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 Pro Bono Appeals Program
NYSBA PRO BONO APPEALS PROGRAM
The New York State Bar Association has established a Pro Bono Appeals
Program that provides pro bono representation for selected appeals to
the Appellate Division, Third and Fourth Judicial Departments.
This unique program is designed to help persons of modest means who are
taking, or responding to, appeals regarding fundamental civil legal
issues, such as family stability, personal safety or subsistence
income. Note that the Program does not provide
representation for criminal matters, is not administered by the court
system, and gives preference to applicants who do not qualify for
assigned counsel and cases that could have a broad
impact.
The Program brochure offers further information about the program
territory, financial and subject matter criteria, and the three program
partners: the NYSBA Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction, The
Legal Project, and The Rural Law Center of New York. We invite
trial attorneys and nonprofit agencies to assist clients in completing
applications and identifying meritorious appeal issues. Note that
applications of persons who are appealing from an order or judgment will
not be reviewed unless a notice of appeal has already been served and
filed. You may also want to click on the links to a few of the
decisions regarding appeals handled by the Program and to articles
describing the Program.
The Pro Bono Appeals Program is
made possible by the generous efforts of our many volunteers and grants
from The New York Bar Foundation. We would like to thank
these appellate attorneys for their outstanding pro bono contributions
to the program:
Andria
L. Bentley, Esq. (Albany, NY)
Elizabeth F. Bernhardt, Esq., Cohen & Gresser LLP (NYC)
Nomi D. Berenson, Esq., and Valerie A. Koffman, Esq., Goodwin
Procter LLP (NYC)
Andrew O. Bunn, Esq., DLA Piper LLP (Florham Park, NJ)
David M. Cost, Esq., Hiscock & Barclay LLP (Albany, NY)
Cynthia F. Feathers, Esq. (Glens Falls, NY)
Steven N. Feinman, Esq., The Feinman Law Firm (White Plains, NY)
Annette G. Hasapidis, Esq., Law Offices of Annette G. Hasapidis (South
Salem, NY)
George J. Hoffman, Jr., Esq., O'Connor, O'Connor, Bresee & First,
P.C. (Albany, NY)
Jeremy E. Hollander, Esq., Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
(NYC)
Timothy W. Hoover, Esq., Phillips Lytle LLP (Buffalo, NY)
Linda B. Johnson, Esq., Hinman, Howard & Kattell LLP (West Sand
Lake, NY)
Joshua N. Koplovitz, Esq., Wapner Koplovitz & Futerfas PLLC
(Kingston, NY)
E. Barry Lyon, Esq., ABB, Inc. (Norwalk, CT)
Henry M. Mascia, Esq., U.S. Department of Justice (Dobbs Ferry, NY)
Malvina Nathanson, Esq. (NYC)
Alan J. Pierce, Esq., Hancock Estabrook LLP (Syracuse, NY)
Joshua L. Seifert, Esq.,
(NYC)
In
addition, the Committee on Courts of Appellate
Jurisdiction thanks our vital program partners, The Rural
Law Center of NY (Susan Patnode, Esq., Executive Director) and The Legal
Project (Lisa Frisch, Executive Director).
FAQ
Types of Cases
Q: What kinds of cases does the Program accept?
A: The Program offers representation in appeals involving
education, family stability, health, housing, personal safety, public
benefits and subsistence income.
Q. I have a divorce appeal involving child support and
maintenance. Is that covered by the family stability
category?
A. Yes.
Q. I have an appeal involving the denial of unemployment
insurance benefits by the Unemployment Appeal Board. Is that
covered by public benefits and subsistence income?
A. Yes. Note
that if you won before the Appeal Board, and the employer appealed, you
could apply for an assigned attorney, paid for by the State.
However, if you are the party taking the appeal, no assigned attorney is
available to you.
Q: Does the Program offer representation for criminal
appeals?
A: No, the Program
only handles civil appeals in specified categories.
Geographic Area Covered
Q: What area of New York does the Program cover?
A: The Program covers appeals from orders or judgments rendered
by trial courts in the 50 counties of the Appellate Division, Third
and Fourth Departments. The counties are listed in our program brochure.
