June News: The Power of Inclusion
It’s almost officially summer, the time we all get to dream a little bigger. Maybe it is no coincidence, then, that yesterday was the 20th Anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We at VOLS are grateful for DACA. But we know that only with stronger protections for immigrant young people will they be able to continue to pursue their dreams. This month, where we celebrate DACA, share our Pride, and honor Juneteenth, is filled with opportunities to reflect on our values. I am honored to be at VOLS, where we provide free legal services to our fellow New Yorkers, inclusive of race, age, gender and LGBTQ+ identity, veteran and immigration status.
On that note, please join me in congratulating Peter Kempner, VOLS’ phenomenal Legal Director and Senior Law Project Director, who last month received a Legal Services Award from the City Bar. We thank Pete for his zealous advocacy and commitment to protecting New York’s most vulnerable residents.
This newsletter spotlights another member of the VOLS Pro Bono Advocates Council, Victor Celis. Our inspiring PBAC members are thought leaders and advocates of pro bono service. And in another sign of summer: VOLS interns have started! It’s exciting to engage a new group of students in our legal services work and pro bono partnerships. We are thrilled to have their – and your – support of this important work.
Warm regards,
Abja
Abja Midha
Executive Director
Volunteers of Legal Service
Pro Bono Spotlight: Victor Celis
This month, we highlight the work of VOLS Pro Bono Council Advisory Member Victor Celis, an Associate in the Global Litigation Group at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. To learn more about Victor’s career and pro bono practice, please click here.
Work With Us!
VOLS is seeking great candidates for two open positions, each critical to help us serve our New York City neighbors. Come work with us as VOLS’ Microenterprise Director or Data & Contracts Coordinator!
Updates from the VOLS Legal Team
In-person clinics are back this summer for the VOLS Senior Law Project! We’re launching bimonthly in-person clinics with Greenwich House and rotating between their four older adult centers. In June, we will be at Our Lady of Pompeii and Independence Plaza, and at the Center on the Square and Westbeth in July. Following a busy month of clinics with Red Oak, Riverstone, and Goddard Riverside, and a presentation at Hudson Guild – we are excited to stay productive! May was very busy supporting VOLS pro bono attorneys’ important work. On May 26, we held an in-person training course covering life planning documents at Davis Polk & Wardwell for their attorneys. On May 4, we held an important CLE for pro bono attorneys titled “Pro Bono Practice: Serving Aging and Disabled Clients – Overcoming Implicit Bias, Assessing Capacity, and Accommodating Disabilities.” Thank you to all who attended!
Our summer law student interns are already trained and answering questions on VOLS Unemployment Insurance hotline with the VOLS Unemployed Workers Project! Later this month, they will start assisting with hearings. The DOL has announced that it’s modernizing their system and hopes to have that finalized in Fall 2023. VOLS is part of the coalition holding the DOL accountable for this promise and providing feedback as they unroll their new system. The goal is to increase accessibility for NYS residents to apply for and obtain UI benefits. We are focusing on the many issues we see come up for our clients, including language access and technology issues. We also continue the fight to expand UI eligibility with the Fund for Excluded Workers. This has evolved into the Excluded No More campaign – this time expanding the focus to beyond just undocumented immigrants. Please check out VOLS’ information sheet on Unemployment Insurance “overpayment” waivers – it has important information to determine if and how you should apply.
Last month, VOLS Immigration Project partnered with the CUNY Initiative on Immigration and Education (CUNY- IIE), the New York Collective of Radical Educators and Teach Dream, to provide an Immigration 101 training to immigrant liaisons. We worked at two middle schools and three high schools in New York City. The immigrant liaisons are school staff tasked with providing support to immigrant and undocumented students, their families, and their caregivers. We are proud to partner with CUNY on our common goal to serve immigrant youth. VOLS continues to support immigrant students and young adults in the pursuit of higher education, legal employment, and permanent residency. This fall, the Immigration Project will be partnering with CUNY John Jay’s Immigrant Student Success Center to conduct monthly legal clinics and workshops. We are excited to provide immigrant students with access to legal representation and information during school hours and at timeslots that fit their academic calendar. In this way, we help safeguard their legal rights while contributing to their academic success.
Client Success Stories
VOLS is always grateful for the generosity of the law firms that donate their time and resources to provide crucial, high quality pro bono legal services. This month it is our pleasure to highlight pro bono volunteers Loredana Miranda and Julia Witters, from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, who work with us in VOLS’ Immigration Project. Their exceptional work obtaining a guardianship petition for a young woman means that this young woman can now apply for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS), one of the few forms of relief for youth that has a pathway to legal permanent residency. Thank you Loredana and Julia – your work in the community is changing lives!
We are also pleased to announce the Unemployed Workers Project’s successful pairing of Matthew Rutchik from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP with AC, a client who had been attempting to backdate UI benefits from March of 2020 but had been denied for “failing to comply with registration requirements.” He argued that she attempted, but was unable, to file her UI claim because her DOL account was blocked and that she was unable to speak to a representative despite her numerous efforts to gain contact with them. The ALJ found that she had worthy cause for failing to register for benefits during the March 2020 to November 2020 period. VOLS is excited to announce that AC is now eligible to register for benefits during that period and is one of the first of our clients who has been granted that opportunity in 2022. Thank you to Matthew for your dedication to this client!
Join the VOLS Community
- If you are affiliated with a VOLS partner law firm or company and would like to volunteer, please contact your company’s pro bono counsel.
- Make a donation to support VOLS’ free civil legal services: Click here to donate.
- Forward this page and ask your friends to sign up for the VOLS e-newsletter at www.volsprobono.org/join.