Homeless Need Internet Access to Find a Home: City Bar Justice Center Report Documents Lack of Technology in Homeless Shelters

May 19, 2020

New York, May 19, 2020 – The lack of access to technology – specifically Internet access – in homeless shelters severely hampers shelter residents in finding permanent housing, a report by the City Bar Justice Center (CBJC) finds. Additionally, insufficient Internet access is imposing further hardships on homeless families, as the COVID-19 pandemic has led … Continue reading Homeless Need Internet Access to Find a Home: City Bar Justice Center Report Documents Lack of Technology in Homeless Shelters →

City Bar Justice Center Announces Pro Bono Legal Hotline COVID-19 Expansion

May 12, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has devastated New York City and disproportionately impacted low-income communities served by the City Bar Justice Center (CBJC). In response, the CBJC has launched the Legal Hotline COVID-19 Expansion, a pro bono initiative in response to the urgent legal needs of underserved New Yorkers.

City Bar Justice Center Launches Pro Bono COVID-19 Small Business Remote Legal Clinic

April 10, 2020

New York, April 9, 2020 – The City Bar Justice Center has launched a pro bono, remote legal clinic to help small businesses understand and access options available under the federal government?s COVID-19 stimulus package and other opportunities available through federal, state and local programs.

City Bar Justice Center to Honor Venable and MetLife with Pro Bono Awards – Event Moved to Sep. 24

April 1, 2020

New York, April 1, 2020 – The City Bar Justice Center’s 15th Annual Gala will honor the law firm Venable LLP and financial services company MetLife, Inc. with the 2020 City Bar Justice Awards for their leadership and dedication to pro bono and public service. Originally scheduled for April 1, 2020, the Gala will take place … Continue reading City Bar Justice Center to Honor Venable and MetLife with Pro Bono Awards – Event Moved to Sep. 24 →

Free Life-Planning Legal Assistance to NYC Front-Line Health Care Workers to be Provided by City Bar Justice Center

March 30, 2020

New York, March 30, 2020 – The City Bar Justice Center’s Planning & Estates Law Project (PELP) will provide free, remote legal assistance to New York City front-line health care workers in preparing simple life-planning documents, including wills, powers of attorney, designations of standby guardians and health care proxies. PELP consists of a panel of … Continue reading Free Life-Planning Legal Assistance to NYC Front-Line Health Care Workers to be Provided by City Bar Justice Center →

Leading Human Trafficking Attorney to Become Deputy Director of the City Bar Justice Center

June 21, 2019

New York, June 20, 2019 – Suzanne Tomatore will assume the role of Deputy Director of the City Bar Justice Center beginning July 1, 2019, the organization announced today. Tomatore has worked at the Justice Center for nearly two decades, including as Director of the Immigrant Women and Children Project and the Cancer Advocacy Project. … Continue reading Leading Human Trafficking Attorney to Become Deputy Director of the City Bar Justice Center →

City Bar Justice Center Announces Honorees of 2018 Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service

October 18, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact: Eric Friedman Director of Communications efriedman@nycbar.org 212-382-6754 Michael Fil Communications and Development Coordinator mfil@nycbar.org 212-382-6727 City Bar Justice Center Announces Honorees of 2018 Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service New York, October 18, 2018 – The City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City … Continue reading City Bar Justice Center Announces Honorees of 2018 Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service →

City Bar Justice Center Gala to Celebrate Pro Bono

April 10, 2018

On April 11, the City Bar Justice Center’s 13th Annual Gala will honor the global biopharmaceutical leader Pfizer Inc. and the international law firm Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP with the 2018 City Bar Justice Awards, for their leadership and dedication to pro bono and public service.

Kurt M. Denk Joins City Bar Justice Center as Pro Bono Counsel

March 13, 2018

Kurt M. Denk has joined the City Bar Justice Center as Pro Bono Counsel. Denk comes to CBJC from Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, where he practiced general civil and complex commercial litigation and maintained an active pro bono docket on behalf of diverse clients and causes.

