Leading with Legal Clinics and Presentations: May News
One of VOLS’ strengths is providing legal services in spaces where our clients feel safe, supported, and connected to their communities. Our ties to community partners also allow us to identify emerging legal trends and stay nimble to support our clients. This month, we’ve been across the city and out in the community meeting with our clients in collaboration with our pro bono and community partners.
We traveled to Chinatown to present Legal Essentials for Small Business to a group of small business owners, were on-site at the NYC Small Business Month Expo to provide legal consultations to New York City’s entrepreneurs, and in Manhattan Housing Court to support New Yorkers at imminent risk of eviction. We met with mothers and parents at Rikers Island and Taconic and Bedford Hills Correctional Facilities, supported immigrant young people in their schools, and traveled to Sunset Park to hold a future planning presentation in Mandarin to a group of older adults. Keep reading to see all the ways – and all the places where – VOLS supported New Yorkers in May.
Best,
Abja Midha
Executive Director
VOLS New York, Together 2026 Gala
We’re pleased to share our feature videos from the VOLS New York, Together 2026 Gala. Step inside a Senior Law Project legal clinic with VOLS and MetLife and see how we’re helping New Yorkers access justice every day.
Training Our Partners
VOLS BLP Director Jean Stevens presented a CLE on “Negotiations” for lawyers from the LEAP Coalition and held a second CLE on “Representation Claimants in Unemployment Hearings Overview” for pro bono attorneys at Morrison & Foerster.
VOLS IP Director Keighly Newcomer teamed up with BLP Director Jean Stevens to present a CLE entitled “Noncitizens & Public Benefits: A Practical Guide for Immigration Attorneys” to immigration attorneys from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) New York Chapter Public Interest Committee.
VOLS SLP Director John Holt presented “Elder Law Ethics in the Real World” at the Practicing Law Institute’s 38th Annual Elder Law Institute.
VOLS IMLP Director Stephanie Taylor presented “Ethical Considerations When Representing Incarcerated Clients” alongside VOLS Board Member Claire E. James, Partner, Freshfields, at the Practicing Law Institute’s 2026 Prison Law program. Stephanie also presented at Bloomberg’s “Lunch & Learn: Legal Compliance for Pro Bono 10-Year Celebration,” moderated by Max Abelson and participated in a panel for Financial Institution Pro Bono Day organized by Corporate Pro Bono and Pro Bono Institute with pro bono partners Societe Generale and Accenture.
Get To Know Our Team
As part of the VOLS Spotlight Series, we spoke with Eric Wang, Data and Contracts Coordinator at VOLS.
What does your role as the Data and Contracts Coordinator involve?
On the data side, I pull and analyze case management information to create reports for our legal team and external partners. On the contracts side, I work closely with our Director of Development and Communications, Amy, to maintain the full grant lifecycle. This includes preparing applications, tracking deadlines, and ensuring that we meet all reporting requirements.
Is there an experience that you found particularly memorable?
The most memorable aspect of my role has been seeing the impact behind the numbers and how the data highlights the critical work we are doing. I’m consistently impressed by the complex challenges our legal team and pro bono volunteers navigate.
Tell us about yourself. What makes a “good weekend” for you?
I’m a born-and-raised Texan currently living in Brooklyn. My favorite dessert is coffee jelly, I like Midwestern emo and country music (Yes, Texas IS the Reason!), and I recently discovered that I have an ENTP personality type. I grew up swimming competitively and still keep at the sport. A good weekend for me has to include a morning swim with Team New York Aquatics, where I currently serve as a board member. In my free time, I also enjoy learning languages. Lately, this has manifested as a preoccupation with completing my Duolingo lessons.
May Project Highlights
VOLS Benefits Law Project (BLP) held rent freeze presentations at Penn South Senior Services and Lenox Hill Neighborhood House and teamed up with pro bono attorneys from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, D. E. Shaw, and Freshfields to hold two rent freeze legal clinics. BLP also held a presentation on fair housing law for staff members at the Jericho Project and presented to the NYC Bar Association Pro Bono Legal Services Committee and the AILA New York Chapter Public Interest Committee. BLP partnered with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Goodwin to launch the Housing Court Benefits Initiative Intake and Advice Clinic. The team also created a new Unemployment Insurance (UI) Hearings toolkit in Simplified Chinese and a UI Hearings roadmap.
VOLS Immigration Project (IP) held screening clinics for immigrant young people alongside pro bono attorneys from Cooley, Fried Frank, and JPMorgan Chase and a naturalization clinic with pro bono partners Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and JPMorgan Chase. VOLS IP presented to high school students in the Bronx in English, French, and Spanish. Students were provided with handouts and wallet cards created by VOLS IP. The team also continued to hold weekly briefings on changing immigration law, policy, and trends for volunteer attorneys.
VOLS Incarcerated Mothers Law Project (IMLP) held a clinic at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility supported by pro bono attorneys from Fried Frank and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. The team also held legal clinics at Taconic Correctional Facility alongside pro bono attorneys from Akin, Bridgewater Associates, and Freshfields, and a legal clinic at Rikers Island’s Rose M. Singer Center supported by pro bono attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, NBC Sports, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. The team also created a new guide “Pro Bono Limited Scope Assistance with Filing a Petition in Family Court” for our pro bono partners.
VOLS Microenterprise Project (MEP) was on-site at the NYC Small Business Month Expo to provide transactional legal support and information to NYC’s small business owners. We provided clinic consultations to small business owners alongside pro bono volunteer attorneys. The team also presented Legal Essentials for Small Business to a group of entrepreneurs in collaboration with the Chinatown Manpower Project and pro bono partner Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. VOLS MEP also held a presentation on Legal Considerations for Small Business for entrepreneurs participating in Hot Bread Kitchen’s Seed Program, followed by a legal clinic supported by pro bono volunteers from Ropes & Gray. The team held a legal clinic focused on intellectual property in partnership with Progress Playbook and pro bono volunteers from Arnold & Porter and Pfizer, and we teamed up with Davis Polk & Wardwell and JPMorgan Chase to hold a legal clinic on JPMorgan Chase’s Annual Day of Service.
VOLS Senior Law Project (SLP) held future planning presentations for the United Cultural Association, Church of St. Francis Xavier, and Uptown Interagency Council. VOLS SLP also participated in the seventh annual Financial Institution Pro Bono Day and held a drafting and execution legal clinic in collaboration with pro bono partners Bank of America and McGuireWoods to provide essential life planning documents to older adult New Yorkers.
13.1 Miles for VOLS
We’re incredibly proud of Eric Wang, Data and Contracts Coordinator, and Lexi Michaud, Associate, Fried Frank, Co-Chair, VOLS Pro Bono Advocates Council, for running 13.1 miles in the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon in support of VOLS. Congratulations, Eric and Lexi!
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