Making a positive impact on the community can take many different forms – whether it’s volunteering at a limited-scope legal clinic, serving on the board of a legal services organization, or even founding a non-profit to provide assistance in another country. VLJ volunteer and BASF attorney Sneha Desai has done it all.
June 2018 Volunteer of the Month: Paul Evangelista
Declaring bankruptcy is a difficult decision for anyone to make, and successfully navigating the complex bankruptcy process is also difficult, if not impossible, to do without the assistance of legal counsel. That is where volunteers like bankruptcy attorney Paul Evangelista step in to help provide the much-needed pro bono bankruptcy assistance to low-income debtors. Doing his part to ensure that justice is accessible to everyone, Paul has been volunteering with VLJ’s Bankruptcy Program for over a year now, representing indigent debtors in filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions.
VLJ Receives 2018 Jefferson Award Medallion
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice has received the 2018 Jefferson Award Medallion in the Volunteer Group category for outstanding work benefiting the community. The Jefferson Awards were established in 1972 as the official recognition program of the United States Senate. They are considered America’s highest honor for public service and volunteerism. “We were so honored to be nominated for this award by our Board Chair, Susan McGahan, a steadfast supporter of justice.”
May 2018 Volunteer of the Month: Becky Rosenfeld
The school-to-prison pipeline – a disturbing national trend in which children, especially those who are minorities or have disabilities, are pushed out of the classroom and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems – has made national headlines in recent years, with much discussion on how to address this problem. For attorney Becky Rosenfeld, it meant a career change – from representing defendants in criminal matters to going back to the start: school.
April 2018 Volunteer of the Month: Maryann McGrath
Paralegals are an integral part of the practice of law. The American Bar Association recognizes that paralegals can enhance lawyers’ abilities to offer paid and pro bono services. That is also true of the role of paralegals as volunteers with VLJ, including longtime Consumer Law Clinic volunteer Maryann McGrath. Maryann is a paralegal at AT&T, currently focusing on domestic and international corporate governance. Maryann has volunteered with the Consumer Law Clinic every month for the past 5 years.
March 2018 Volunteer of the Month: Kelly Lloyd Lankford
For a new attorney, several reasons might serve as deterrents to taking on a pro bono case: it might be a lot of work; it’s likely an area of law the attorney knows little about; or maybe it’s just difficult to know where to begin. But Kelly Lloyd Lankford has experienced firsthand the benefits of pro bono work, and wants to reassure other young attorneys that it can be a positive experience.
Kelly is a Senior Managing Associate at Dentons. Kelly has volunteered with VLJ for the past several years and recently accepted a position as co-chair of VLJ’s Generation Now.
February 2018 Volunteer of the Month: Maritza Rodriguez
The dissolution of marriage is a profoundly stressful, emotional and life changing experience for all parties involved. Maritza Rodriguez has devoted her entire career to helping clients from different backgrounds navigate the complicated legal process while offering them the emotional guidance and support along the way.
January 2018 Volunteer of the Month: Mary Kenny
American veterans face significant struggles after serving our country and returning home. Mary Kenny thinks that for many veterans these struggles cannot be overcome without the assistance of the courts, organizations like VLJ, and volunteers like her team at BASF Corporation.
Mary is Senior Counsel in the legal department of BASF, the North American affiliate of BASF SE, the world’s largest chemical company. She supports one of the business units at BASF, doing transactional work for her group. In addition to her role as a business attorney, she also acts as BASF’s pro bono coordinator.
December 2017 Volunteer of the Month: Laura Kelly
It would be easy to make the assumption that low-income clients with very few assets would have little need for a will. On the contrary, as Laura Kelly says, “That just makes the assets they do have even more important to them.”
Laura is a Partner at McCarter & English. She has concentrated her practice in trusts and estates matters since 1994, and has volunteered with VLJ for the past several years both by taking pro bono estate cases for full representation and by speaking at VLJ’s clinics to train volunteer attorneys.
November 2017 Volunteer of the Month: Steve Weingarten
Steve Weingarten is Chief Counsel-Corporate Affairs and Corporate Assistant Secretary of Newark, New Jersey-based Panasonic Corporation of North America (PNA), a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies, and consumers across the region. Steve also advises both PNA’s community outreach and employee volunteer programs, and the Panasonic Foundation, which provides support to school systems in the greater Newark area and throughout the United States.
Earlier this year, in partnership with PNA and BASF Corporation, VLJ launched the Veterans Legal Wellness Clinic at the VA hospital in East Orange.