Press
For all press inquiries, please contact Cheryl Lopez.
Human Trafficking in the U.S.: Concrete Solutions for Better Data Collection
March 6, 2013
Better data collection on human trafficking, particularly on labor trafficking, would help service providers allocate limited resources and help prevent trafficking in the future, according to a white paper by the Immigrant Women & Children project (IWC) of the City Bar Justice Center.
Read moreVictor M. Tello Joins City Bar Justice Center as Coordinating Attorney for Sandy Disaster Relief
January 10, 2013
The City Bar Justice Center has hired Victor M. Tello as its Coordinating Attorney for Disaster Relief. Tello will centralize the Justice Center’s various activities in training and mobilizing volunteer attorneys to assist in Superstorm Sandy relief.
Read moreCity Bar Justice Center Releases Economic Empowerment Resource Guide
January 10, 2012
The City Bar Justice Center’s Immigrant Women and Children (IWC) Project has produced anEconomic Empowerment Resource Guide, providing resource information for immigrant victims of violent crimes and low-income New York City residents in general. Topics covered in the guide include public benefits, job training and placement, employment agencies, personal finance, financial aid for higher education, and small business resources.
Read moreCity Bar Justice Center Announces Winners of Third Annual Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service
October 18, 2011
The City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar, has announced the winners of the third annual Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service. Honoring volunteer lawyers for outstanding work on Justice Center projects, the awards will be presented at a Celebration of Service reception on Monday, October 24th, as part of National Pro Bono Week.
Read moreLaura Matthews-Jolly Joins City Bar Justice Center to Help Sex and Labor Trafficking Survivors
October 12, 2011
Laura Mathews-Jolly has joined the City Bar Justice Center’s Immigrant Women & Children Project on a two-year Equal Justice Works fellowship, supported by the law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, to provide legal services to immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and are survivors of labor and sex trafficking.
Read moreBarbara Camacho Joins Justice Center on New Two-Year Fellowship
September 7, 2011
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, the world’s leading provider of immigration services, has announced the appointment of Barbara Camacho as the firm’s latest “Fragomen Fellow” effective August 29, 2011. The Fragomen Fellowship is a two-year rotating position to enhance the pro bono immigration services provided by the City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar Association.
Read moreJay Holtmeier to Chair City Bar Justice Center; New Officers Announced
June 9, 2011
Jay Holtmeier, a partner at WilmerHale, has been elected as Chair of the City Bar Fund, overseeing the City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar Association.
Read moreCity Bar Justice Center Gala to Honor Global Pro Bono Work of Barclays PLC and Linklaters LLP
April 7, 2011
On April 13, the City Bar Justice Center’s 6th Annual Gala will honor Barclays PLC and Linklaters LLP for exemplary leadership in their global pro bono programs, community projects and public service activities.
Read moreVeterans Assistance Project Releases Veteran’s Legal Resource Guide
November 8, 2010
The Veterans Assistance Project, an initiative of the City Bar Justice Center, has released The New York City Veteran’s Legal Resource Guide (pdf). The 46-page guide, which is designed to be a reference for both veterans and veterans’ service providers, lists organizations that provide free legal assistance to low-income veterans.
Read moreCity Bar Justice Center Announces Winners of Second Annual Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service
October 22, 2010
The City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar, has announced the winners of the second annual Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service.
Read moreLawyers Across the Country Are Offering Free Legal Advice to Small Businesses Struggling With the Coronavirus Pandemic
March 30, 2020
“The pro bono service consists of free 45-minute sessions that will be held across the country in coming weeks. An initial pilot program, conducted in partnership with the City Bar Justice Center, is coming to hard hit New York in the coming days. You can sign up here to see when a clinic will come to a city near you.”
Read moreLaw Firm Coalition Launches National Pro Bono Campaign to Support Small Biz
March 27, 2020
“The City Bar Justice Center in New York is a tremendous resource for New Yorkers of modest means providing all kinds of services in good times and bad. They’re the first to respond with services that are created just in time for crises like this,” Haberfeld said. The New York clinic, which is expected to open early next week, will bring together lawyers from at least 26 firms to help guide small business owners in determining what help is available through the package that passed the House earlier Friday, and also assist them in filing for grants and loans available through various federal, state, and local programs.
Read moreElderly Brooklyn couple slapped with $44,000 city water bill
May 21, 2018
“It’s really difficult for any senior who’s trying to remain in their home in New York City to be hit with that kind of bill,” said Scott Kohanowski, a lawyer for the City Bar Justice Center.
Thomas and her husband, Cecil, are in their 70s and have lived on Avenue B in Canarsie for 40 years.
Kohanowski helped them apply for relief under a city leak forgiveness program. But to qualify, homeowners must apply within 120 days of their first high bill. The DEP said the couple missed that deadline.”
Read moreA Horrifying Path to America for Hotel Workers
March 1, 2018
Our client profiled in The Atlantic magazine.
“Four people in need of work went to the first meeting and gave the man money, but Racida Eslabon was the only one who made it to the United States. She had already worked in a factory in Japan, and when she got back to the Philippines, she wanted to leave again so she could send money home to her mother, who was sick. She had been trying to get a job through a placement agency but with no success, so it seemed like very good luck when she met Alfred Briones in June 2008.”
Read moreProtecting Senior Homeowners from Reverse Mortgage Foreclosure: A Policy Brief
August 17, 2017
In recent years, reverse mortgage defaults and foreclosures have dramatically increased both in New York and nationwide, putting many senior homeowners at risk of displacement. The Center for NYC Neighborhoods would like to thank and acknowledge the contributions of K. Scott Kohanowski of City Bar Justice Center and Jessica Scholes of New York Legal Assistance Group to this report.
Read moreLearning the Importance of Estate Planning the Hard Way
June 2, 2017
When Rodriguez’s father became ill, he hadn’t planned a will or made any arrangements to transfer his assets to others after his death. When he died unexpectedly, Rodriguez became very worried that he would lose his home, the apartment he had lived in for over 20 years. Thanks to the Planning and Estates Law Project at the City Bar Justice Center, he was able to retain a lawyer and prove in court that the apartment belonged to him under New York State Law.
Read moreRefugees From Violence and War Build New Lives In New York
May 9, 2017
“The narrative coming out of this White House is that asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants are terrorists, are fraudsters, are criminals, and that is absolutely not borne out by the clients we work with,” says Jennifer Kim, co-director of the Immigrant Justice Project at the City Bar Justice Center, a pro bono legal advocacy group.
Read moreHere’s Why Immigrant Victims May (Still) Be Afraid to Report Crime
February 21, 2017
Immigrants without legal status are often vulnerable to crime, because they’re afraid of going to law enforcement and being deported. This is why Congress authorized a special program called the U visa almost 20 years ago. It enables them to remain in the U.S. and work if they can prove they were helpful to investigators or prosecutors. “It helps create community partnerships with law enforcement and helps keep perpetrators of violence off the street,” said Suzanne Tomatore, coordinator of the Immigrant Justice Project at the City Bar Justice Center.
Read moreAt JFK’s Terminal 4, a good weekend to be a lawyer
February 10, 2017
Laura Berger, a litigator for City Bar Justice Center, showed up Sunday morning in response to a 3 a.m. email from the Urban Justice Center. She told me she figured she would put to use her immigration law experience.
Read moreAt Least a Dozen Detainees Still Held at JFK in Apparent Violation of Federal Judge’s Ruling
Four detainees who had secured legal representation were released Sunday morning, Laura Berger, an immigration attorney with the City Bar Justice Center and volunteer with the Immigrant and Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), told Jezebel.
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