The
Legal Project
Pro
Bono Corner
Lisa A. Frisch, Executive Director
A New Day?
You’ve heard
quite a bit from me over the past few years about funding issues, particularly
relating to our need to rebound after losing our Violence Against Women
Legal Assistance for Victims grant which had made up about half of our
program budget at the time. One of the reasons that the loss of this
grant was such a blow to our program was the fact that we had little
operations support to fall back on. Historically, unlike most other
comparable states, New York has not provided core support to legal services
programs such as ours, with the sole exception of the Assembly Majority
who have provided much needed dollars through the use of local initiative
funding and the Legal Services Assistance Fund. In fact, it was these
funds, directed by the Legislature, that in large part helped us get
through that challenging time, in addition to the incredible support
that we received from the community.
Of course, this
legislative support for non-profits is now mired in a whirlwind of scrutiny
and accused of being “pork barrel spending”. We know first
hand that the majority of the funds disseminated are the farthest thing
from “pork” possible but instead provide critical sustenance
to programs such as ours and Legal Aid. However, while we applaud the
Assembly for consistently using their discretionary funding to provide
the sole source of state funding for general civil legal services over
the past 13 years, the only way there can be true stability for our
programs is if the new Administration moves to provide funding through
the Executive Budget.
With the leadership
of the Empire Justice Center, civil legal services programs have been
calling for funding from the Executive Budget for years but these requests
unfortunately went unheeded. We are now calling on Governor Spitzer
to step in and finally prioritize access for justice for the poor. As
a cohesive group, the civil legal services community is asking for the
Governor to create an Office for Civil Justice on the Executive level
and provide $50 million in funding statewide for civil legal services.
This may sound like a great deal of money, but this request builds on
a nearly decade old call for $40 million for these services from Judge
Judith Kaye back in 1998, and is consistent with recent recommendations
from the Equal Justice Commission (a self-appointed group of leaders
from the legal community who studied the funding gaps). Should the Governor
provide this level of funding, it would bring New York State from its’
current funding level of providing just $2.54 per poor person to a respectable
$18.57, still less than the $23.44 provided by our neighboring state
of New Jersey , but a much more appropriate commitment to justice for
the state that gave birth to the legal services movement.
While such an investment
would not completely solve the funding challenges of civil legal services
programs like ours, it would provide a core level of support that could
keep our services stable while we build on this funding through grants,
endowments and private fundraising. And it would provide us with a partner
in the Executive branch to ensure that there is consistent, clear oversight
and transparency in the distribution of funding; put simply, civil legal
services would have a "home" in state government for the first
time. It truly would be a “new day” for civil legal services
and the people in need that we serve.
No program providing
key community services should be in the terrible position we were in
last year—faced with turning away desperate victims of domestic
violence and potentially cutting the very heart out of our program.
We all need the stability of this core funding so we can continue to
provide our essential services without interruption, and without having
to unduly depend on unpredictable grants, in order to help those most
in need in our communities. Finally, as a state, we would provide the
poor in New York with true access to justice.
Thank you to Assemblyman Robert
Reilly and the Community Foundation!
The Legal Project
is one of the area non-profits to receive one of The Community Foundation
for the Capital Region’s Assemblyman Robert Reilly Salary Fund
in the amount of $5000. As you probably are aware, Assemblyman Reilly
pledged to donate his annual salary when he was running for election
and he has made good on his promise, each year awarding an array of
wonderful organizations with a one-year grant to help them provide their
much-needed services. We are honored to be chosen to receive this funding
for 2007 and want to thank both the Assemblyman and the Community Foundation
for their support of The Legal Project and all that they do for the
not-for-profit community of the Capital Region.
Volunteers Needed for
Brief Service: Domestic Violence Consultations
Attorneys often
tell us that they would love to volunteer for the Domestic Violence
Legal Connection but their time is too limited to represent clients,
or perhaps they work for agencies or organizations which have policies
prohibiting representation. The Legal Project now has a way for those
attorneys who have experience in family law matters to be an important
part of the Domestic Violence Legal Connection. We are looking for attorneys
to provide free, private consultations to victims of domestic violence
at our Domestic Violence Legal Connection Clinics. The clinics are designed
to provide brief legal advice and information to victims of abuse, particularly
those who are not available to meet with our staff attorneys during
the day. All we ask is that you commit to a couple of hours once a month
to do the consultations at our convenient location at 6 Executive Park
Drive, Albany. Participating attorneys may attend our Family Offense
Basics training session for free (and receive CLE credits!). You will
also earn one CLE credit hour for every six hours of pro bono service
you provide. Don’t pass up this wonderful opportunity to provide
much needed free legal advice to people who truly need it and whose
lives can be transformed by it. If you are interested, please contact
Jessica Lennon at 435-1770, or at jlennon@legalproject.org.
Thanks for Volunteering in January!
AHAA
Tubosun Osofisan
Pamela Robich-Wright
Anne Sharpe
Domestic
Violence Legal Connection
Sue Adler
Laura Egner
Miriam Healy
Judith Mellyn
Camille Siano Enders
HIV/AIDS
Wills Project
Anne Reynolds Copps
Legal
Clinics
YWCA:
Tammy Arquette
Jennifer Corcoran
Barbara King
Albany Public Library:
Janet Axelrod
Ron Orlando
Unity
House:
Coordinator – Abe Bolgatz
Thomas Kenney
Jill Nagy
Mechanicville:
Anne Reynolds Copps
South End:
Coordinator – Vickie Smith-Moyo
Katherine Levitan
Margaret Vella
Saratoga:
Coordinator – Katie Weinberg
Laura Greco
Linda Taverni
Equinox:
Coordinator – Stephanie Hollner
David Levy
Joann Sternheimer
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