City Bar Justice Center Announces New Chair and Board

July 1, 2013

Mei Lin Kwan-Gett, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, has been elected Chair of the City Bar Fund, which oversees the City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar Association.

New Estate Advisory Panel Provides Needed Resource for Low-Income Callers to Legal Hotline

April 2, 2013

The City Bar Justice Center has established an Estate Pro Bono Advisory Panel for low-income callers to its Legal Hotline, and will soon establish a regularly scheduled clinic to advise low-income people on personal planning, end of life, and estate matters.

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.

Victor 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.

City 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.

City 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.

Laura 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.

Barbara 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.

Jay 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.

City 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.

Free legal clinic offers support for small businesses pinched by coronavirus

April 1, 2020

“A new clinic founded by the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation will provide free legal assistance to small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 shutdown. L4GG is launching its Small Business Remote Legal Clinic this week in partnership with the City Bar Justice Center to guide small businesses through dire economic straits related to the coronavirus.”

NYC Bar Association: We Are Still Here to Help

March 31, 2020

“The City Bar Justice Center and a number of law firms are joining with the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation to launch a pro bono project to help small businesses access the federal government’s COVID-19 stimulus package.”

Lawyers 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.”

Law 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.

Elderly 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.”

A 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.”

Protecting 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.

Learning 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.

Refugees 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.

Here’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.