CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SCHOOL OF LAW

COMMUNITY LEGAL RESOURCE NETWORK (CLRN)

Background:

The Community Legal Resource Network (CLRN) supports three innovative programs designed to assist CUNY graduates in solo and small firm practice while also addressing the severe problem of New Yorkers’ unmet civil legal needs. In 2010, CLRN was awarded the ABA’s Louis M. Brown Award for Delivery of Legal Services and its director, Fred Rooney, received the 2010 Father Robert Drinan Award from the AALS Section on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities.

First, CLRN’s solo- and small-firm network, started in 1998, is a collaborative that supports CUNY Law graduates as they work to set up and run community law practices devoted to meeting pressing needs of the poor and disadvantaged in neighborhoods that are underserved by lawyers. The network helps new attorneys “find” one another for referrals, provides substantive guidance in specific practice areas, and allows for general networking through virtual connections such as e-mail listservs. The network also offers free CLE courses for members.

In 2007, CLRN established its second project, the Incubator for Justice. The Incubator houses eight CUNY Law graduates at a time, all of whom who are beginning “low bono” solo or small firm practices, for an 18-month period in shared office space in midtown Manhattan. Incubator participants are mentored by experienced attorneys, including the instructor of CUNY Law’s Small Firm Practice course who shares the same office space. They receive training in basic business skills such as billing, record-keeping, technology, bookkeeping, and taxes. Incubator participants also receive substantive training in immigration law, landlord-tenant law, elder law, labor and employment law, and in other topics that will arise continually as they build their practices. In addition, the Incubator has raised over $900,000 since its founding, primarily from state and local elected officials, to provide free legal services in those officials’ districts around New York City. Incubator participants receive $75 per hour to staff these initiatives, thereby gaining practical experience representing clients in a variety of subject areas. The income that Incubator participants earn from these projects supplements the income they derive from their own private clients as they work to develop their client bases and build their practices.

In 2009, CLRN began its third initiative, the LaunchPad for Justice. The LaunchPad employs recent CUNY Law graduates who have taken the New York State Bar but are waiting for their results. LaunchPad participants are placed in an office at county courthouses in Manhattan and Brooklyn and are trained and supervised by CUNY Law alumni and court-employed attorneys to represent clients in housing matters. They act as “Lawyers for a Day,” providing free legal representation to tenants under Appellate Division standing orders that permit them to practice in this limited setting before being admitted to the bar.  

Additional Information:

Presentation by Fred Rooney, CLRN Director, Spring 2010 NIFTEP workshop

Incubator: