LSHV celebrates outstanding volunteers and donors

WHITE PLAINS, NY -- Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV), the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services to those that cannot afford it in the seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley, recently held a celebration event on Tuesday, October 24th as part of National Pro Bono Week. The event, which was attended by more than 50 people, was an opportunity for the organization to recognize five outstanding pro bono attorney volunteers as well as hundreds of contributors to its $1 million Let Justice Grow 50th Anniversary Campaign.

Rachel Halperin, Chief Program Officer, said during the ceremony, “Truly, tonight is a celebration of giving. Whether it is of time, energy, or essential financial resources, we rely heavily on our friends in the community to enable us to fight for the basic human needs of our neighbors.”

At LSHV’s event, the following attorneys were recognized for their pro bono involvement:

• Henry Berman and Tamara Mitchel from Berman Frucco Gouz Mitchel & Schub PC
• John Pappalardo from Farber, Pappalardo & Carbonari
• Georgia Kramer and Michelle Lewis from Kramer Kozek LLP

The recognition event coincided with National Pro Bono Week, which was launched in 2009 by the American Bar Association to raise awareness about the ever-growing unmet legal needs of vulnerable and economically disadvantaged individuals and families and to encourage more attorneys and paralegals to volunteer through non-profit organizations to help meet these needs.

Although LSHV employs more than 85 attorneys across nine offices in the seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan), the organization relies on approximately 300 volunteer attorneys and paralegals to provide pro bono legal assistance to clients in matters that LSHV’s staff cannot handle because of limited resources. These include cases in the areas of uncontested divorce, family law, consumer, housing, wills, bankruptcy, and unemployment.

Speaking of the program, Marian Genio, LSHV’s Pro Bono Director, said, “Those attorneys who volunteer with LSHV not only assist those in need of services, but also express satisfaction in helping our clients. The benefits are reciprocal and we appreciate and encourage participation by the private bar.”

For more information about LSHV and the work that it does in the lower and mid-Hudson Valley, visit www.lshv.org.

Pictured (L-R): Tamara Mitchel; Pro Bono Director Marian Genio; John Pappalardo; Georgia Kramer; Michelle Lewis