2019
IMPACT REPORT
REPORT 2019 IMPACT
“
Most important, our daily work to meet the essential legal needs of our lowincome clients succeeded. We handled a total of 13,293 cases and benefitted 21,499 low-income residents via closed cases in our service area.
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LETTER FROM THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
LILLIAN M. MOY
Our 2019 Impact Report illustrates the underpinnings of our successful response to COVID-19 this year. Building and maintaining the solid skills of our attorneys allowed us to win important victories for both homeowners and tenants, and for the St. Clare’s pensioners whose case moves forward. Attorneys Shruti Joshi and David Crossman won cases addressing mortgage foreclosure/scams and a potential eviction from invaluable subsidized housing. Thank you to Carol Kerber, Tracy Love, and Glenn James for letting us share their stories with you. Even more successes are highlighted at www.lasnny.org. Overcoming the adversity of staffing challenges and turnover, our PAI program had great impact on several fronts. Blessed with outstanding volunteers such as Marc Ehrlich, Fiona Farrell and Joseph Pinto, we closed 456 pro bono cases, benefitting 1,006 people. We look forward to continuing to work with PAI volunteers in meeting the needs of our clients.
We continued to pay attention to leadership development within the Society. In 2019 LASNNY also continued to look inward, providing race equity training so that we can better identify and engage in race-based issues. We are grateful for our 2019 trainings and the conversations that left us poised to respond to the tragedies of 2020. Most important, our daily work to meet the essential legal needs of our low-income clients succeeded. We handled a total of 13,293 cases and benefitted 21,499 low-income residents via closed cases in our service area. Of these, 21 cases had significant impact in the communities where we live and work. We also provided legal outreach, information and education benefitting 126,240 individuals. Additionally, in 2019, we mailed our newsletter, Legal Aid Matters to 8,025 lawyers, judges, and community agencies. At the end of the year, we had a staff of 95, including 54 attorneys. My sincere thanks to each of them for their passion, commitment, and sacrifice.
In 2019, we continued to build our infrastructure and work closely with the communities where we live and practice. We obtained funding for The Albany Project (TAP) from the Charles Touhey Foundation and the Barry Alan Gold Memorial Fund that placed a full-time attorney to serve clients in the South End. TAP will also hire attorneys to serve Arbor Hill and West Hill.
Our work can open the door to the future. We rely on each of our colleagues and each of you! Together you have helped our clients with income, food, shelter, safety and stability that they need to rise above poverty. Your support also helps to ensure our future. Please keep in touch. You can always reach me at lmoy@lasnny.org, 518689-6304 (office) or 518-810-8859 (cell).
We continued to implement our Strategic Plan. Victoria Esposito’s work as our Advocacy Director had impact on multiple fronts. Our work on behalf of the St. Clare’s pensioners received extensive press coverage, both regional and national.
Namaste,
LASNNY BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: 1st Vice President: 2nd Vice President: Treasurer: Secretary:
Victor Mazzotti, Esq., Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, LLP Karla W. Buettner, Esq., Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart & Rhodes, P.C. Benjamin Fishman James E. Hacker, Esq., E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy Lisa Mills, Esq., Fitzsimmons & Mills, P.C.
Thomas R. Adams, Esq., Jasmine Ceniceros, Susan Christopher, David Cost, Esq., Sanjeeve DeSoyza, Esq., Elizabeth Dias, James Fleury, Julie Garcia, Esq., Lloyd G. Grandy II, Esq., Katherine Mastaitis, Esq., Rosemarie Perez-Jaquith, Vicki J. Prager, Esq., Morgan Ruthman, Esq., Mark Schneider, Esq., Vincent Valenza, Esq.
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“
The foreclosure case had been going on since 2015 and LASNNY was able to take care of things within just a few months. I was in tears everyday until LASNNY and Shruti stepped in. — Carol Kerber, LASNNY Client
Shruti Joshi (LASNNY Staff Attorney), Carol Kerber & Neil D. Breslin (New York State Senator Dist. 44)
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MORTGAGE MODIFICATION AND FORECLOSURE SCAM CAROL KERBER Carol Kerber was trying to do the right thing when she reached out for help to save her home, but like thousands of New Yorkers, she fell victim to a scam. In 2015, Carol Kerber lost her job and because she was approaching 70 years old, she had a tough time finding new employment. With the bills piling up and little money coming in, Carol fell behind on her mortgage payments. By 2017, Carol’s mortgage was in default and she felt like she was running out of options.
Eventually, someone from the County Clerk’s office referred Carol to Legal Aid and Attorney Joshi was able to take on the case. Joshi explains that Legal Aid actually took on two cases for Carol. The first was representing her in settlement conferences and requesting a loan modification. Attorney Joshi says that Carol qualified for a modification and her foreclosure was discontinued. As for the foreclosure scam, Attorney Joshi explains that it was only after she filed a civil lawsuit against the attorney to recover the money that his malpractice insurance carrier came around to negotiate with her. She continues, “after a lot of negotiations, we were able to recover $5,500 that Carol had paid this attorney.”
