NYS Conference of Bar Leaders Recognizes National Lawyers Guild, Westchester Women's Bar, Nassau County Bar with Awards of Merit
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For more information contact:
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Brad Carr
Director, Media Services and Public Affairs
(518) 487-5530
fciervo@nysba.org
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ALBANY - The New York State Conference of Bar Leaders (NYSCBL) has announced the winners of its 2003 Awards of Merit for local bar associations and will honor the recipients during the New York State Bar Association’s 127th Annual Meeting.
"This year’s recipients demonstrate their commitment to serving the people in their communities. They don’t seek the limelight for helping the public," said Timothy M. O’Mara of Williamsville, NYSCBL chairperson. Awards will be presented to:
New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (small bar association – fewer than 500 members) for the work of its mass defense committee. During spring and summer 2003, the Guild’s committee represented over 2,000 members of the public who were arrested in the exercise of their civil and constitutional rights to protest. This was a time during which there was an unusual amount of protest activity in anticipation of the war with Iraq. The committee regularly provides legal assistance to civic organizations in securing march and demonstration permits, and providing attorney and law student legal observers at such activities. More than 400 attorneys and law students were trained to provide in-court representation at criminal court arraignments.
Westchester Women’s Bar Association (medium bar association – 500-1,999 members) will receive the award for its public service project, the Moderate Means Panel, conducted jointly with the Westchester County Bar Association and Pace University School of Law. The women’s bar panel assists Westchester residents in need of legal advice regarding matrimonial matters who find themselves with too many assets to qualify for pro bono assistance and yet, who cannot afford to pay regular attorney fees. In its first year of operation, the panel provided nearly $150,000 in free legal services to the county’s working poor.
Nassau County Bar Association (large bar association – more than 2,000 members) for a public education program that incorporated a four-part dramatization of a fictional murder mystery. “Murder in the Library,” allowed the audience to participate as defense and prosecution, judge, and jury. The presentation took library patrons through the entire process following the discovery of a crime – from criminal investigation to trial to jury deliberation and verdict. More than 400 people attended this “one-of-a-kind” educational program.
Formed in 1979, the NYSCBL provides a forum for the exchange of information among local bar leaders, as well as between the NYSBA and bar leaders.
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