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Contact: Rosanne M. Van Heertum
Director of Development, The New YorkBar Foundation
rvanh@tnybf.org
518/487-5650
Contact: Nicholas Parrella
Associate Director of Media Services
nparrella@nysba.org
518/487-5532
June 29, 2010
NEWLY RENAMED STEVEN C. KRANE FUND TO ASSIST YOUNG
LAWYERS WORKING IN PUBLIC SERVICE WITH PAYING STUDENT LOANS
The New York Bar Foundation renames Steven C.
Krane Fund for Student Loan Assistance for the Public Interest in memory
of former Board Director
The New York Bar Foundation has announced it has renamed its Student
Loan Assistance for the Public Interest Fund (SLAPI) in memory of former
New York State Bar President, Steven C. Krane. A former member of the
Foundation’s Board of Directors, Krane unexpectedly passed away on
June 22 in Manhattan at the age of 53. Realizing the hardship faced by
lawyers employed by public service organizations to pay back student
loans, Krane was instrumental in spearheading the initiative to
establish the SLAPI Fund within the Foundation in 2004.
“We mourn the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Steven C.
Krane, who devoted his life to the law and enhancing the legal
profession,” said Foundation President M. Catherine Richardson
(Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC, Syracuse). “He held significant
concern for young lawyers working for public service organizations who
had difficulty paying back overwhelming student loans and we are pleased
to rename the Fund in Steve’s memory. He felt passionate about
providing assistance to lawyers to help them remain in their important
positions working for those in need of legal representation.”
The SLAPI Program was designed to help alleviate the significant debt
burden of young attorneys who opt to dedicate their legal talents to
public service. To be eligible for the program, candidates must have
been admitted to the bar within the past five years and be employed to
work at least 35 hours per week in New York State at an organization
providing civil, criminal or child welfare/juvenile justice legal
services to low-income people; a federal, state or local government
agency; or similar organization.
The New York Bar Foundation invites you to contribute to The Steven
C. Krane Fund for Student Loan Assistance for the Public Interest by
sending your check, made payable to The New York Bar Foundation, to The
New York Bar Foundation, One Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207. Please
indicate “Steven C. Krane Fund” on the check’s memo
line. You also may contribute to the Fund by credit online at www.tnybf.org; on the ‘Make a
Donation’ page, click on ‘Restricted Fund’ and select
‘The Steven C. Krane Fund for SLAPI’. You also may
contribute by credit by calling Foundation headquarters at
518/487-5651.
Krane served as the 104th President of the State Bar Association from
2001-2002 and was the youngest attorney to hold the office. During his
tenure as president, Krane led the State Bar’s efforts to assist
victims of the September 11th attacks and created the Special Committee
on Student Loan Assistance for the Public Interest (SLAPI) that provides
grants to defray loans for lawyers working in the public sector.
Krane was a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP, concentrating his practice
in representing lawyers and law firms in legal ethics and professional
liability matters. He co-chaired the firm’s Law Firm Practice
Group and served as general counsel for the 700-lawyer firm. He
previously served as a law clerk to Hon. Judith S. Kaye, retired Chief
Judge of the State of New York, from 1984 to 1985.
Within the State Bar Association, Krane for many years chaired the
Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct (COSAC), which recently
helped draft the Rules of Professional Conduct. He previously served as
chair of the House of Delegates, Nominating Committee, International
Section, Resolutions Committee, Special Committee to Review the Code of
Professional Responsibility, Special Committee on Cross-Border Legal
Practice, and the Special Committee on Multi-Disciplinary Practice and
the Legal Profession. He was a past vice-chair on the Special Committees
on Law Governing Firm Structure and Operation and the Future of the
Profession.
He was a past member of the State Bar’s Finance Committee,
Membership Committee, Strategic Financial Planning Committee, Committee
on Professional Ethics, Committee on Mass Disaster Response, Committee
on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction, the Electronic Communications
Committee, Special Committee on Issues Affecting Same-Sex Couples, and
the Special Committee on Law Practice Continuity.
Krane also was a member of the American Bar Association’s Board
of Governors and of the Policy Committee of the Bar Issues Commission of
the International Bar Association. Krane received his undergraduate
degree from Stony Brook University and earned his law degree from the
New York University School of Law.
In June 2009, Krane was appointed by Governor David A. Paterson to
the New York State Commission on Public Integrity. From 1996 to 1999, he
was a member of the Departmental Disciplinary Committee, First Judicial
Department, in New York, where he served as a hearing panel member and
hearing panel chair. He also served as a hearing panel chair for the
Committee on Grievances of the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York. He was a special referee for disciplinary
cases in the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department. Krane has
written and lectured extensively on attorney ethics issues, and taught
professional responsibility for several years at the Columbia University
School of Law.
Founded in 1950, The New York Bar Foundation is celebrating its 60th
Anniversary of providing funding through its grant making program to
facilitate the delivery of legal services; increase public understanding
of the law; improve the justice system and the law; and enhance
professional competence and ethics. For more information, go to www.tnybf.org.
####
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, NYSBA
programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved
the justice system for more than 130 years. For more information, please
visit www.nysba.org.
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