Legal Services of the Hudson Valley celebrates outstanding volunteers during National Pro Bono Week

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV), the only provider of comprehensive civil (non-criminal) legal services to those that cannot afford it in the seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley, recently held a Pro Bono Celebration on Wednesday, October 26th as part of National Pro Bono Week. Launched in 2009 by the American Bar Association, National Pro Bono Week is an opportunity 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 80 attorneys across eight 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 family law, consumer, housing, wills, bankruptcy, and unemployment among others.

At the October 26th Pro Bono event, which welcomed almost 70 people to LSHV’s White Plains headquarters, the organization honored eight attorneys and one paralegal for their Pro Bono assistance to our clients filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. “Bankruptcy continues to be an area where there is tremendous need for legal services… and our bankruptcy Pro Bono attorneys and paralegals continue to work with our organization to benefit the greatest number of clients,” said Marian Genio, LSHV’s Pro Bono Director.

Those honored at the Pro Bono Celebration included:

· Julie Cvek Curley, Partner at DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr LLP

· Deyanira Gonzalez, Paralegal at Cabanillas & Associates

· Nathan Horowitz, a solo practitioner attorney

· Dawn Kirby, Partner at DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr LLP

· Natasha Meruela, a solo practitioner attorney

· Susan Mills Richmond, staff attorney at Legal Aid of Rockland County

· Hugh Rothbaum, a solo practitioner attorney

· Wendy Marie Weathers, Senior Managing Attorney at Cabanillas & Associates

· Ted Zink, Jr., Partner at McCarthy Fingar LLP

“Pro Bono attorneys and paralegals contribute approximately $800,000 in time and professional services to our clients annually. In honor of National Pro Bono Week, all of us at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley are delighted to recognize the generous volunteer contributions made by these attorneys and paralegals, especially those being honored here tonight, in the furtherance of access to justice for all regardless of their ability to pay for an attorney,” said Barbara Finkelstein, LSHV’s Chief Executive Officer.

LSHV’s ProBono Celebration event was sponsored by Dan Zilker and LexisNexis, which provides computer-assisted legal research as well as business research and risk management services.

With the gap separating those who can and cannot afford legal representation widening each day, LSHV provides free, high-quality counsel in civil (non-criminal) matters where basic human needs are at stake for poor and low-income individuals and families who cannot afford an attorney. LSHV’s services are available to clients living at/or below 200% of Federal Poverty Income Guideline level (FPIG) or $48,600 for a family of four. Across all seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley, more than 545,000 people live at/or below this threshold. These low-income residents desperately need civil legal services to advocate and fight for their basic human rights.

Pictured: (Seated L-R) Ted Zink, Jr., Susan Mills Richmond, Wendy Marie Weathers, Nathan Horowitz, (Standing L-R) Natasha Meruela, Deyanira Gonzalez, Marian Genio, Dawn Kirby, and Hugh Rothbaum. Julie Cvek Curley (not pictured).