January 28, 2011
NASSAU COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION RECEIVES NYS CONFERENCE
OF BAR LEADERS INNOVATION AWARD
Award given for projects serving non-English
speaking residents’ special needs
NEW YORK—The New York State Conference of Bar
Leaders today announced the Nassau County Bar Association has received
its 2011 Bar Leaders Innovation Award for Large Bar Associations (2,000
members or more). The award honors a local bar for its public service
and innovative programming that enhances the public’s
understanding of the law.
The award was given at the NYSCBL Innovation Awards Breakfast on
January 28 during the New York State Bar Association’s 134th
Annual Meeting at the Hilton New York in New York City.
The award recognizes the Nassau County Bar Association for its Bridge
Over Language Divides (BOLD) Initiative, which aims to more effectively
service an increasingly diverse public whose primary language is other
than English. The initiative’s achievements include: providing
Spanish-speaking attorneys at the monthly free legal clinics on mortgage
foreclosures; demonstrating what immigrants applying for US citizenship
may expect during their citizenship interviews; and providing
Creole-speaking attorneys to Haitians living in Nassau County during the
2010 earthquake.
“With approximately 20 percent of Nassau County residents
speaking a language other than English, the Nassau County Bar
Association has done a tremendous job of using its members to better
serve the public with legal services they need, but might not be aware
of or know how to get. The Nassau County Bar members have shown genuine
caring for their community and in the process have built bridges of
assistance between the bar and public,” said Earamichia Brown of
New York (Metropolitan Transportation Authority Office of the Inspector
General) chair of the Conference of Bar Leaders. “We are delighted
to present the Nassau County Bar Association with our Bar Leaders
Innovation Award in recognition of its terrific new
initiative.”
Awards were given in three member categories—small, medium and
large bar associations in New York. They recognize outstanding programs
sponsored by local, ethnic, specialty, minority and women’s bar
associations. The awards program also serves to inform bar leaders about
new activities and programs that promote public welfare, public
understanding of the law, and attorneys’ professional
responsibilities.
Formed in 1979, the New York State Conference of Bar Leaders provides
a forum to exchange information among local bar leaders, as well as
between the state bar and bar leaders.
The 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official
statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary
state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, State Bar programs
and activities have continuously served the public and improved the
justice system for 135 years.
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