-in-Chief of The Legal Aid Society.

L to R: Carol Sigmond, NYCLA president, and Catherine Christian, NYCLA’s Public Service Awards Committee Chair with honorees: Catherine Bowman, Director of the HIV/LGBTQ project, Legal Services NYC; Jennifer Brown, Attorney-in-Charge of the Federal Defenders Southern District Trial Unit; Randal Jeffrey, Director of the General Legal Services Unit of the New York Legal Assistance Group; Bonnie Jonas, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Southern District U.S Attorney’s Office; Melissa Mourges, Chief of the Forensic Sciences/Cold Case Unit in the New York County District Attorney’s Office; Maria Navarro, Supervising Attorney of the Immigration Law Unit of the Legal Aid Society; and Cynthia Pong, Staff Attorney, the Legal Aid Society, Bronx. Also pictured: Geoffrey Bickford, co-chair of NYCLA’s Criminal Justice Section and Seymour James, Attorney-in-Chief of the Legal Aid Society.

“This is a wonderful and well-deserved tribute to an exceptional lawyer who has devoted more than two decades to increasing access to justice for low-income New Yorkers in myriad and innovative ways. After working for years on vital impact litigation that helped to ensure fair access to public benefits and assistance for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, Randal took the helm of our General Legal Services unit, where he has applied his legal skills and managerial acumen to dramatically expand the services NYLAG provides to low-income individuals,” said Beth Goldman, NYLAG’s President and Attorney-in-Charge. “I am thrilled and grateful that NYCLA has recognized the extraordinary contributions that Randal has made on behalf of New York’s most vulnerable residents.”

Jeffrey joined NYLAG in 1998 and was named the Director of GLS in 2003. The unit provides direct civil legal services in a wide array of areas. GLS has numerous special projects that are tailored to help vulnerable populations such as seniors, the disabled, low-wage workers, tenants facing eviction, homeowners facing foreclosure, consumers struggling with debt, veterans, and others. During his first five years at NYLAG, Jeffrey litigated class actions in NYLAG’s Special Litigation Unit, securing critical court decisions and settlements that drastically improved low-income New Yorkers’ access to public benefits and assistance. He is an expert on welfare issues in New York City and has published several articles on poverty law issues. Jeffrey has also taught lawyering and writing at Cardozo Law School. Prior to coming to NYLAG, Jeffrey was a pro se law clerk with the Second Circuit’s Staff Attorney’s Office and a Georgetown Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia.

Coverage of the event was featured in the New York Law Journal.

In December 2014, Dilley, Texas became home to the largest detention center in the United States, confining immigrant mothers and young children who manage to escape persecution in their Central American home countries. Since early September, the number of detainees in Dilley has remained at about 2,000. Nearly all are seeking asylum.

Upon arrival, most detainees are placed into expedited removal proceedings. They are detained at least until they can pass a “credible fear interview,” determining whether the immigrant’s fear of returning home is credible. Without legal representation, this process is fraught with risk: immigrants’ due process rights are often are violated, and vulnerable women and children face the very real prospect of being forced to return home to face more violence, and even death. Immigrants without representation must struggle with how to fit their immediate fears into the categories and terms used by asylum officers to evaluate their cases, while the interview process itself can also retraumatize them.

Advocates for immigrants deplore the practice of detaining families in large, prison-like facilities. A recent American Bar Association report describes detention centers as being “at odds with the presumption of liberty that should apply.” Policymakers and the courts have rejected the practice in the past, citing violations of the law, including minimum standards and conditions for housing, and the retention of minors in federal immigration custody. In addition, detention – especially in remote areas far from urban centers like Dilley – significantly impedes access to counsel, making it difficult if not impossible for immigrants to be guaranteed their due process rights.

In response to this crisis, The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the American Immigration Council, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, collectively known as CARA, have joined forces to create the CARA Pro Bono Project, which taps volunteer legal talent from across the U.S. The CARA team organizes volunteer legal teams, who commit to spending one week at the Dilley detention center. Every week a new team arrives to take over the caseload and carry the work forward.