One night, while watching television, Carol saw a commercial advertising help for struggling homeowners. Carol called the number and when she spoke with an attorney on the phone, he said “Don’t pay the mortgage company, just pay me, I’ll take care of everything.” Carol laments, “I should have realized something was off.”
Attorney Joshi says, “We were able to get two good outcomes for Carol, but unfortunately we have seen a surge in cases like this.” She continues, “Our clients are vulnerable and they often fall prey to these types of scams.” Today, Carol is happily still in her home and relieved that the ordeal is over. She says, “The foreclosure case had been going on since 2015 and LASNNY was able to take care of things within just a few months.” She continues, “I was in tears every day until they stepped in.”
Shruti Joshi, a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY), explains that this was an attorney licensed in New York and Vermont who likely had ties with such advertisement companies in order to get referrals such as Carol’s. He convinced Carol to pay him a monthly retainer, with a recurring transfer directly from her bank account. Unfortunately, while Carol was paying him this retainer, he was doing very little on her behalf.
Marlene Morales, Managing Attorney of LASNNY’s Foreclosure Prevention Project, says “homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments are typically targeted with multiple solicitations with too-good-to-be-true promises. Carol’s story highlights the need for the no-cost, high quality legal representation that LASNNY is able to provide through its Foreclosure Prevention Project.”
Carol says, “I thought the attorney was doing something for me, but the mortgage company continued to send me foreclosure papers. I assumed the money I sent him was going towards my mortgage.” Additionally, the attorney was asking Carol to gather a lot of documents and for a woman in her position; this legwork was a lot to ask. Attorney Joshi says, “They repeatedly asked her for the same documents. Carol was running around to the County Clerk’s office, making copies, and more. This was difficult for her because of her age, notwithstanding that she was paying an attorney for the work she had to do herself.”
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2019 PAI RECAP Over the course of 2019, PAI opened over 3,000 cases and its volunteers took on 574 cases – for free. We would like to thank PAI Director Myleah Misenhimer, Acting PAI Director Victoria Esposito, PAI Paralegal Melody Harkness, and our dedicated PAI coordinators who stepped up during 2019 to help the program running smoothly through staffing changes.
PAI continues to hold and plan virtual trainings and compile practice guides targeted at what we are seeing as the greatest needs, such as unemployment benefits, bankruptcy, and advance planning. The entire PAI team continues to keep our volunteers updated on the changing legal landscape to ensure we can meet the legal needs of our community together.
Looking forward we are facing the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic head on. LASNNY is committed to taking the steps necessary to keep our clients, volunteers, and staff safe, meeting virtually through email, phone, and video conferencing.
If you are interested in joining the PAI program, please call Chart Title Acting PAI Director Victoria Esposito at (518) 533-5932 or vesposito@lasnny.org. And to our dedicated and talented team of PAI volunteers, thank you.
PAI CASES HANDLED
PAI VOLUNTEERS Litigators and non-litigators Associates and partners
Divorce: 31% (695.8 hrs / 232 cases)
Private practice attorneys
Housing: 24% (521.1 hrs / 157 cases)
In-house counsel
Divorce
Housing
Consumer
Bankruptcy
Wills, Estates & Advance Planning
Name Change
Taxes
Other
Consumer: 19% (417.7 hrs / 57 cases)
Government attorneys
Bankruptcy: 8% (171.7 hrs / 47 cases)
Transactional attorneys
Advance Planning: 7% (165.3 hrs / 36 cases)
Solo practitioners
Name Change: 5% (115.8 hrs / 33 cases)
Law students and paralegals
Taxes: 3% (68.7 hrs / 2 cases)
Attorneys Emeritus
Other: 4% (90.4 hrs / 10 cases)
MORE THAN 120 ATTORNEYS VOLUNTEERED 2,220 HOURS ON 574 CASES IN 2019 6
2019 PAI VOLUNTEERS Private attorneys provide important civil legal services through LASNNY’s PAI (Private Attorney Involvement) Program, which encourages and supports attorneys who offer pro bono services to low-income residents of Northeastern New York. Support for PAI volunteer attorneys includes client and case screening, CLE credits, free training, secondary professional liability insurance and reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses. Listing is of PAI Volunteers from January 2019 through December 2019
OVER 75 HOURS Alex Dunshee Fiona Farrell Joseph Pinto Morgan Ruthman Kathy Walter
