NYCLA’s Public Service Awards Reception Set For September 24

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Anita Aboulafia 212-267-6646, ext. 225, aaboulafia@nycla.org

 

NYCLA’s Public Service Awards Reception Set For September 24

 

AUGUST 27, 2009 – NEW YORK, NY – The New York County Lawyers’ Association’s (NYCLA) annual Public Service Awards Reception will be held on Thursday, September 24 at 6:00 PM at the NYCLA Home of Law, 14 Vesey Street. Hon. Luis A. Gonzalez, Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, First Department, will be the keynote speaker at the event. NYCLA’s Immediate Past President, Catherine A. Christian, who chairs NYCLA’s Public Service Awards Committee, and NYCLA President Ann B. Lesk will be among those presenting awards to seven public sector attorneys in recognition of their dedication and commitment. The NYCLA Criminal Justice Section, chaired by Keith Schmidt and Rhonda Z. Tomlinson, will also present the 2009 Criminal Justice Public Service Fellowships, awarded on the basis of an essay competition, to two attorneys who practice criminal law in the public sector.

 

Public Service Awardees

This year’s honorees,” acknowledged Ms. Lesk, “demonstrate the breadth and depth of talent represented by lawyers in public service. NYCLA is pleased to recognize their contributions.” The public sector attorneys who will be honored are: Rita D. Dumain, chief of Tax and Bankruptcy, Litigation Division, New York City Law Department; Dora Galacatos, senior counsel, Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham Law School; Andrew Goldberg, supervising attorney, Workplace Justice Project & Consumer Rights Project, MFY Legal Services; David J. Kennedy, assistant U.S. attorney, chief attorney, civil rights unit, Southern District of New York; Daysi Mejia, assistant district attorney, attorney-in-charge, Immigrant Affairs Program, DA’s Office, New York County; April Newbauer, attorney-in-charge, Civil Practice’s Queens Neighborhood Office, The Legal Aid Society; Lauren Shapiro, project director, Legal Services NYC’s Brooklyn Family Defense Project.

 

2009 Criminal Justice Public Service Fellowship Awardees

Winners of the Criminal Justice Section’s 2009 Public Service Fellowships are Shilpy Goswami, staff attorney, Bronx Neighborhood Office, The Legal Aid Society, and Justin Braun, assistant district attorney, Bronx County DA’s Office. This year’s essay question was: “Should there be a moratorium on violation pleas at arraignment?” The 2009 winners will each receive a cash stipend of $2,000.

 

The New York County Lawyers’ Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as the first major bar association in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.

 

# # #