In This Issue

2018 Roundup Doing Justice Award American College of Bankruptcy Grant Top Women of Law 2018 SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Housing Case Win Volunteer Spotlight New VLP Staff SERV Program Appeals Clinic

Awards

Doing Justice Award In November, VLP and Judge Edward M. Ginsburg were awarded the Doing Justice Award from the Massachusetts Judges Conference (MJC) for our work with Senior Partners for Justice (SPJ). Dedicated to improving the administration of justice, the MJC selects one organization or individual each year for this honor, voted on by sitting and retired judges across Massachusetts. This prestigious award recognizes exemplary legal service rendered by individuals and organizations that promote and provide justice to those most in need of innovative solutions.  After retiring from the bench, Judge Edward M. Ginsburg teamed up with VLP to create the pro bono program, Senior Partners for Justice. Since then, SPJ has attracted nearly 1,000 volunteers, including retired and practicing lawyers, new bar members, and retired judges. These committed volunteers have helped thousands of low-income individuals with legal issues they would have otherwise faced alone. Through this project, attorneys have provided over 42,000 hours of pro bono services, donating $8.2 million in billable work to 3,500 low-income clients. The experienced attorneys at the core of Senior Partners have also mentored hundreds of attorneys in pro bono and court-based cases, building a strong camaraderie amongst volunteers. We are incredibly honored to receive this award from the MJC and so proud of the hard-work by Judge Ginsburg and SPJ’s Project Manager, Barbara Siegel.

American College of Bankruptcy Grant The American College of Bankruptcy and the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation recently honored VLP with a grant to provide further legal help to bankruptcy clients. VLP was one of only 48 legal service organizations in the country to receive an ACB grant. In 2018 alone, VLP has helped clients discharge $2,390,679 through bankruptcy cases. Grants such as this allow us to continue serving our clients on their path to a debt-free life. At a recent bankruptcy clinic, a client told VLP that he never expected to be in the situation of needing to file for bankruptcy. He came to the clinic not expecting to receive much help and was overjoyed when Staff Attorney Natasha Lewis provided advice and guidance on gathering the necessary documents to file for bankruptcy. The client feels he now has the knowledge and help he needs to start his life over. Bankruptcy work is life changing, and support from The American College of Bankruptcy helps make this work happen. VLP thanks ACB for their generous support of our work and their support of our clients!

Staff Accolades

Top Women of Law 2018 VLP Legal Director Cindy Palmquist was named one of Mass Lawyer Weekly’s 2018 Top Women of Law! Cindy has been a dedicated Family Law attorney for years. While running her private practice, she represented clients with varying family law needs, and found herself representing some of her clients for little-to-no pay out of the kindness of her heart. She eventually came to VLP as the Legal Director where she supervises and guides VLP staff attorneys. In addition to her full time job at VLP, she teaches a law course at New England law and is a member of the Women’s Bar Foundation. Cindy’s commitment to educating new attorneys, nurturing practicing attorneys, and helping low-income clients earned her the Top Women of Law award, and VLP is happy to have her as one of our own.

SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services VLP Director of Grants and Community Partnerships Steve Russo was elected to the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services! This committee focuses on how to better engage the private bar in pro bono work and honors those who go above and beyond in their service of pro bono legal aid. Steve was previously the Call Center Supervisor for VLP before transitioning to grants and partnerships. Steve’s continuous hard work in the legal aid field earned him a seat on this committee, and his wealth of experience makes him an ideal person to promote pro bono work among his legal colleagues. VLP is proud to have someone as dedicated as Steve working with us.

Attorney Spotlight

Housing Case Win VLP staff attorney Amy Anthony , with help from pro bono attorneys, recently helped a housing client avoid homelessness! The client’s landlord tried to evict the client for no cause, but told the client he could reapply for the same apartment at a higher rental rate. The client refused, and the landlord took him to court. When the landlord and tenant went to court, the judge ruled in favor of the landlord. The client was told he must leave the apartment he had lived in for more than 20 years.   Senator DiDomenico became aware of the eviction and reached out to VLP consultant Dick Bauer and VLP pro bono attorney Cameron McGinn to see if they could help the client. They argued that good cause was required to terminate the client’s tenancy ( a requirement of Section 8 vouchers) and that the trial judge erred in denying the client a continuance to find counsel and incorrectly stated that there are no defenses in a no cause eviction. The case was taken to the Appellate Division, and the court ruled in favor of the client. The case was sent back to the district court.   At this point, Amy Anthony took on the case as a VLP staff case. Amy worked for months on the client’s case by gathering information and documents and interviewing the client. Amy filed a motion to dismiss based on the landlord’s lack of good cause for eviction. The court granted Amy’s motion, and the case was dismissed. The client now gets to stay in his home! This case spanned more than a year, and the entire time the client was left wondering if and when he would be homeless. Thanks to the hard work of Amy, Dick, and Cameron, the client can rest easy again.

