April 7, 2009
CAPITAL DISTRICT WOMEN’S BAR ASSOCIATION LEGAL
PROJECT RECEIVES 2009 ANGELO T. COMETA AWARD
Albany organization provides services for domestic
violence victims and children
ALBANY--The New York State Bar Association presented the Capital
District Women’s Bar Association Legal Project, Inc. (“The
Legal Project”) with the 2009 Angelo T. Cometa Award. The Legal
Project, a private, non-profit organization, provides legal information
and representation for battered woman and their children in family
court, and also provides civil legal services for the working poor. They
received the award at the House of Delegates dinner on April 3.
The award is sponsored by the State Bar’s Committee on Lawyer
Referral Service and recognizes individuals or groups in New York
demonstrating an extraordinary commitment toward advancing the goals of
the Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS). The
Association’s service assists members of the public in obtaining
information about the availability of legal services and other agencies,
increasing access to attorneys, and/or providing legal services to
clients.
“Since its inception in 1995, The Legal Project has provided
critical and creative resources for our working poor to obtain civil
legal services so that domestic violence victims can live a better
life,” said Committee on Lawyer Referral Service Chair Rajpattie
Persaud-Billette. “I am pleased to honor its continued excellence
in helping vulnerable citizens receive the quality legal services they
richly deserve.”
Founded by the Capital District Women’s Bar Association, The Legal
Project began as a grassroots effort for a small group of women
attorneys who recognized the need for legal information and
representation for battered women seeking orders of protection, custody
and support in Family Court. The Legal Project has grown to a staff of
12 and currently has a panel of more than 80 volunteer attorneys
providing pro bono services for battered women and their children in
Family Court and matrimonial proceedings. Currently, the Project serves
more than 1,600 low-income residents of the Capital District, including
those who earn too much money to qualify for indigent legal services
programs, but do not earn enough to pay the fees of a private
attorney.
The Legal Project addresses the need for non-criminal legal services
by providing innovative, cost-effective services that are collaborative
in nature and focus on well-defined, but unmet needs in the community.
Examples include its Bankruptcy & Credit program providing free
legal consultations and free and low-cost legal representation to
individuals and families struggling with financial problems and debt,
and its Uncontested Divorce Clinics, providing document assistance to
low-income individuals who are representing themselves in a divorce
matter.
Past winners include Allen J. Charne of New York (New York City Bar) and
past State Bar President Angelo T. Cometa of New York. Cometa chaired
the Committee on Lawyer Referral Services during the first year of LRIS
operation. As committee chair, Cometa was instrumental in establishing
the LRIS and increasing public access to attorneys. The award was
created in 2007 in recognition of his extraordinary service efforts.
The LRIS is a public service of the State Bar. Its goals include
administering a coordinated lawyer referral and information system
throughout New York and providing the public with information about
community and legal services, such as local bar referral services, legal
aid societies, legal service programs and public interest law
organizations.
The 76,000-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 more than 130 years.
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