News & Events

On December 9th, Mark Cunha, current Chair of the Board of Legal Services-NYC, the largest provider of civil legal services to low income people in the country, testified in a public hearing before the New York State Senate on "IOLA and the Future of Civil Legal Services in New York State." Legal service providers in New York rely in part on funding by IOLA (Interest on Lawyers Accounts), which has plummeted from a high of $31 million in 2008 to a mere $6.5 million projected for 2010. Mark spoke on a panel of business community leaders including Allen Waxman, Kaye Scholer partner and former general Counsel of Pfizer, and Lisa Philp, Global Head of Philanthropic Services at JP Morgan Private Bank. The panel urged the Senate to maintain and increase funding to civil legal service providers. The panel was coordinated by the Firm's Pro Bono Counsel, Harlene Katzman, and the testimony for all three panelists was drafted by litigation associates Lexie Pitney, Michael Warner and Zara Ohiorhenuan, with assistance from Linton Mann.