Home

SCHENECTADY COUNTY ATTORNEY CRISTINE CIOFFI ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK BAR FOUNDATION

Cristine Cioffi of Niskayuna has been elected president of The New York Bar Foundation, which last year awarded $1.24 million in law-related grants to 70 organizations statewide.

The Foundation is the charitable arm of the New York State Bar Association. Founded in 1950, The Bar Foundation supports legal research and education; provides funding for legal assistance, particularly to the poor; and works to ensure high standards of professional ethics and enhance the public’s understanding of legal heritage.

Cioffi said her main goals as president are to raise the Foundation’s visibility among attorneys and the public, provide grants in all 62 New York counties, strengthen youth courts and respond to the changing need for Foundation services.

“In the last two years, there were many, many requests for grants that were designed to either prevent bankruptcies, prevent foreclosures or help people who were experiencing serious economic problems gain access to legal services,” she said. “Ideally, as the economy recovers, the need for those kinds of services will decline, allowing us to direct grant money to other areas of need.”

Cioffi is president and partner of Cioffi, Slezak & Wildgrube, where she practices primarily in the fields of estate planning, administration and elder law. She served for 10 years as a Schenectady County legislator, including two years as minority leader, and is a past president of the Schenectady County Bar Association.

To read the entire press release, click here.