Touro Law Appoints Director of Clinical Programs

Melina Healey is the new Director of Clinical Programs at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. Healey, who will hold the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, will take over management of the law school’s eight clinical programs, which serve the community residents in areas such as Bankruptcy; Criminal Defense and Prosecution; Children’s Rights; Immigration; Senior Citizens; Not-for-Profit Corporations and Small Business; and Veterans’ Rights. 

 

“Professor Healey brings much experience in legal education and is dedicated to helping the underserved,” stated Myra Berman, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law. “I am confident that she will make valuable contributions to our school, our students and our community.”   

 

In clinics, upper-level law students, working under the supervision of experienced attorney-professors, provide free legal representation to low-income residents, or work in law-related government and non-profit offices. Students serve clients in need while developing critical advocacy and lawyering skills.

 

Healey stated, “I am honored to be selected for this role. Touro Law’s clinical programs are innovative and vital to both the students at Touro and the members of the surrounding community who are served by the clinics. I look forward to joining Touro Law to further develop the clinical program, provide students with valuable skills and tools they need to be successful, and identify and serve those in the community who need legal representation.”

 

Professor Healey comes to Touro Law from New York University School of Law, where she was an Acting Assistant Professor, teaching the foundational first-year course of Lawyering. At NYU, she also worked with Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York and supervised clinic students in representing incarcerated Native American clients in administrative, family law, and civil rights cases.

 

Professor Healey began her teaching career at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she was a clinical fellow in Loyola’s Policy and Legislation Clinic. During her time at Loyola, she received a faculty fellowship from the Center for the Human Rights of Children, which enabled her to supervise law students working with tribal leaders to address the problems of sex trafficking of Native youth. She subsequently founded a legal and social services program for survivors of trafficking and served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, teaching Legal Writing.

 

For more on Touro Law’s clinical programs visit www.tourolaw.edu/clinics. To contact a clinic for legal assistance call 631-761-7080 or email clinics@tourolaw.edu.

 

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Patti Desrochers

Director of Communications

pattid@tourolaw.edu

(631) 761-7062