Children
(1) Hospital Project
In the VOLS Hospital Project, lawyers work with doctors and social workers at hospitals as part of a team to improve health outcomes for poor children through the provision of pro bono legal services. For example, a child under medical treatment for asthma, whose asthma may be triggered by conditions in the family's apartment, will have a lawyer available to secure improvements by the landlord.
VOLS recruits both hospitals and law firms for the project, matches hospitals with law firms, and provides ongoing project coordination. The VOLS Hospital Project operates at eight hospitals. The project sites and matched law firms are:
- Bellevue Hospital Center (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison)
- The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (Cravath, Swaine & Moore)
- Harlem Hospital Center (LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae)
- Maimonides Medical Center (Proskauer Rose)
- Metropolitan Hospital Center (Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler)
- Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian (Cravath)
- New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Campus (White & Case)
- New York University Medical Center (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman)
In 2006, 133 families, with 290 children, were served by the VOLS Hospital Project. 169 volunteer lawyers and 51 legal assistants from the participating law firms served poor families in the project.
At participating hospitals, VOLS staff and volunteer lawyers introduce the Children's Project to the medical staff at Grand Rounds and to social workers at other meetings, and organize legal information sessions at the hospitals on topics such as landlord/tenant issues and immigration. The goal of these sessions is to assist hospital staff in identifying cases for referral to lawyers and strengthen the advocacy skills of the medical and social work teams.
Here are two examples of cases undertaken by volunteer lawyers:
- Client is a single mother with an asthmatic child who is expecting a second child next month. She is a tenant whose rent was subsidized by a Section 8 voucher, but was forced to leave her apartment and become homeless after experiencing armed threats and domestic violence from an ex-boyfriend. She and her child have been living in a homeless shelter since then. The volunteer lawyers undertook to obtain a transfer of her Section 8 voucher to a new, safer apartment. New York City Housing Authority rules allow such transfers only where the tenant can provide documentation as to the threat of violence. The lawyers worked closely with the New York City Police Department, analyzing the transcripts of her 911 calls to the police, to document the threat of violence, thereby establishing a basis for obtaining the voucher. The lawyers then persuaded the Housing Authority to accept the transfer application. The mother will be able to leave the homeless shelter with her two children and move into a new home.
- This family was served with an eviction notice because the apartment lease was in a friend's name and the friend had moved out of the apartment, leaving the family ---- a mother, father, new-born child and three young children ---- without any legal basis for remaining in the apartment. The volunteer lawyers assigned to this case appeared in court several times on behalf of the family to prevent the family's eviction. The lawyers also closely worked with the family's assigned Department of Social Services social worker to obtain another apartment for the family. The family soon will move into their own apartment.
(2) School Project
In this new project, Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) matches law firms with schools to address civil legal problems facing families that threaten to disrupt the education of their children. As examples of such legal problems, an eviction can lead to a child having to withdraw from school. This can be a calamity for the child and family. Or an interruption in public benefits — cash or medical benefits or food stamps — can cause deep distress in the life of a family which will adversely impact on the education of their children.
The VOLS School Project is starting at these three schools:
• Public School 146, an elementary school in East Harlem, matched by VOLS with the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.
• KIPP Academy, a middle school in the Mott Haven/Morrisana section of the Bronx, matched by VOLS with Debevoise & Plimpton.
• The Bushwick Campus, four high schools in Brooklyn on a single campus, matched by VOLS with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Legal issues most likely to be dealt with by lawyers in the VOLS School Project include housing, public benefits and immigration.
In selecting sites, VOLS was on the lookout for schools where there would be a strong commitment to the project, and a welcome extended to the lawyers to integrate the project into the fabric of the school, so that the lawyers become a part of the team working to improve the chances for success for the children attending the school.