50 - 75 HOURS Kelly M. Curro Sharon Couch Debonis Lisa Mills Vicki Prager Amanda Rose Jessica Vinson
25 - 50 HOURS Ira Bloom J. Michael Boxley Cody Casullo Rebecca Janes Alhasan Mahmood Abigail McCormick-Foley Michael J. O’Connor Joel Peller Erica Rangel Adrian Scantlebury Lawrence Schillinger Bethany Schumann-Mcghee Breanna Staffon Eric Weinhold Stephen Weiss Jon Whalen
10 - 25 HOURS Michael Belsky Leah Bojnowski
Paul Briggs Stephen Buckley Paul M. Callahan Christopher DiSanto Christian Dribusch Marc S. Ehrlich Kasey Hildonen Jellisa Joseph Thomas K. Keefe Christopher Kenyon Ronald Kim Erin Lynch Paul M. Macari Tara MacNeill Gwenn Mayers Robert McNee David Meyers Jill Nagy Michael O’Brien Lynne Papazian Lianne Pinchuk Jeff Pohl Kenneth Ritzenberg Tina Sciocchetti Suzanne Smith Bruce Steves Alex Turnello Emily Uhlig Debra Verni G. Kimball Williams
2019 Distinguished Service PAI Awardees with Lillian Moy, LASNNY Exeucutive Director - (Top) Fiona Farrell, Esq. and (Bottom) Joseph W. Pinto Jr., Esq. William Berglund Michael Billock Brandi Burns Paul Cardinal Katy Carpenter Christine Carsky John Casey Peter Coffey Bob Cohen Ryan Cooke Jo Ann E. Coughtry Taylor Cuomo Nancy Delain James Della Porta Mariah Dolce John Dormin Clifford Eisenhut Brent Frary Meg Gilmartin Thomas Hall Charles Harding Nicole Helmer Simon Daniel Hurteau Michael Katz Joseph L. Kay Andrea Kelsey Gerald Leary Chelsey Lester Theresa Levine
1 - 10 HOURS Robert L. Adams Michael D. Assaf Luke Babbi Paula Barbaruolo
Tim Lyons Kelly Mikullitz Stephen Molinsek Robert Molloy Justin Myers Kevin O’Brien Rachel Rappazzo Louise Roback Dana Salazar Alexander Sanchez Randy Schaal Jo Ann Shartrand Arthur Siegel Justine L. Spada Christina Suits Maria Tebano Kevin Thiemann Michael J. Toomey James Trainor Ned Trombley Raysheea Turner Christiaan Van Niekerk Marian Walsh Erica Waters Marissa Wiley Joseph Williams James Wisniewski Mia Wolfe Christina Zawisza
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many low-income individuals have one less thing to worry about. In addition to directly helping clients, Fiona has also assisted other PAI volunteer attorneys by sharing her documents, letting them shadow her in court, and being available as a resource.
PAI VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Fiona Farrell lives on a small farm in Saratoga with her husband Kevin and their menagerie of animals including horses, dogs, and a cat. Luckily Saratoga County is the perfect spot for an equine lover like Fiona; she owns a solo law practice that focuses primarily on horses and their people and has been active on behalf of equine welfare initiatives, including serving as a member of the NYS Task Force on Retired Racehorses. Most notably, Fiona started the Thoroughbred Renaissance program to promote thoroughbreds for use as show and pleasure horses.
Fiona Farrell Fiona Farrell has been an essential piece of the expansion of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY) Attorney for the Day (AFTD) program into the Glens Falls City Court. In 2019 she helped seventeen clients avoid money judgments, get time to find new housing, or avoid eviction altogether. Without her help, these tenants would have had to represent themselves in housing court where they could have been evicted in as little as 72 hours or been ordered to pay large sums of money to their landlords.
Fiona says, that being an AFTD is one of the most direct ways she’s been able to help people in need. Fiona explains, “Volunteering helps me see in stark and immediate human terms the difference that legal representation can have. It can spell the difference between becoming homeless in days or not, in owing multiple thousands of dollars or much less, in feeling helpless or that someone is in one’s corner.”
Attorney for the Day is an in-person, limited scope pro bono program where attorneys represent lowincome tenants facing eviction in housing court on a particular date. The representation begins and ends the same day. The LASNNY Attorney for the Day program currently operates in Albany, Glens Falls, & Troy City courts.
And the appreciation is mutual – LASNNY is all the better because of Fiona’s contributions. LASNNY’s PAI (Private Attorney Involvement) paralegal, Melody Harkness, says, “Fiona has been instrumental in sustaining our Attorney for the Day program in Glens Falls. She is a zealous advocate and is always willing to mentor and share her expertise with new pro bono advocates.”
In rural areas like the North Country, it can be a challenge to find housing and legal representation, when necessary. Because of Fiona’s tireless efforts,
ATTORNEY FOR THE DAY PROGRAM
3 $ 115,111
Attorney for the Day is an in-person, limited representation pro bono program where attorneys represent tenants facing eviction in private and public housing forums for their first appearances.
