The Legal Aid Society is proud to acknowledge the outstanding support of the Sustaining Law Firms, whose dedication helps ensure that all New Yorkers have access to equal justice.
Nina Reznick’s longstanding support of The Legal Aid Society has always been fueled by her passion for our social justice mission.
Nina Reznick’s longstanding support of The Legal Aid Society has always been fueled by her passion for our social justice mission.
“I definitely am what’s usually called an activist,” said Reznick. “They’re my favorite people.”
She first became aware of our work in the early 2000s, while volunteering for the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) as a Legal Observer monitoring the police’s response to public protests. As the law enforcement tactics grew more aggressive and more protesters were detained, she noticed that the attorneys representing them, along with NLG attorneys, were often with The Legal Aid Society.
Reznick — a New York-based attorney whose concentrations are intellectual property law, contract law in all areas of the entertainment industry, and the nonprofit areas — mused “if I can’t do the creative work they do, at least I can support them.” She became a loyal donor to The Legal Aid Society over two decades ago, and this year joined the Justice Network, a community of supporters whose accelerated annual giving helps us boost our ability to reach more clients. She is a regular attendee of the network’s events, praising them for keeping the public apprised of The Legal Aid Society’s work, as well as attracting the next generation of attorney activists.
This is a cohort that will find much to be inspired by in Reznick’s legacy. An outspoken proponent of environmental and reproductive rights, she is also a longtime advocate for voting reform, having helped push New York State to implement the most vote-protective election law in the country after the Help America Vote Act was passed in 2002, and actively participating in “get out the vote” campaigns in swing states across the country. She has been a mediator in the Southern District Federal Court, and is a strong supporter of advocate organizations for whistleblowers.
Reznick sees parallels between her own lifelong pursuit of equity and fairness for all and the work of The Legal Aid Society. Our attorneys impress her with their ability to provide the highest quality representation to the most vulnerable populations in New York City and to affect major change through its impact litigation. “How can we claim to have civil justice without legal representation for everybody accused?” she asked.
We are grateful for Reznick’s ongoing advocacy and her continued personal investment in our mission.
Through financial contributions, volunteering partnerships, and event sponsorships, our Corporate Advocates make a lasting impact on our city.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Justice Strategy Group announced funding in 2022 for juvenile justice reform projects led by youth and young adults who have personal experience with the justice system.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Justice Strategy Group (JJSG) announced funding in 2022 for juvenile justice reform projects led by youth and young adults who have personal experience with the justice system. To do so, the Foundation sought to support organizations with a high level of youth engagement and leadership by youth affected by the juvenile justice system. In 2022, the JJSG found a match in our Juvenile Rights Practice’s Youth Leadership Board (YLB).
The YLB is a diverse group of current and former clients of JRP, ages 16 to 24 years old, who have had contact with New York City’s child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems. Through their experience and voices, YLB members collaborate to build community, advise, and advocate for change in the welfare and justice systems.
With the support of The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the YLB launched an advocacy campaign to educate New York City youth on Set the Record Straight, a JRP program that offers legal advice and representation to help ensure that juvenile arrest-related records are treated confidentially, and that youth arrested for delinquency charges do not suffer collateral consequences due to their arrest records, such as unlawful discrimination by employers, schools, and law enforcement agencies.
The campaign aligned well with JJSG’s goals of advancing the contributions young people are making to youth justice reform, and validating their experiences within the system as professionals and essential partners in achieving reform. Through this funding, said Burgundi Allison, Associate Director for Diversion and Prevention at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “we are acknowledging how very real issues of discrimination have negatively affected young people’s career trajectories, such as arrest histories and limits that justice system involvement placed on access to educational and workforce development opportunities.”
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has maintained close contact with the YLB over the last year as YLB has worked to reach hundreds of youth on the Set the Record Straight campaign, and connect dozens of youth with JRP attorneys to assist them with clearing their criminal records. YLB “is a very dynamic group of young leaders,” said Allison. “Their points of view and sense of fairness are influenced by their proximity to the child welfare and/or youth justice systems.”
Allison said the JJSG will continue seeking partnerships with organizations that value young people and center their experiences and perspectives. The group’s focus will also expand to include community-led diversion and prevention, so more young people reach their potential free of justice-system involvement.
We applaud The Annie E. Casey Foundation for aligning with and supporting JRP’s mission of protecting the health and welfare of New York City’s youth in courtrooms and communities.
The Legal Aid Society’s Justice Network, our annual membership program, provides more opportunities—through briefings, trainings, and volunteering—to connect our community of individual donors to our mission. We are pleased to recognize our Justice Network members, whose generous support provides critical resources to our client communities.
The Federal Home Loan Bank System was created by the U.S. Congress in 1932 to provide liquidity to America’s local lenders to help stimulate a housing market ravaged by the Great Depression.
The Federal Home Loan Bank System was created by the U.S. Congress in 1932 to provide liquidity to America’s local lenders to help stimulate a housing market ravaged by the Great Depression. The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY), one of the dozen original FHL banks, carries on that legacy today by executing on its foundational liquidity mission in support of housing and local community development by providing its members with access to economic wholesale credit and assistance through credit products, mortgage finance programs, housing and community lending programs, and correspondent services.
One of FHLBNY’s major goals is to boost housing and economic opportunities for New York state families and communities, which it accomplishes primarily through its Affordable Housing Program (AHP), an annual grant program that creates and preserves housing for low-income individuals and families (for which it sets aside at least 10% of its earnings every year). But the FHLBNY’s commitment to the communities it serves goes above and beyond its annual AHP contribution, from community-focused products and services, to key grants and partnerships that help drive opportunities and solve problems at the local level.
For example, the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath brought a unique set of challenges for the FHLBNY’s region, as inflation, rents, and bankruptcies surged, in tandem with rising homelessness, falling homeownership, and a shortage of affordable housing. FHLBNY found an ideal ally in combating these obstacles in The Legal Aid Society’s Economic Equities Project (EEP). The project was formed in the wake of the emerging bankruptcy and real estate crisis scam crisis seen during the economic downturn, and brings together under one umbrella our Civil Practice’s expertise in foreclosure prevention, equity preservation, consumer protection, community development, and low-income taxpayer disputes.
FHLBNY’s generous support allowed EEP to hire an estate planning attorney and a bankruptcy attorney, in turn enabling the project to better serve BIPOC New Yorkers impacted by unstable housing and predatory practices protect their assets and long-term economic prospects. These include clients like a Manhattan survivor of domestic violence who was also caring for her baby and sick mother, and for whom EEP was able to erase $60,000 in credit card and personal loan debt.
The project “helps FHLBNY achieve its mission of meeting the housing and economic needs of New York residents,” said Neela Hanuman, Community Investment Specialist at FHLBNY. “LAS’ work on preventing evictions and displacement and preserving homes by addressing heirs’ related issues is imperative to meeting the housing needs of New Yorkers.”
FHLBNY says it will continue to work with its member financial institutions and community development partners as it seeks to find innovative ways to meet the affordable housing and credit needs of New Yorkers, and we commend the bank for its leadership in this endeavor.
The Servant of Justice Awards is The Legal Aid Society’s annual celebration of our work, our victories, and our partners. Each year, we gather together to recognize those individuals and institutions who have stood together to fight for equitable access to justice in all its forms. We are most appreciative of those individuals and institutions whose support sustains our work and makes success possible.
We are deeply grateful to these law firms, corporations, foundations, and individuals for their support of The Legal Aid Society and our core principle that no New Yorker should be denied access to justice.
Every day, The Legal Aid Society changes the lives of our clients with the help of our generous supporters. Stand with us.