July 30, 2012 -The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL), in partnership with the Brooklyn Community Pride Center and the Brooklyn Law School OUTLaws, is pleased to announce the launch of a new pro bono legal clinic devoted to serving the LGBTQ community of Brooklyn. The clinic, which will be hosted at Brooklyn Law School offices located at 1 Boerum Place in Downtown Brooklyn, will be held on alternate Wednesdays from 6:00-8:00pm beginning on August 8, 2012.
The new clinic will seek to provide members of Brooklyn's LGBTQ community in need with basic access to attorneys and equip visitors with information on organizations and resources that can be helpful in further addressing their unique legal concerns.
"At a time when funding for legal services is under assault, we are especially pleased to be expanding our efforts to assist the LGBTQ community in Brooklyn," said Brad Snyder, LeGaL's Executive Director. "We hope the project will supplement the resources of the many great organizations already working to serve this community."
Support for the new clinic and related programming has been provided by The New York Community Trust, the New York State Bar Foundation, the Morrison & Foerster Foundation and individual supporters. In addition, Brooklyn Law School has generously provided facilities and additional resources for the project.
"Brooklyn Law School and OUTLaws are proud to participate in a project committed to serving the LGBTQ community in Brooklyn," said Kathryn Hensley, OUTLaws Co-Chair (2011-2012) at Brooklyn Law School (BLS). "OUTLaws is thrilled to have the support of BLS Administration in carrying forward the Law School's strong tradition of public service work."
"We know the Brooklyn LGBTQ community faces a variety of challenges," said Erin Drinkwater, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center. "We hope this legal clinic be will be a source of support for those encountering legal difficulties, which too often relate to our community's unequal status under the law."
For the last twenty-five years LeGaL has also operated a free weekly legal clinic each Tuesday night at The Center in Manhattan. During that time, volunteer attorneys have assisted more than 12,000 visitors on a range of legal issues through consultation and referrals to appropriate community organizations.
"We are so gratified to be able to extend our services to the diverse communities of Brooklyn," added LeGaL President Carlene Jadusingh.
No appointment is necessary to visit the new legal clinic. However, visitors should arrive between 6:00-6:30pm to register for the clinic. Questions regarding the clinic can be directed to
brooklyn@le-gal.org and information is available at
www.le-gal.org.
Attorneys interested in volunteering at the new clinic can express interest by completing a volunteer form located at the Brooklyn clinic's webpage at
www.le-gal.org.
LeGaL was one of the nation's first bar associations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) legal community and remains one of the largest and most active organizations of its kind in the country. Serving the New York metropolitan area, LeGaL is dedicated to promoting the expertise and advancement of LGBT legal professionals while serving the larger community.
Through the LeGaL Foundation, the organization publishes
Lesbian/Gay Law Notes, the most comprehensive monthly publication summarizing legal developments affecting the LGBT community here and abroad, conducts a weekly walk-in pro bono clinic at Manhattan's LGBT Community Center serving hundreds of individuals each year, a monthly clinic on Long Island, a collaborative Life Planning Clinic with NYLAG's LGBT Law Project, sponsors the Dr. M.L. Hank Henry, Jr. Fund for Judicial Fellowships and, among its many other activities, runs the area's only career fair dedicated to first-year LGBT law students.
For more information on LeGaL or to donate to the LeGaL Foundation, visit
http://www.le-gal.org.
About the Brooklyn Community Pride CenterThe mission of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center is to provide a safe, common space offering physical and mental health services, social support, recreational and cultural programming, as well as being a hub of information for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and families in Brooklyn.
Through promotion of the empowerment, development, and general welfare of the LGBT community with emphasis on gender, racial, and ethnic parity, we are committed to affecting positive change within our Borough, and the community at large.
For more information on the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, visit
http://www.lgbtbrooklyn.org/.
About Brooklyn Law School OUTLawsBrooklyn Law School's OUTLaws is a student organization that serves the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and straight allies within the BLS community. The organization sponsors frequent educational, political and social events throughout the year with the aim to foster connections with the BLS student body, BLS alumni, and the legal profession at large. Its primary goals are to inform the Law School community about legal issues affecting LGBTQ rights, increase the visibility of LGBTQ persons within the legal profession and support BLS students who identify as LGBTQ. In short, OUTLaws advocates for the inclusion of multiple perspectives within the Law School and pursues solidarity with allies within the community at large.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.brooklaw.edu/.