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LOCATIONS
Albany, Glens Falls & Troy City Courts
SAVED IN ARREARS
For more information or to volunteer, please contact Ryland Wiseman, PAI Paralegal: rwiseman@lasnny.org or 518-689-6322
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TENANTS ASSISTED o 35% Fixed Income (SSI, SSDI, etc.) o 15% no income o 50% employed, below 125% federal poverty level
LASNNY ACROSS THE REGION RENEWAL HOUSE
LASNNY Honored at Annual Dinner www.lasnny.org/RenewalHouse
GREY GABLES
“Unlivable and uninhabitable”: Historic apartment building Gray Gables condemned www.lasnny.org/GreyGablesNCPR
CHILDREN’S LAW PROJECT
LASNNY Receives Funding from the Community Foundation to Help Children with Special Needs www.lasnny.org/CommFoundationCLP
LASNNY AMSTERDAM
Legal Aid Society of Northeastern N.Y. celebrates the opening of new location www.lasnny.org/2019Amsterdam
ST. CLARE’S HOSPITAL
Former St. Clare’s Workers Sue Diocese of Albany Over Failed Pension www.lasnny.org/2019StClares
PATRICIA CARSON
Affordable Tax Installments Turn Things Around for Divorced Client www.lasnny.org/2019Carson
MARC EHRLICH
PAUL SABATINO
Loan Modification and Foreclosure Scam www.lasnny.org/2019Sabatino
Marc S. Ehrlich Named ABA Pro Bono Publico Recipient www.lasnny.org/MarcEhrlich
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CREATING WAVES OF CHANGE
LASNNY Impact Work Group Creates Community Change with Civil Legal Aid
FIRST CLIENT WITH PROBLEM Let’s say an individual client comes in and says they’ve been wrongly denied benefits by a social services agency. Maybe the agency even pressured them to withdraw their application before giving them a decision. We can and should help this client with an appeal or a hearing—but that by itself won’t create change on a larger scale.
LOOK AROUND AND SEE MULTIPLE CLIENTS WITH SIMILAR ISSUES If one client has had this happen, we think that it’s likely other people have had this happen. So we ask our advocates to look for other clients who have had this problem with the same agency.
GROUP GATHERS DROPLETS INTO BUCKET TO CREATE LARGER SYSTEMIC CHANGE THROUGH ADVOCACY Once we know that this is a problem that’s affecting a lot of people, we can think about bigger solutions. We might be able to fix the problem by discussing it with the agency; we might file a lawsuit asking for money for the clients and retraining for the workers; or we might file a series of individual lawsuits.
LARGER SYSTEMIC CHANGE CREATES A TIDAL WAVE TO POSITIVELY IMPACT A WHOLE COMMUNITY Whatever solution we choose, we have been able to bring all these drops together and use them to create a tidal wave of change. This will bring about change throughout the system, helping not only our clients but many people who will never need to seek our legal help.
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LETTER FROM
ADVOCACY DIRECTOR
VICTORIA ESPOSITO
I’m delighted to have this opportunity to update LASNNY’s friends and supporters about our systemic work, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
clients understand the changes in the law which affect them. We established working groups to review and summarize various areas of the law, including unemployment, housing, and foreclosure, which have temporarily changed due to coronavirus. We presented legal information in “Virtual Town Halls” on Zoom and Facebook Live, and we continue to use remote technology to educate our clients on the law and their rights. We also joined with the advocacy directors of a number of other legal services organizations to successfully advocate for tenant protections as the courts begin to reopen. As we move back to a more normal work life, we anticipate systemic problems in public benefits, unemployment, and housing, and we are preparing to find and fix as many of those problems as we can. We are also extremely mindful of the interplay between poverty and systemic racism, and we continue to look for areas where we can advocate on behalf of BIPOC.
We define systemic work as any litigation or other advocacy that is intended to fix a problem that does or could affect a large number of people. This includes lawsuits, legislative or administrative advocacy when permissible, media work, and informal advocacy; as Advocacy Director, it is my job to work with advocates throughout our service area to identify these issues and determine how best to tackle them. 2019 was a particularly good year for systemic advocacy. Some highlights: •
Following several years of advocacy and litigation, we were able to get an uninhabitable apartment building in our Plattsburgh service area closed.
•
We successfully brought two actions challenging the state’s failure to pay certain SSI recipients their retroactive state supplement.
•
We won a federal appeal on behalf of a Social Security client with limited English proficiency, the first of its kind in our federal district court.
•
We testified in support of the new landlord-tenant laws which became law in 2019 and which offer tenants significantly more rights and protections.
•
Together with a team of other legal services and private attorneys, we filed litigation on behalf of former employees of St. Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady whose pensions were abruptly reduced or halted altogether; we also successfully argued that our clients should be allowed to be heard in the related corporate dissolution case.
We really don’t know what practicing law is going to look like in the coming weeks and months, but we do expect that our client base is going to continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID crisis and that we will need to be very vigilant on their behalf. We appreciate your support in this, as in so much else. Stay safe and keep in touch,
Thank you to the funders of our Impact Work in 2019:
As you all know, in March 2020 COVID completely upended our work. We began working from home, the courts closed, and the legal landscape shifted almost daily. We shifted our emphasis to helping our
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LASNNY AND STEHP TEAM UP TO PREVENT EVICTION When he contacted the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (LASNNY), Glenn James was living in subsidized housing and at zero income. He was seeking legal help due to eviction proceedings brought forth by his landlord. James was put in touch with LASNNY through the Solutions to End Homelessness Program (STEHP) grant and staff attorney David Crossman began representing him. Crossman explains that James’ situation was particularly precarious because he lives in project-based subsidized housing and an eviction would also mean losing the subsidy.
