Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Greenberg Traurig’s New York Office Helps Spearhead Housing Court Pro Bono Project

In response to a request from Judge Fern Fisher, Administrative Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York, the New York office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP will help spearhead a Housing Court initiative that addresses pro bono legal needs of owners of small properties in Brooklyn who cannot afford their own attorneys. The program starts on Thursday, November 20.

New York, NY (Vocus/PRWEB ) November 19, 2008 -- In response to a request from Judge Fern Fisher, Administrative Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York, the New York office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP will help spearhead a Housing Court initiative that addresses pro bono legal needs of owners of small properties in Brooklyn who cannot afford their own attorneys. The program starts on Thursday, November 20.

Greenberg Traurig Logo
Greenberg Traurig Logo

We are honored to be coordinating this program with Judge Fisher
Greenberg Traurig attorneys will staff legal information tables in Brooklyn Housing Court every other Thursday between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. providing legal advice to owners of small properties in Brooklyn who do not have sufficient income or assets to hire counsel. They also may have an inability to understand the legal system for various reasons, such as language barriers and lack of education. The assistance provided by Greenberg Traurig attorneys through this Housing Court Initiative will bolster the resources available to these pro se litigants.

“We are honored to be coordinating this program with Judge Fisher,” said Bill Silverman, a shareholder in the New York office and leader of Greenberg Traurig’s pro bono program in New York. “There is a great need for pro bono legal services in Housing Court, especially during difficult economic times. This legal clinic will enable us to make a big impact in a short period of time for a deserving and under-served segment of pro se litigants.”

More than 30 Greenberg Traurig attorneys have already been trained to assist owners of small properties with the most common issues presented, such as non-payment of rent and post-tenancy holdovers. These attorneys will staff a desk in the Resource Center at Brooklyn Housing Court. No ongoing individual representation will be undertaken as part of this initiative.

The goal of the program is to provide high-quality legal information for this underserved segment of the Brooklyn community. Initially, this service will be offered every other week, starting Thursday, November 20, at 141 Livingston Street, in Brooklyn. It is anticipated that, as the community learns of this resource, and demand increases, additional evenings will be added. Property owners who are interested in participating should go directly to the Brooklyn Housing Court resource center on the nights of the program.

About Greenberg Traurig’s Pro Bono Program
Greenberg Traurig attorneys firm-wide regularly and significantly impact the communities in which they live and work through their pro bono representation of individuals with limited means, particularly by working with legal aid programs benefitting charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations that address the needs the underprivileged. In addition, our attorneys are encouraged to participate financially in the far-reaching success of the Greenberg Traurig Fellowship Foundation that provides attorneys to public service organizations on matters as wide-reaching as human rights and economic development and as personal as domestic violence, children’s issues an
immigration.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, full-service law firm with more than 1,800 attorneys and governmental affairs professionals in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The firm was selected as the 2007 USA Law Firm of the Year by Chambers and Partners.

Greenberg Traurig serves clients from offices in: Albany, NY; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Morristown, NJ; New York, NY; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Palm Beach County, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Sacramento, CA; Shanghai, China; Silicon Valley, CA; Tallahassee, FL; Tampa, FL; Tysons Corner, VA; Washington, D.C.; White Plains, NY; Wilmington, DE; and Zurich, Switzerland. Additionally, the firm has strategic alliances with the following independent law firms: Olswang, London, Brussels and Berlin; Studio Santa Maria, Milan and Rome; and Hayabusa Asuka Law Offices in Tokyo.

For additional information, please visit the firm's Web site at www.gtlaw.com.

Contacts:   
Joey Kaiser            
Greenberg Traurig, LLP            
(212) 801-6983               
kaiserj @ gtlaw.com

Katherine Ragsdale
Rubenstein Associates
(212) 843-8298
kragsdale @ rubenstein.com

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