Volunteer Spotlight Volunteer attorney Tristan Axelrod , an associate at Brown Rudnick, has been a reliable and passionate volunteer for VLP. Attorney Axelrod volunteers mostly in our Bankruptcy unit, but has taken a recent interest in Housing cases as well. On his first housing case, Attorney Axelrod went above and beyond to help his client. Not only did he help reach an agreement with opposing counsel, but when it became clear his client needed non-legal community services for other issues in her life, he researched a list of resources to help the client further. This kind of tireless advocacy is the sign of a great attorney. He enjoyed the experience so much that he has asked our staff housing attorneys for more housing cases! When not helping our housing clients, Attorney Axelrod primarily volunteers on VLP bankruptcy cases. He has helped 5 clients complete bankruptcy filings so far. In total, he has helped bankruptcy clients erase $96,000 in debt. Attorney Axelrod's empathy for his clients is clear, and VLP is fortunate to have such a dedicated, caring attorney volunteering with us.

New VLP Staff

Katherine Harris is VLP’s new Economic Fairness Project Coordinator , working in both the Consumer and Employment units. Before joining VLP, she graduated from the University of Houston, worked at various non-profits, and served in West Africa with the Peace Corps. Katherine enjoys table-top games and hiking when she’s not at work.

Bogyung Lim is one of VLP’s newest Legal Advocates at ERLI . She is a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music. After graduation, she tutored and mentored immigrant students and families for two years as a North Shore AmeriCorps member. In her free time, Bogyung can be found watching "The Office" for the millionth time.

Cindy De La Cruz started this fall as a Legal Advocate at ERLI . Prior to joining VLP, Cindy worked at the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard Association as a Youth Development Counselor. Cindy went to Newbury College and is a huge fan of the Boston Celtics.

Mildred Gonzalez just started at VLP a couple weeks ago as an Administrative Assistant . She has a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from, and she is about to complete her MBA. She is from Chihuahua, Mexico, and she loves eating pho whenever she has the chance.

VLP Partner Programs

VLP is fortunate to have many partners throughout the Boston area who make our work possible. The support from our partners allows us to serve more clients and meet more needs. The following two clinics are joint projects between VLP and partner organizations that allow us to serve unique client needs we otherwise would not be able to meet.

SERV SERV (Settlement and Early Resolution Volunteers) is a court-certified pro bono program in which experienced family law conciliators assist non-represented litigants in settling their cases. It began as a collaboration between the firm Verrill Dana and VLP’s Senior Partners for Justice project. Since then, SERV has handled over 500 cases in the Suffolk County Probate and Family Court and successfully resolved 95% of the cases conciliated. In 2013, the program was honored with a John Adams Pro Bono Publico Award from the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono.The program is entirely volunteer run with SPJ volunteer Vickie Rothbaum, Esq. overseeing the program. SERV assists clients every Monday and Wednesday each month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. SERV is an ideal pro bono opportunity for lawyers who may have limited time to volunteer. It is a commitment of 3 or 4 hours on the day of the conciliation. It is fast-paced and located in the courthouse, so the results are immediate. There is no ongoing involvement or commitment with any case that is conciliated. Although the time commitment is small, the results for litigants and for the court are huge. To volunteer for the program you need to have completed an 8-hour conciliation training or a certified mediation training and have at least 3 years of family law practice experience. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Attorney Vickie Rothbaum - rothbaumv@gmail.com .

Appeals Clinic The Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCO) and VLP host the Civil Appeals Clinic every Wednesday at the Adams Courthouse. Firms and volunteers at the clinic explain the appeals process to clients, provide advice, and assess whether the case should be reviewed for further representation. When a case appears to be a viable candidate for an appeal, a Review Panel of experienced volunteer attorneys discuss the case to decide merit for appeal. Cases that can be appealed are referred to a law firm for full representation. The clinic has served 551 clients with help from 231 clinic volunteers. Attorneys saw an average of 7.4 clients per week in 2018. So far, 15 cases have been accepted for full representation. Interested in Civil Appeals? Since the clinic runs on a rotating basis between several firms, you only need to commit to volunteering about once every 2 months. The Appeals Clinic is a great way to meet other experienced attorneys or get your entire firm involved in pro bono work. Many firms even sponsor weekly clinics, staffed by their attorneys. If you're interested in volunteering, email VLP paralegal Alec Gubics - agubics@vlpnet.org .

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