GLENN JAMES
two other grounds. Crossman says, “We cited Mr. James’ testimony at trial that he had gotten rid of all his furniture and was sleeping on the floor. He also kept all his clothes in plastic bags because of the bedbugs and used to spray his own insecticide until the landlord asked him not to. ” Due to Crossman’s diligent research and hard work, in January 2019, the Schenectady County Court ruled in James’ favor and vacated the warrant of eviction issued by the lower court. James is grateful for the help he received from LASNNY and the STEHP grant. He says, “Without David and the appeal, I know I would have been homeless. He truly turned my life around.” James recently received his commercial driver’s license (CDL) and is now working as tractor-trailer driver. He has increased his income, an important component of the STEHP program and is still residing in his apartment.
James says that he and the property manager had a history of butting heads over some minor issues, like lost keys, and weren’t on great terms. He surmises that this tension ultimately led to eviction proceedings. James’ landlord, Windgate Management Co. filed eviction proceedings due to the following violations: alleged failure to report employment/income; alleged (and unspecified) damage; failure to reimburse the landlord for two sets of keys that he had lost, and for creating conditions for a bedbug infestation. A judge ultimately ruled in the landlord’s favor.
“
Without LASNNY and the
Crossman explains that at trial in December 2017, the judge in Schenectady City Court found that the landlord had not sufficiently proven any of the grounds except for the bedbug issue. However because of the infestation, the judge ruled in favor of an eviction. Crossman appealed the bedbug decision through Schenectady County Court and secured a stay on the eviction. Because of Crossman’s effort, James was able to remain in his apartment through the pending appeal.
appeal, I know I would have been homeless. David truly turned my life around. — Glenn James,
Throughout the appeal process, Crossman argued that James did not create conditions for bed bugs, that the presence of bedbugs did not violate his lease, in part because the lease required the landlord to exterminate regardless of the reason for the infestation, as well as
LASNNY STEHP Client
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A SURVIVOR’S STORY
TRACY LOVE
Tracy Love is not a victim, though she understands why some would use that descriptor when they hear her story. Married to a man who violently assaulted her countless times throughout their 20-year relationship, she lived much of her life thinking most everyone suffered from some degree of abuse in their relationships. But when her husband’s violence escalated to include the use of weapons, Tracy knew she needed to make a plan of escape that included obtaining full legal and physical custody of her three children. She also knew that Wellspring in Saratoga Springs offered free consultations with lawyers through a partnership with Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY). And it was there at Wellspring she met with Joanna Davis, a lawyer with LASNNY and the woman Tracy credits with helping her transform into what she prefers to be known as today—a survivor.
husband was confined to jail. Upon her arrival home, though, an insistent nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach would not leave Tracy alone. She listened to her instincts, packed up a few items for herself and her children, and then sought refuge at the home of her parents. That night, her husband returned to the marital home and burned it to the ground unaware that Tracy and their children were asleep elsewhere. “I don’t fault the judge for releasing him,” Tracy says. “My husband told a very convincing story of his mental illness and how it was the first time anything like that had happened and how he was sorry. But if I hadn’t made that promise to Joanna and if I hadn’t listened to my gut instincts, I wouldn’t be alive today. If I had been there, he would have killed me. No doubt.” In the aftermath of her husband’s arrests for both abuse and arson, Tracy turned to Ms. Davis and LASNNY to help her obtain every legal protection she could for herself and her children. Ms. Davis filed for a five-year order of protection— the maximum allowable under the NYS family court act—and sole physical and legal custody of the children to be granted to Tracy. Ms. Davis also worked with the DA to provide information pertinent to the criminal case against Tracy’s husband. Without the assistance provided through LASNNY, Tracy is certain she would not have been able to protect herself and her children.
According to both Tracy and Ms. Davis, there was more at work in their meeting on that October 2019 day than either of them understand. “I gave Tracy legal and safety advice,” Ms. Davis says, and then she asked Tracy to do something which Tracy credits as the reason she is alive today. “Joanna asked me to promise that I would file a report if my husband ever got violent again. I made a promise to her, and I don’t break my promises.” Before the month was over, Tracy would follow through on that promise. On October 31, 2019, Tracy’s husband attacked her as she shielded her children from his violence. On the following morning, Tracy went to the hospital for her injuries and honored her pledge to Joanna by filing a police report. Upon her husband’s arrest, a stay away order of protection was granted and Tracy was told she could go home and sleep in peace for at least one night while her
“I wasn’t there at Wellspring that day to change my life,” Tracy says. “I was there to listen to what Legal Aid had to offer. Before Joanna, I’d never trusted anyone enough to tell the truth of what was going on. But I trusted her. From day one, I trusted her. And it was the trust I placed in her—not the system, not the sheriff, not anything else—that got me from there to here because somehow I knew she would help me get through it.” Because of her own courage, resilience, and tenacity and because of the legal assistance and emotional support she received through LASNNY, Tracy’s life story has entered a new chapter—a chapter filled with gratitude, optimism, and goals which keep Tracy going during the dark times of recovery and relearning to trust herself and the world. And for her new lease on life, Tracy is forever grateful to LASNNY.