The Elderly Poor
In the VOLS Elderly Project, pro bono legal services are provided to poor persons living in Manhattan who are over the age of 60. We conduct twelve legal clinics each month at eleven senior centers where seniors can discuss their legal concerns in confidence, receive legal advice and, where appropriate, obtain referral to a volunteer lawyer for representation. We also provide services to clients from an additional 80 community-based agencies serving the elderly poor. Areas of legal assistance include wills, medical directives, powers of attorney, housing, consumer matters and Medicaid. Over 150 lawyers serve on our Elderly Project volunteer attorney roster.
In 2006, the VOLS Elderly Project provided legal services to 1356 seniors. Last year, the project also conducted 47 legal information sessions for seniors and senior center staff on life-planning and debt-related issues, reaching 900 seniors and 200 senior center staff members.
The VOLS legal clinic sites for the Elderly Project are:
East Side
- The Educational Alliance Senior Program - 197 East Broadway
- University Settlement Older Adults Program - 189 Allen Street
- Community Lounge for Senior Services - 155 East 22ND Street
- The Burden Center for the Aging - 1484 First Avenue
- Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center - 415 East 93rd Street
West Side
- Our Lady of Pompei Church- 25 Carmine Street
- Hudson Guild/Fulton Center Senior Services - 119 Ninth Avenue
- Encore Community Services Senior Center St. Malacy's Church - 239 West 49th Street
- Goddard Riverside Senior Center - 593 Columbus Avenue
- Ft. Washington Houses Services for the Elderly - 99 Ft. Washington Avenue
- Abyssinian Towers - 50 West 131st Street
- Central Harlem Senior Services - 120 West 140th Street
859 of the 1356 cases undertaken in 2006 originated at these clinic sites and 497 cases came from non-clinic sites. The Elderly Project staff reviews cases from non-clinic sites; makes suggestions for immediate action where necessary; refers the client to a VOLS legal clinic, if practicable, and conducts home visits.
The Elderly Project publishes A Guide to Burial Assistance and Funeral Planning for New Yorkers in Need (2007 edition). The guide contains burial assistance information for social workers who work with elderly poor New Yorkers, and for friends and families of poor persons who have died.
Low-Income Microentrepreneurs
The VOLS Microenterprise Project provides pro bono legal assistance to low-income microentrepreneurs. Many poor people have a skill in a particular area -- food preparation, clothing design, operating a beauty salon, child care, writing -- and have the entrepreneurial spirit to start their own business, but have little practical knowledge about setting up a business. Many are looking to gradually expand a home based business. The availability of valuable legal advice is very helpful to persons of low-income and limited business experience.
VOLS recruits law firms for this project; matches the law firms with non profit economic development agencies in New York City working with microentrepreneurs; and provides ongoing project coordination. The agencies identify low-income microentrepreneurs needing legal assistance and volunteer lawyers provide one on one representation on business related issues and make presentations to groups of microentrepreneurs on basic legal issues, such as the appropriate structure for a business, or the leasing of commercial space.
The microentrepreneurs served by the project reflect the extraordinary diversity of the city's population. They are native-born and immigrants to the United States, and women and men, many with children. English and Spanish-speaking, and also Chinese and other nationalities. Some are supplementing their salary through microenterprise activity, while others will be totally dependent on income from such activity. Being financially vulnerable, they are in no position to fail. Working with lawyers can greatly increase the chances for success.