The Program also covers certain administrative appeals to the Third
Department.
Q: What if my appeal is to the First or Second
Department? Can the Program help me?
A: No. The Program is currently limited to the Third and
Fourth Departments.
Q: Why isn’t the Program offered statewide?
Isn’t the Program a part of the court system?
A: No, the Pro Bono Appeals Program is not administered by the
courts, and it is separate from Assigned Counsel programs. It is
an independent initiative of the NYSBA Committee on Courts of Appellate
Jurisdiction, in partnership with The Legal Project and the Rural Law
Center of New York.
Parties Represented
Q: I just received a decision that I want to appeal
from. Can the Program help me?
A: Before the Program will review your application, the court
must render an order or a judgment, and you or your attorney must serve
and file a notice of appeal.
Q: I won, and the other party is appealing. Can the
Program help me?
A: Yes, the Program
also represents parties responding to an appeal.
Process
Q: How do I apply to the Program?
A: Fill out the Program application, with the assistance of
your trial attorney, and submit it to the Program, by fax, email or
mail, as described in the Program brochure.
Q. I don’t have an attorney to help me fill out
the application. Can I still apply to the Program?
A. Yes, we will consider your application, but if an
attorney represented you in the trial court, it would be very helpful to
have that attorney help identify appeal issues for our
consideration.
Q. Do I have to apply for an assigned attorney and have my
application denied before I can apply to your Program?
A. No. However, we will give a preference to applicants
who do not qualify for assigned counsel.
Q. What happens once I submit my application?
A. First we check to make sure that your appeal qualifies based
on the topic and the income level -- the Program offers representation
to applicants who make up to 250% of Federal Poverty Guidelines.
The income chart is available in the Program’s brochure.
Then a group of attorneys from the Committee on Courts of Appellate
Jurisdiction discusses which cases should be accepted, based on numerous
factors, including the merits of the appeal and the potential impact of
the case on creating important legal precedent. Please remember that
applying to the Program does not guarantee
representation. Therefore, you should continue to seek other
counsel while your application is being considered.
Volunteers
Q. Who are the attorneys that volunteer to take
cases?
A. Cases selected for representation are first offered to the
members of the full Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction, which
includes many experienced appellate attorneys from throughout New York
State. Some appeals are handled by non-Committee members, but they
must have extensive appellate expertise and be supervised by a Committee
member, since offering high-quality appellate representation is a
primary goal and commitment of our Program.
Q: I’m an attorney. How can I volunteer with the
Program?
A: Experienced appellate attorneys are encouraged to volunteer
with the Pro Bono Appeals Program. Please send an e-mail with your
resume to info@probonoappeals.org.
SELECTED DECISIONS
Oswald v Oswald
Matter
of Robert AA v Colleen BB
Matter of Cranston v Horton
Matter of Monaco v Armer
Matter of Bowman v
Bowman
Matter of Rosi v Moon
Matter of Jennifer G. v Benjamin
H.
Chang v Yu-Jen Chang
ARTICLES
State Bar Expands Pro Bono Appeals Program, New York Law
Journal, April 15, 2013
Pro Bono Appeals Program Expands to Fourth
Department, April 11, 2013
State Bar Offers Pro Bono Appeals
Program, October 25, 2012
Law Center aids pro bono
expansion, Press-Republican, December 17, 2011
State Bar Expands the Reach of Its Appellate Pro
Bono Program, New York Law Journal, December 8,
2011
State Bar Association expands free legal aid
program in region, Daily Freeman, December 5,
2011
NY Bar Association to offer free legal
service, The Saratogian, December 4, 2011
New York State Bar Association Expands Program
Providing Pro Bono Attorneys for Appeals to the Third
Department, New York State Bar Association, November
30, 2011
Mother’s win in court changes
laws, Post Star, July 24, 2011
State Bar committee launches pro bono appeals
program, State Bar News, September/October 2010, p.
13
Related Files
NYLJ Article (Adobe PDF File)
Oswald v Oswald (Adobe PDF File)
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