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JUSTICE FOR ALL ANNUAL CAMPAIGN The Annual Fund for the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Thank you to the leadership firms and corporate donors who contributed to the 2019 JFA Campaign, improving access to justice for our low income neighbors throughout Northeastern New York. 2019 CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRS: E. STEWART JONES, JR. AND DAVID COST PLATINUM
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
LaClair & DeLuca, PLLC*
Marinstein & Marinstein, Esqs., PLLC
($499 AND UP/ATTORNEY)
Lavelle & Finn, LLP
Robert A. Becher, Attorney at Law
Buckley, Mendleson, Criscione and Quinn, P.C.
Moynihan & Hayner
Lemery Greisler LLC
Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC
Couch White, LLP
Nichols Kaster, PLLP*
Jean M. Mahserjian, Esq., P.C.
Dreyer Boyajian
Greenberg & Greenberg
Pierro, Connor & Strauss LLC*
Peter V. Coffey, Esq.
LaMarche Safranko Law PLLC
Maynard, O’Connor, Smith & Catalinotto, LLP
Law Firm of Alex Dell, PLLC
O’Connell & Aronowitz
Nixon Peabody LLP
E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy
Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, LLP Rivkin Radler LLP Joy M. Smith Attorney At Law SILVER PLLC
Farrell Fritz, P.C. Fitzsimmons & Mills, P.C.
($250 TO $324/ATTORNEY)
Friedman, Hirschen & Miller, LLP
Barclay Damon LLP
Law Offices of Ronald J. Kim, P.C.
Breslin Law Group, PLLC*
Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, LLP
Cannon Heyman & Weiss, LLP
John F. Maxwell, Attorney at Law
Capezza Hill LLP*
Melody A. MacKenzie, PLLC
Conboy, McKay, Bachman & Kendall, LLP*
McNamee Lochner P.C. Law Office of Vicki J. Prager* Law Offices of Patricia L.R. Rodriguez
The Spada Law Firm
Law Office of Polly Feigenbaum, PLLC*
Stephanie A White Law PLLC
BAR ASSOCIATIONS Albany County Bar Association Italian-American Bar Association
Sullivan, Hess & Youngblood, PC*
CORPORATE
Law Office of Dennis Tarantino*
Able Process Servers*
Thorn Gershon Tymann & Bonanni, LLP
ABS Solutions
The Law Office of Kimberly Van Wormer*
Donnellan & Knussman, PLLC
Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux LLP
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish*
OTHER
The West Firm
Amazon Smile Foundation
Young/Sommer LLC
GE Foundation - Matching Gifts
Law Offices of Mark A. Schneider
Law Offices of Karen M. Gazda*
SUPPORTER
Goldman Sachs - Matching Gifts
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP
Girvin & Ferlazzo, PC
Anderson, Moschetti & Taffany
Gordon, Tepper & DeCoursey, LLP
Cabaniss Casey LLP*
Network For Good - Donations via Facebook
GOLD
Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti, P.C.
Caffry & Flower
Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart & Rhodes P.C.
Hinman Straub Charitable Fund
Goulston & Storrs
Hodgson Russ LLP
Lafave, Wein & Frament, PLLC
Bernhardt Karp, Attorney At Law
Law Offices of Stephen Johnston
Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP
($325 TO $498/ATTORNEY)
Goldberger and Kremer
SEFA/United Way of the Greater Capital Region
*New for 2019
TO PLEDGE TO THE 2020 CAMPAIGN, CONTACT DEANNE GRIMALDI AT (518) 689-6336, DGRIMALDI@LASNNY.ORG OR DONATE ONLINE AT WWW.LASNNY.ORG. List of Firm Donors appears in the Albany Business Legal Issue, on our website - www.lasnny.org, LASNNY newsletter, Annual Impact Report, ACBA Court of Appeals Dinner Program Book, and the ACBA Newsletter
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2019 LASNNY BY THE NUMBERS REVENUE
$ 11,413,137 State, County & City Grants
$ 2,539,368
Interest on Lawyers Accounts (IOLA)
$
959,783
Judiciary Civil Legal Services (JCLS)
$
4,503530
Legal Services Corporation (LSC)
$ 1,400,529
Individuals, Corporations, Law Firms
$
554,691
Foundations & Other Grants
$
760,324
Other
$
694,913
EXPENSES
$ 11,233,079
PERSONNEL: Lawyers..........................................................................$ 4,592,485 Non-Lawyers................................................................ 2,037,206 Fringe Benefits............................................................. 2,399,958
OPERATING: Space & Utilities..........................................................$ 385,691 Office & Related Expenses....................................... 293,546 Contract Services........................................................ 776,080 Library............................................................................ 81,704 Client Litigation Expenses....................................... 22,156 Travel & Training......................................................... 229,447 Miscellaneous.............................................................. 414,807
2019 PRIVATE, FOUNDATION, CORPORATE & OTHER FUNDING • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Albany Law School B’nai B’rith Gideon Foundation Barry Alan Gold Memorial Fund Bethesda House of Schenectady Capitalize Albany Corporation Carl E. Touhey Foundation Catholic Charities of Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties Catholic Charities of Schoharie County Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region Community Service Society Damien Center U=U Equal Justice Works Evergreen Townhouse Community (ETC) Family Counseling Center of Fulton County, Inc.
