Brooklyn Law School: Academic Program

May 13, 2008

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Case Victories, Accomplishments and News

Record Number of Externships in 2007

October 2007 – Brooklyn Law School students took part in a record number of externships in 2007: 120 in the summer and 224 in the fall. They worked in law offices, government agencies, with in-house counsel, and in judicial chambers. They were placed with the National Labor Relations Board, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, both Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Legal Aid Society, the Brennan Center for Justice, Lawyers for Children, the Fair Housing Justice Center, the UN High Commission for Human Rights, the Dramatists Guild, Nickelodeon, Sony BMG, VH-1, the National Football League, Colgate-Palmolive, Merrill Lynch, the New York Stock and Commodities Exchanges, the offices of the New York State Attorney General and the New York City Law Department, the offices of the District Attorneys of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, the U.S. Attorneys for both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the Office of the Federal Defender. They also worked for U.S. district court judges, bankruptcy judges and magistrate judges in both the Eastern and Southern Districts, as well as for judges in the state court system.

Safe Harbor Project

October 2007 – Students in the Safe Harbor Project recently secured asylum for a homosexual Sri Lankan client. Sri Lankans often seek asylum because of persecution due to their political activities, but this client was one of the first to obtain asylum because of discrimination based on his sexual orientation. In Sri Lanka, homosexuality is taboo, and anyone suspected of same-sex activity may be subjected to arrest, beatings, extortion, loss of employment, and damage to reputation.

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Mediation Clinic

October 2007 – Students in the Mediation Clinic have been working on cases in Brooklyn Civil Court, Small Claims Court and the Brooklyn Mediation Center. Each student has an opportunity to participate in about 10 mediated cases under the supervision of Professor Mary Jo Eyster. They have handled matters ranging from claims for lost luggage to claims of assault and family conflicts. For example, students recently assisted in the amicable resolution of a case involving a pet owner’s claim under the “Puppy Lemon Law” against a pet store owner.

Community Development Clinic

October 2007 – Under the supervision of Professor David J. Reiss, the Community Development Clinic is representing the national advisory board of the Student Hurricane Network in its incorporation and application for a determination of tax-exempt status. SHN organizes law students to assist residents of areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Josie Beets ’08, the founder of Brooklyn Law School’s chapter of SHN and a board member, is working closely with clinic students. They are reviewing the relative benefits and disadvantages of incorporating in Louisiana, Mississippi, New York and Washington, D.C., and are researching the legal implications of raising funds throughout the country.

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Corporate and Real Estate Clinic

October 2007 – Corporate and Real Estate Clinic students, under the supervision of Professor Debra A. Bechtel, closed two rehabilitation loans in June 2007 on behalf of Bronx low-income cooperatives. Allison McKenzie ’08 and Scott Chait ’07 began work for the building on 173rd Street in the Spring 2007 semester and obtained partial forgiveness of real estate tax arrears. In June, Allison continued conducting the closing of a loan from the city for over $1.2 million, which was used to pay the taxes that could not be forgiven and to complete extensive work on the building.

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Prosecutors Clinic

October 2007 – Supervised by Professor Carolyn Pokorny ’94, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, students in the Prosecutors Clinic recently notched several important victories.

In a compelling brief and oral argument in United States v. Timothy Halo, Carla Cheung ’07 and Jessica Kastner ’07 persuaded U.S. Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann to reject the defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus and uphold his conviction for assaulting officers with the Brooklyn VA Medical Center.

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Criminal Appeals Clinic

October 2007 – Students in the Criminal Appeals Clinic–Manhattan District Attorney, under the supervision of Assistant DA Deborah L. Morse ’80, argued three cases before a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division, First Department during the January 2007 term. To prepare, they wrote briefs and conducted numerous individual and group moot courts, including one before several Manhattan assistant district attorneys. The students were “sworn in” by Manhattan DA Robert M. Morgenthau as “student assistant district attorneys” for purposes of the oral argument. All three convictions were affirmed.

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Securities Arbitration Clinic Students Win Double Victory for Elderly Client

September 2007 --- Nabeel Haque ’08 and Mary Beth Yanulis ’08, working in the Securities Arbitration Clinic led by professor Karen van Ingen, successfully represented an elderly client with limited English speaking ability. The woman claimed her broker purchased and sold securities in her account without her permission while she was out of the country.

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New Clinics

Holland & Knight Partners with BLS in Pro Bono Project

Mar. 6, 2008 – In an innovative partnership with Holland & Knight, a major New York law firm known for its long-standing commitment to pro bono activities, Brooklyn Law School has added a new clinic that allows students to work on high-profile pro bono cases with experienced lawyers.

Launched in the Spring 2008 semester, the Holland & Knight Pro Bono Clinic provides BLS students the opportunity to work in the firm’s New York office with lawyers on its Community Services Team, which handles the firm’s pro bono work. In the clinic, a group of six to eight students is supervised by George Kendall, a nationally recognized advocate in death penalty and prisoner’s rights cases, and two associates in Holland & Knight’s Chesterfield Smith Fellowship program. Fellows in the program, named after a founding partner of the firm, work full-time for two years on pro bono cases. In the new clinic, they supervise BLS students who work out of the firm’s office for 12 to 15 hours a week.