Leaders for Justice: New York City Bar Presidents on Pro Bono and Access to Justice

 

November 20, 2009, New York — The City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar Association, has produced a collection of essays by the current president, Patricia M. Hynes, and all living former City Bar presidents, titled “Leaders for Justice: New York City Bar Presidents on Pro Bono and Access to Justice.”

The 13 essays—by Hynes, Barry M. Kamins, Bettina B. Plevan, E. Leo Milonas, Evan A. Davis, Michael A. Cooper, Michael A. Cardozo, Barbara Paul Robinson, John D. Feerick, Conrad K. Harper, Robert M. Kaufman, Louis A. Craco and Merrell E. Clark—cover three decades of activity related to pro bono and access to justice at the City Bar, beginning with Clark’s tenure of 1978-1980.

The leadership of the City Bar has been instrumental in building lasting New York City institutions to match clients in need with pro bono attorneys, including Volunteers of Legal Service, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, the City Bar Justice Center, and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, and their impact has been felt across the nation and around the world.

“For something so central and meaningful to so many lawyers, there is surprisingly little written about lawyers’ pro bono service,” said Hynes, who invited the former presidents to contribute essays to the collection. “These essays demonstrate the scope of the Association’s commitment to pro bono assistance to the needy and represent a call for increased access to justice for all.”

The City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar, increases access to justice by leveraging the resources of the New York City legal community. Justice Center projects are focused in three areas: Immigrant Justice, Economic Justice and Access to Justice Innovations. The Justice Center also operates the city’s busiest legal hotline and special projects. The Justice Center annually provides direct legal representation, information and advocacy to over 25,000 poor and vulnerable New Yorkers.