In 2006, 157 microentrepreneurs were served by volunteer lawyers. Below appears a list of the law firms and economic development organizations participating in the VOLS Microenterprise Project:
| Law Firms / Corporate Law Departments |
Economic Development Corporations |
| Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft |
Pace University Small Business Development Center |
| Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton |
Acción New York (citywide) |
| Clifford Chance US |
NYC Business Solutions (Queens) |
| Debevoise & Plimpton |
Business Outreach Center Network (Chinatown, Hunts Point, Jackson Heights, Harlem, South Brooklyn and Staten Island) |
| Dorsey & Whitney |
Project Enterprise (Harlem and East New York) |
| Hughes Hubbard & Reed |
Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation |
| Kaye Scholer |
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) |
| Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel |
Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union |
| LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae |
Women’s Business Center of the Local Development Corporation of East New York |
| JPMorgan Chase (Law Department) |
Business Outreach Center Network |
| Nixon Peabody |
NYC Business Solutions (Brooklyn) |
| Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler |
CAMBA Economic Development Corporation (Central Brooklyn) |
| Paul Weiss, Rifkind Wharton & Garrison |
Business Resource & Investment Service Center serves Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood, and forms part of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation |
| Schulte Roth & Zabel |
NYC Business Solutions (Brooklyn) |
| Shearman & Sterling |
Business Outreach Center Network |
| Shearman & Sterling |
NYC Business Solutions (Bronx) |
| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett |
NYC Business Solutions (Manhattan) |
| Stroock & Stroock & Lavan |
Pratt Area Community Council (Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bedford Stuyvesant) |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges |
St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation (Williamsburg-Greenpoint) |
| White & Case |
South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation |
Here are examples of legal representation: Lawyers obtained licenses for a food vendor; reviewed an agreement relating to the purchase of a restaurant and assisted with the incorporation of the business; reviewed a commercial lease; provided legal counseling, regarding business structure and licensing issues for a designer of hand-painted table cloths; incorporation of a business on behalf of a cabinet-maker; and review of contracts in connection with a woman's leather jacket line.
In this project, lawyers also make presentations to groups of microentrepreneurs on legal issues. In 2006, 230 microentrepreneurs attended legal workshoips on business law issues conducted by volunteer lawyers.
Incarcerated Mothers
Lawyers participating in the VOLS Incarcerated Mothers Law Project provide one-on-one legal counseling to mothers on child custody and visiting issues at the city's main jail on Rikers Island, and at two state prisons C Taconic Correctional Facility, a medium security prison located in Bedford Hills, and Bayview Correctional Facility located at 550 West 20th Street in Manhattan C and conduct legal information sessions for groups of mothers at these institutions on their rights and responsibilities as to their children while incarcerated.
Volunteer lawyers assist mothers in these ways: Work with foster care agencies to bring children who are in foster care for legally mandated visits with their mothers; locate children within the foster care system; negotiate with family members and friends to bring children in their care for visits with their mothers; assist mothers to prepare for court hearings documenting the measures they have taken while in prison or jail to maintain contact with their children and improve parenting skills; and, when necessary, commence legal proceedings in Family Court to order visits between mothers and their children.
In 2006, a total of 142 incarcerated mothers received individual legal counseling at 29 monthly legal clinic sessions at Rikers Island, Taconic Correctional Facility and Bayview Correctional Facility on legal issues relating to their children.
At these sessions, mothers received information on legal issues in the following areas: Visits with their children; custody of their children; foster care; support; adoption; and divorce. Volunteer lawyers undertook the following services to assist the mothers: Advised mother, with no further legal action being needed; outreach to caseworkers or other parties to request visits with mother from their children; obtained records for client; and representation of client in court.
In addition, nine group legal information sessions on child custody and visiting issues were held for 193 incarcerated mothers and 9 staff at these facilities, and three staff training sessions were conducted at two of the facilities C Rikers and Taconic C for an additional 30 staff members.
Persons with AIDS
In response to the growing AIDS epidemic in New York City, the VOLS AIDS Project was formed almost twenty years ago to greater involve trusts and estates lawyers in providing pro bono legal services to people with AIDS. Initially, the VOLS AIDS Project served those who were very ill and facing imminent death.
Due to dramatic changes in the course and treatment of AIDS, far fewer people are being treated in hospitals. Now our services are being provided in out-patient and community-based settings, although volunteer lawyers continue to assist persons who are homebound or in the hospital, when needed. Lifetime planning remains the major focus of the project.
The VOLS AIDS Project operates at these five sites:
- The AIDS Service Center NYC
- The GMHC Department of Legal Services and Client Advocacy
- New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Center for Special Studies
- South Brooklyn Legal Services
In 2006, 218 clients were served.