In early October, thanks to funding from a private donor, a group of nine NYLAG staff members experienced in immigration and family law made the trip to Dilley. (Two other NYLAG staff members went to Dilley in September.)

Detainees are anchored to power outlets for an hour everyday (sometimes twice per day) while they wait for their ankle monitors to recharge.

“We were limited to the visitor’s area – a double-wide truck where we would see waves of detainees, usually with babies in their arms and children at their feet – it was a pretty chaotic situation,” said Lindsey Kaley, a Post-Graduate Fellow in the Immigrant Protection and Matrimonial & Family Law Units. “We would have just a little time with each client to gain their trust, get them to show us their documents and tell their story.”

According to Clare Clayton, a paralegal in the Immigrant Protection Unit, “We could not see the detainees living quarters, but it was apparent that they were not adequate. Many of the children were listless, obviously ill, suffering from diarrhea and had head lice. Several women told me that they were not able to get medication or inhalers for their children. Officials said they were coming, and in the meantime told them to drink a lot of water.”

The legal staff’s primary task was to prepare immigrants for their credible fear interviews, although they also did intakes to collect general information like the names and ages of children and the names and contact information of family members in the U.S. whom detainees could go to upon release. The NYLAG team did 50 to 60 credible fear preps a day, trying to help women who were scared, confused and often in tears tell a stranger about very intimate and traumatic experiences, and talk about these disturbing things in front of their children. They estimate that a majority of the women they spoke with had at least one family member who had been killed.

“The credible fear interviews were difficult. Case law for asylum is very complicated. We needed to prepare victims who had experienced torture, rape, threats from gangs, domestic violence, and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder for an interview where they need to describe the horrible things that happened to them in a way that will build a legal basis for their case. They need to provide evidence that will prove their claim that they deserve asylum,” said Jen Barker, a senior staff attorney with the Immigrant Protection Unit.

During their week in Dilley, NYLAG’s team saw on average 50 detainees per staff member. CARA estimates that 90 per cent of the detainees went on to pass their credible fear interviews. The other ten per cent were given the opportunity for their case to be reevaluated by a judge. Getting past the credible fear interview, however, is just the first step of many along the road to asylum, and the outcome is far from guaranteed. Several days after a successful credible fear interview, detainees are given two options for release to a family member. One is to appear at a bond hearing where approval can be granted for the detainee to post a $1,500 (or higher) bond – not an economic option for many families. The bond option requires detainees to remain in detention for an additional period of time, which many women do not want to do given the poor living conditions. The second option is to agree to wear an ankle monitor and leave detention immediately, but live for at least 90 days, if not far longer, with the stigma and humiliation that goes with it.

Neither option is attractive. But according to CARA staff on the ground in Dilley, the situation is made worse by the fact that many immigrants are forced to make this difficult choice without receiving accurate or complete information from immigration officials, who sometimes coerce detainees into choosing an option that may not be in their best interest, and prevent attorneys from advising their clients. In September, CARA submitted a formal complaint to the US Department of Homeland Security documenting intimidation, misinformation and violations of the right to counsel at the Dilley facility. The complaint called for an investigation into the federal government’s detention practices to ensure that they are free from coercion and systemic interference with rights to counsel and to fair process.

Despite these numerous and serious concerns, the NYLAG team in Dilley was impressed with how the CARA staff members empowered detainees by arming them with accurate information, educating them about their options, and reaching out to family members to smooth the way for their eventual release. The staff came back to New York grateful to have been part of a singular pro bono effort that is helping mothers and their children receive the legal representation they so desperately need.

The NYLAG Dilley team:

Jennifer Barker
Janice Chua
Melissa Chua,
Claire Clayton
Sara Kaczmarek
Lindsey Kaley
Wilson Osorio
Meeta Patel
Indiana Porta
Cristal Moncada
David Mullins