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• • • • • • • • • • • •
Hunger Solutions New York Impact Fund Mechanicville Area Community Services Center, Inc. New York State Bar Foundation Nutrition Consortium Phila, Emma Willard Schenectady Community Action Program (SCAP) St. Lawrence Valley Renewal House for Victims of Family Violence, Inc. St. Paul’s Center Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Unity House of Troy Wellspring, Inc.
2019 CASES BY AREA OF LAW HOUSING
FAMILY 3,217 families striving for stability through protection orders against domestic violence, child custody, divorce, legal name changes, adoption, and guardianships.
3,832 households facing evictions, unsafe residences, foreclosure, or other housing issues.
INCOME & BENEFITS 3,088 households in need of income supports such as SNAP, health insurance, veteran benefits, unemployment benefits, Social Security, and disability benefits.
CONSUMER DEBT 1,205 individuals dealing with consumer debt including medical debt, bankruptcy, consumer scams or fraud, and utility shut offs.
EMPLOYMENT
EDUCATION
377 people dealing with employment discrimination, employee rights, or other workplace issues.
177 students with disabilities receiving help to ensure they receive the services they need for a free and appropriate education.
Housing: 29% (3,832 cases)
CASES HANDLED BY TYPE
Family: 24% (3,217 cases) Income: 23% (3,088 cases) Consumer Debt: 9% (1,205 cases) Other: 14% (1,897 cases)
13,239 28,539 582
42%
CASES HANDLED
CASES INVOLVED U.S. VETERANS
OF CLIENTS WERE BIPOC*
(Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
PEOPLE BENEFITED
2,124
CASES INVOLVED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
17 DONATE ONLINE WWW.LASNNY.ORG
REPORT 2019 IMPACT
JUSTICE FOR ALL ANNUAL FUND
DONATIONS & PLEDGES RECEIVED IN 2019
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Thank you to all of our generous supporters, who in 2019 donated and pledged over $390,000. Together you helped secure basic needs, protected and preserved legal rights, provided equal access to justice, and dignity for our clients.
$2,500 & UP Sherry Gold CC E. Stewart Jones, Jr. & Kimberly Sanger Jones CC The Penobscot Fund Dale Thuillez CC Lewis Black Family Fund M. Cornelia Cahil CC F. Michael Tucker CC
$1,000 TO $2,499 Evalyn & Joseph Basloe Glen Bruening Charlotte & Charles Buchanan Eleanor DeCoursey Sanjeeve DeSoyza Sheldon Evans & Martha McMaster Peter Halewood & Donna Young Ann Horowitz Amelia Klein Bridget Milot Ren Lillian Moy SU Earle Mullen & Jo-Ann Mullen Living Trust Cornelius & Martha Murray William Nolan CC Thomas O’Connor Susan Read Patricia Rodriguez & Robert Colborn Patrick Seely, Jr. Jeffrey Sherrin
$500 TO $999 Anonymous SE Lynne Ackner John & Mary Ann Allen Melissa & John Bennett Ira Bloom John Casey David Cost Julie Garcia SU Deanne Grimaldi CC
Tara Moffett Timothy Morrison Alex Powhida Morgan Ruthman SU Nancy Willie-Schiff & Peter H. Schiff Bethany Schumann-McGhee CC Christian Soller Judith Stein Family Fund Keith Stinton Leslie Thiele & Ken Larsen Edward Trombly Marjorie Tsang Vincent Valenza SU Bruce Wagner Jenifer Wharton CC Richard White G. Kimball Williams & Margaret Gillis Amy & William Yates Melissa Zambri
$200 TO $499 Anonymous James Ayers Jeffrey & Martha Baker William Better Frank Bifera Karla Buettner Kristina Burns George Ceresia Nancy Chu CC Linda Clark Nan Clingman Stuart Cohen Thomas Connolly Brian Culnan Richard DiGiovanna Karen Diligent Kevin Donovan Stephen Dorsey William Foster
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Kenneth Gelhaus Thomas Gleason Gail Gordon Michael Greco Richard Greene Lee Greenstein CC Alita Guida Richard Heffern Howard & Mary Jack Sandra Jacon Donald Kinsella Howard Levine Matthew Ludemann Maureen Madden Stephen Mastatis Tolga Morawski Elizabeth Morss Miguel Ortiz Tina Marie Parisi Rosemarie Perez Jaquith George Pond David Quinn Sarah Rapke Steven Rodway Carl Rosenbloom Jena Rotheim Claudia Ryan James Sander George Sarachan James & Robin Sevinsky Lori Sievers Eugene Sneeringer Edward Spain Leslie Stein Henda Strasser Joesph & Mary Teresi Randolph Treece Richard Weisz Joanne White Benjamin Wilkinson