Innovative Online Portal Provides Help to Low-Income New Yorkers with Consumer Issues

January 25, 2018

Low-income consumers in New York City now have a dynamic new tool for obtaining legal help on a consumer issue. The NYC Consumer Help Finder is an online portal through which low-income New Yorkers can apply for legal help with a consumer problem and be assured a prompt call-back from an attorney or authorized case handler.

The Costs Lurking in Self Storage

October 25, 2022

Lisa Pearlstein, director of the City Bar Justice Center’s Legal Clinic for the Homeless in New York City, tells The Progressive that she had concerns about how the pandemic would affect storage unit renters. Because she works with families experiencing homelessness who receive storage eviction notices, she understands how devastating the prospect of losing their possessions can be.

City Bar Debuts Free Legal Advice For Migrant Youth In NYC

October 14, 2022

The City Bar Justice Center in New York has partnered with housing and homeless youth services nonprofit Covenant House to provide pro bono advice on immigration law to young asylum-seekers arriving in the city from the southern border of the U.S., the City Bar has announced.

Senator Biaggi Joins Community Activists And Legislators To Advocate For Free Internet Access In All Homeless Shelters Across New York

November 30, 2021

According to a 2020 survey of New York City shelter residents by the New York City Bar Justice Center, only 6% of residents in homeless shelters were able to access the internet through their shelter.

City Bar Justice Center Holds Its Pro Bono Awards Event

November 2, 2021

On Tuesday, Oct. 26, the City Bar Justice Center held its 2021 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Awards ceremony. The hybrid live/virtual event recognized the “dedicated volunteer attorneys and legal professionals who have stood out for their work on the center’s civil justice projects.”

Willkie Team Sweeps NY Bar Awards For Pro Bono Work

October 27, 2021

A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP team was honored by the New York Bar Association’s justice center at an award ceremony Tuesday for their work fighting to prevent New Yorkers from losing their possessions in self-storage units due to financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Willkie team was among 11 award recipients and included senior counsel Richard Mancino, associate Romane Paul, law clerk Brenton Clarke, and summer associates Garry Canepa and Rachel Winters, according to the City Bar Justice Center.

Lina Stillman, Principal at Stillman Legal, P.C., Awarded 2021 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award by the City Bar Justice Center

October 25, 2021

Stillman Legal, P.C., a law firm specializing in labor and employment law and immigration, is celebrating the achievements of their founding member,  Lina Stillman, who was recently named one of the awardees of the City Bar Justice Center’s 2021 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award. The CBJC will celebrate Lina Stillman, alongside other awardees, at a hybrid celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.

New York City Bar Justice Center Honors 11 Recipients With 2021 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award

October 13, 2021

The City Bar Justice Center has announced 11 recipients of this year’s Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award, in which the legal services group honors “dedicated volunteer attorneys” and legal professionals who have stood out for their work on the center’s civil justice projects.

Lucia Damerau Selected as Fragomen Fellow to Provide Pro Bono Immigration Support

October 12, 2021

We are proud to announce that Lucia Damerau is the newest Fragomen Fellow.

The Fragomen Fellowship is a fully-funded, two-year rotating fellowship established by Fragomen to enhance the pro bono legal services provided to immigrants by the City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar Association.

It’s Time To Fix the Co-Op Problem

February 16, 2021

By K. Scott Kohanowski, the City Bar Justice Center’s Homeowner Stability and LGBT Advocacy Projects Director.

“It is time for New York to protect all owner-occupants of residential property and urgently close the loophole that denies at-risk co-op unit owners the protections accorded to similarly situated homeowners.”

How Jim Crow-era Laws Still Tear Families from Their Homes

February 1, 2021

Scott Kohanowski, director of the Homeowner Stability Project with the City Bar Justice Center in New York City, has seen predatory investors and developers look for properties in gentrifying parts of the city to force partition sales.