NYS Chief Judge Lippman joins Pace Law School At Celebration Of Innovative “Legal Residency Program”

The Honorable Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State of New York, will join Pace Law School Dean Michelle S. Simon in a celebration of the Pace Community Law Practice (PCLP), a first-of-its-kind legal residency and incubator program. The Honorable Noel Brennan and State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins will also join the festivities scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on April 4 at Pace Law School.

“With millions of New York State residents unable to afford market rates for legal services, the Pace Community Law Practice is exactly the kind of innovative new program that law schools should be creating to help close the justice gap,” said Judge Lippman. “I applaud Dean Michelle Simon and Pace Law School for trailblazing public interest legal education in New York State.”
The PCLP provides affordable, high-quality legal services to those in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley while also providing legal practice experience to recent Pace Law graduates who serve one year Fellowships. The new lawyers work under the supervision of experienced attorneys as they acquire the skills and knowledge that will equip them to open solo and small practices.
“I was intrigued by the guidance that doctors receive during their medical residencies and believed that we could adapt that model to public service legal practice,” said Dean Simon. “It is exciting to see that this is a viable model. I am enormously proud of our first group of Fellows.”
In the six months since it first opened its doors, the four Fellows have compiled an impressive track record, assisting more than 180 people and families in immigration, employment, benefits, and family law cases. The PCLP has become a leader in assisting “Dreamers” by representing clients in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) cases.
Judge Lippman noted that the PCLP reinforces some of the recommendations laid out in the 2012 report issued by the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Services in New York, which identified a role for law schools in closing the justice gap.
“By answering this challenge, Pace Law School is on the cutting edge of legal education and public interest lawyering,” said Judge Lippman. “I look forward to being at Pace Law School on April 4th to celebrate the creation of this groundbreaking new program.”
To learn more about the PCLP, please consult the website, law.pace.edu/pace-community-law-practice. Those interested in joining the Celebration should email (pclp@law.pace.edu)  or call (914-422-4027) for more details.