The Legal Aid Society will honor Evan A. Davis, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, who served as counsel to former Governor Mario M. Cuomo, on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, at its 31st Annual Servant of Justice Award Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. Former Governor Mario M. Cuomo will present the award to Mr. Davis. Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait. . . Don't Tell Me!, will serve as the master of ceremonies. Lewis and Lisa Liman are serving as Co-Chairs of the event.
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The tenants at 40 Sherman Avenue in Inwood haven't had gas in their building since March 25, 2008. Their apartments are infested with rats, leaks, peeling paint, and until recently, the hot-water boiler was broken.
The Office of Court Administration has now established a cap of 150 children as the number of clients an attorney for children (formerly known as law guardians) can represent at one time. The order, signed by Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau, was praised by Tamara Steckler, Attorney-in-Charge of the Juvenile Rights Practice, who told the New York Law Journal that “the cap is going to have an extremely positive effect on our representation of children in Family Court. It is going to have a tremendous impact on the services that we can provide to children” (NYLJ, April 2). Tami Steckler, Attorney-in-Chief Steven Banks, members of the staff and the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers, led by Debra Wright, President of ALAA; George Albro, Secretary-Treasurer; and Kimberly Forte, the JRP Vice President, were instrumental in securing legislation, which was signed into law last August, that mandated the cap on the number of children that could be represented at one time. JRP has been working with OCA on a caseload study to determine what number that number should be. Currently, the attorneys in the Juvenile Rights Practice now represent an average of 220 children at any one time, meaning that some of the lawyers have as many as 300 young clients.
Vanessa Cherena, a Supervising Attorney in the Bronx Office of the Juvenile Rights Practice, was presented the Charles Schinitsky Award for outstanding service to clients of the Society, during the JRP annual awards ceremony and special reception on March 31, 2008, hosted by Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP. Books For Kids received the first SOuL Award (Stepping Out of Line) for thinking outside the box and creating a program in which JRP clients not only find respite but also are engaged in improving their literacy. The third award went to the Caseload Study Team for their extraordinary commitment to ensuring the client case cap law results in a number that will significantly impact the work we are able to do for our clients. After legislation was signed into law that requires OCA to set a standard for the maximum number of children a law guardian may represent at one time, a special JRP study team was formed to assist the Office of Court Administration in a workload study to determine the proper number.
The Legal Aid Society celebrated Women's History Month on March 26, with a special reception at the Society's Brooklyn offices at 111 Livingston Street. More than 80,000 Brooklyn residents receive legal assistance each year through the Society's Civil, Criminal and Juvenile Rights Practices which operate four offices in Brooklyn. The four Legal Aid offices in Brooklyn are all headed by women, including Diane Lutwak, Attorney-in-Charge of the Brooklyn Office For the Aging; Dawn Ryan, Attorney-in-Charge of the Brooklyn Criminal Office; Emily Ruben, Attorney-in-Charge of the Brooklyn Neighborhood Office; and Karen Simmons, Attorney-in-Charge of the Brooklyn Juvenile Rights Office. Brooklyn Borough President Marty P. Markowitz participated in the event and presented the four Brooklyn Attorneys-in-Charge with certificates. Council Member David I Weprin participated in the celebration and addressed the audience. Among the honored guests were a number of judges in all courts throughout the City. Many of them were alumni of the Society.