$100 TO $199 Anonymous (6) Janet Axelrod SE Joseph Ball Michael Boxley Anthony Brankman Jeffry Brozyna Robert Callahan Vito Caruso Deborah Damm O’Brien Garrett DeGraff Bonnie Devine SE Stephen Easter Sheila Foglietta Jacqueline Foster CC Michael Foster Kevin Glasheen Simeon Goldman Herb Gordon Stephen Gottlieb Victoria Graffeo Karen Halaco Ursula Hall William Harris John Harwick Martin Hotvet Christian Hummel Robert Hussar M. Mark Jacquinot Bill Kahn Joseph Kay Robert Keyes Mark Koblenz Richard Kruger Helga Landeau Neil Lebowitz John Moran Cheryl Mungo & William Trompeter SU David Munro Rika Murray Anne Nardacci Troy Oechsner Mary O’Neill Andrew Oritis Richard Pine Mari-Anne Pisarri
Robert Plattner Mark Powers David Quist Maurice Rasheed SE Robert Redmond Roberta Reid SE Thomas Richards Betsy Ruslander Colm Ryan Darius Shahinfar Martin Smalline Debra Smith Valarie & Harold Solomon Mark Sonders John Sullivan Peter Thiasz SE Emily Titsworth Ida Traschen Loida Vera Cruz CC Michael Whiteman Mary Withington
Brad Gallagher Fred Goodman Donna Heinrichs Thea Hoeth L. Foster James Emma Jenkins Karleen Karlson Thomas Keefe Dylan Keenan SE Steven Klein Bryan LaVigne Colin Lentz CC Deborah Liebman Allen Light Oksana Ludd Lucia Lyness Di Ma Paul Mason SE Robert McCann Amanda Miller Shyam Mohanka Shalini Natesan Janet Obrien-Aram Michael O’Connor Charles Orsinis Elaine Owles Peter Pappas Burnetta Parker
$99 & UNDER Anonymous (7) Florence Abrams SE Allegra Adelman James Albrecht Radworth Anderson Brenda Baddam Linn Baker Diana Bangert-Drowns Robert Barker Eugene Berkun Robert Braine Amanda Buczeksmith CC Martha Butler Carol Carusone Jasmine Ceniceros CC Edna Chandler Peter Coffey Joanne Crum Michael Cuevas Pam Davis Edward DeBarbieri Jondavid Delong CC Jason DiMarino Phil Drum Mark Frering
Erik Pinsonnault Victoria Ramundo Kathryn Rezendes Martin Ricciardi Richard Rodgers Jane Scott Ekin Senlet Timothy Service Laurie Shanks JoAnn Shartrand Timothy Smith Susan Spang Patricia Stevens Roy Stock Margaret Surowka Barbara Thomas Christine Traskos Paul Vasquez Jacob Vredenburgh Mary Walters Tammy Weinman Kathleen Whiteford John Williamson
CC = Capital Campaign SU = Sustain SE = SEFA
HONOR & MEMORIAL GIFTS In Memory of David Burke St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish In Honor of Victoria Espositio Thea Hoeth In Honor of Lillian M. Moy Elaine Owles In Honor of Patricia Rodriguez Judith Stein In Memory of Robert K. Ruslander Betsy Ruslander In Memory of Josephine Sarbanes Tina Marie Parisi
19 DONATE ONLINE WWW.LASNNY.ORG
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
ALBANY, NY PERMIT #370
95 Central Avenue Albany, NY 12206
FORWARDING SERVICE REQUESTED
2020 Campaign Launched OCTOBER 2020 Donate on line at www.lasnny.org Donation envelope enclosed
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT LASNNY? Support our Annual Justice for All Campaign at a law firm or corporate leadership level or as a individual monthy sustainer Become a Guardian of Justice Support our Capital Campaign Create a Facebook Fundraiser www.facebook.com/fund/lasnny Volunteer with our Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Program Tell your legislators that you support funding for civil legal services
Our SEFA Organization Number is
50-00198 www.SEFAnys.org/pledge
G uardians of Justice Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Endowment Fund
Anonymous James B. Ayers Jeffrey & Martha Baker Richard J. Bartlett* Charlotte S. Buchanan David & Kathleen Burke Paul M. Callahan Peter and Mary Coffey John R. Dunne* Deanne Grimaldi Richard C. Heffern Leonard Hermann E. Stewart & Kimberly Jones, Jr. Thomas V. Kenney, Jr. Amelia M. Klein
Skip & Merri* Meislahn Tim & Carmelina Morrison Lillian M. Moy Miriam M. Netter* Thomas J. O’Connor Patricia Rodriguez & Robert Colborn The Ruthman Family Arthur and Ronnie Siegel Keith St. John Henda and Samuel Strasser Leslie Thiele and Ken Larsen F. Michael Tucker Wendy L. Wahlberg G. Kimball Williams & Margaret J. Gillis Mary Withington
* deceased
The Guardians of Justice are a group of individuals committed to securing justice for future generations through support of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York’s permanent endowment fund. Please contact Deanne Grimaldi at dgrimaldi@lasnny.org or (518) 689-6336 for more inforation about including LASNNY in your planned giving through either direct donation or in your estate.