Touro’s Auction Raises Record Funds for Student Fellowships

Touro Law Center’s 25th Annual Goods and Services Auction, held on March 13th at the law school, raised more than $85,000, making it the most profitable auction in the school’s history. All proceeds from the auction benefit Touro Law’s Public Interest Law Fellowship Program, awarding stipends to students who are dedicated to helping others through public service work during the summer. In addition, fifteen attorneys were honored for their dedication to public interest and pro bono work through the Public Interest Attorney of the Year Recognition Program, led by auction co-chairs Lois Schlissel, Esq., of Meyer, Suozzi, English, Klein, P.C. and Ilene S. Cooper, of Farrell Fritz, P.C.

 

Dean Harry Ballan stated, “The auction brings together a Touro community that is dedicated to the practice of law in the public interest, to pro bono legal services of all kinds and descriptions, all in the service of elevating the profession and creating opportunities for our students to serve. It is emblematic of our view that to practice law is fundamentally to serve others. The energy represented by the many people who attended the auction is a great encouragement to all of us who believe in the mission of serving others through law.”

The Public Interest/Pro-Bono Attorney of the Year Program at the Goods & Services Auction honors and recognizes those attorneys who devote their time to those in need through their pro-bono efforts. Those who are recognized best exemplify public interest legal work performed in the areas of poverty law, civil rights law or public rights law, including representation of charitable organizations. The public interest attorneys of the year, nominated by their colleagues and honored at this year’s auction are:

• Kyle Broderick, Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP

• Adam L. Browser, Ruskin Moscou Faltischek

• Alexis Bullard ’17, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office

• Denise Marzano- Doty ’94, Senior Citizens Law Program

• Antwaun E. Gavins ’15, New York State Attorney General Office

• Melissa B. Greenberger ’94, Pro Bono Partnership

• Tamika N. Hardy, Rivkin Radler

• Joyce Kendrick ’95, Brooklyn Defenders Services 

• Joanna Lima, Farrell Fritz, P.C

• Ryan Nasim ’16, New York Law Department

• Miguel Rodriguez ’16, Kings County District Attorney’s Office

• Charles Skop, Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein P.C

• Darren Stakey ’15, Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP.

• Samantha Valentin ’16, Bronx Defenders

• Margarett Williams ’05 , Touro Law Center

As a result of this year’s auction and fundraising efforts for public interest scholarships, Touro Law will be able to award 17 Summer Public Interest Law Fellowships. Fellowships are awarded to upper-division students, who receive a $5,000 stipend for ten weeks of full-time employment with a public interest legal employer including work in poverty law, civil or public rights law, and more. 

Touro Law offers a variety of fellowships and scholarships to both incoming and current students. In the past several years, Touro Law has raised more than $2 million in student scholarships. The Public Interest Law Fellowship program began at Touro Law 25 years ago.

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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning experience for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law is dedicated to providing hands-on learning that enables students to gain experience while offering much-needed legal services in the community.

Touro Law, which has an alumni base of more than 6,500, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs where students can earn a degree in 2, 3 or 4 years and provides four areas of concentration Additionally, Touro offers a hybrid, four-year FlexTime Program combining online and on campus learning. Touro Law offers several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates, including a new online LL.M. in Aging & Longevity Law. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

About the Touro College and University System 

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 18,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has 30 campuses and locations in New York, California, Nevada, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College; Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus; Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division; as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Ill. are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/.

 

 

Patti Desrochers

Director of Communications

pattid@tourolaw.edu

(631) 761-7062