Brooklyn Legal Services, Brooklyn, NY
I spent my summer interning in the Foreclosure Prevention and the Community Economic Development (CED) Units of Brooklyn Legal Services, a not-for-profit law firm that represents Brooklyn residents who otherwise could not afford legal services. Working in two units allowed me the opportunity to collaborate on a broad range of projects. The work I did for the Foreclosure Prevention Unit was often more directly client focused where results were immediate, while the work I did for the CED Unit had less immediate outcomes, but was on a larger scale. My work in these two units gave me a perspective on how legal services organizations try to provide assistance to individuals while also making systemic changes that benefit large numbers of people. Both types of work made me feel I was making an impact.
One of the first lessons I learned in the Foreclosure Prevention Unit was that providing legal assistance to a client does not necessarily mean representing him or her in court. I went to Small Claims Court with a client and helped her fill out paperwork to sue the board of the limited equity co-op she had recently vacated and was told that she was not entitled to receive any equity from its sale. She may be entitled to $5,000 when she appears before a judge. For another client, I looked through his files to determine how much he had paid his current landlord and at his past housing court and civil court cases, and determined that he still owed money to his landlord, and a law suit would not be in his best interest. He more or less needed a clear understanding of his rights.
I worked on many different tasks for a public banking campaign that the CED unit is working on in a coalition headed by the New Economy Project. The campaign seeks to establish a public bank in New York City that would allow the City to divest from Wall Street banks and reinvest public deposits to support equitable and cooperative development. It would also promote transparency and accountability in municipal finance.
Doing work for the Community Economic Development Unit allowed me to use the research skills I have learned at Williams and helped me further develop them. The first project I worked on for the campaign included mapping where notoriously bad landlords were receiving loans in relation to predominant demographics in those areas with a program called ArcGIS and seeing what banks were involved in financing these loans. It was really rewarding to see my work on analyzing these loans used at an outreach event for housing advocates and community organizers in just my second week.
The public banking coalition also had semi-monthly phone calls where I was asked to give presentations. For one call, I researched the pros and cons of postal banking as well as how it compares to public banking. Another time, I gave an update on how two pieces of small business legislation were progressing. In my last week, I conducted an interview of the CEO of an affordable housing developer for the public banking coalition, asking about the scope of funding for affordable housing and economic development from New York State and New York City programs.
In the CED unit, I was also able to work on two Housing Development Fund Corporation co-op cases. HDFCs co-ops are an important type of affordable housing in New York City. My supervisor worked with the management companies that run the co-ops to help them avoid foreclosure. Most of the attorneys at Brooklyn Legal Services work with the tenants or shareholders of apartments, not with the management. This HDFC helped me understand that legal work to preserve affordable housing is not limited to representing tenants in landlord-tenant cases.
One of the favorite things about my internship was how invested my supervisors were in ensuring that I had a productive and enjoyable summer. They always checked in to make sure I had enough work but did not feel overwhelmed, and I always felt I could ask questions if I was confused. They also exposed me to different parts of their work, even if I wasn’t directly doing anything in that area; and as a result I was able to shadow attorneys in Housing, Civil, New York Supreme and Federal District Courts.
The work of the Foreclosure Prevention and Community Economic Development Units is focused on building and preserving wealth in Brooklyn’s low-income communities by preventing foreclosures, advising affordable housing providers, and working to expand the financial services available in such communities. My internship has helped me understand how laws and public policies can impact issues related to the distribution of wealth in our society and the ways in which lawyers can help shape those laws and policies.
I am unsure whether or not I will go to law school; however, I have further solidified my feelings that doing something to help others is important for me. I have realized that a great supervisor is able to make a huge difference in a summer, and that the people you work with have a very large impact on your day-to-day life. People were very candid about their feelings towards their jobs. Most of them love the work they do, but they know it is not for everyone. I have also learned that passion should be a key factor in choosing a job and a career.
I would like to thank the Class of 1972 and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration for your support. Thanks to your kindness and generosity, I was able to spend my summer helping others; improving my professional abilities; utilizing my research skills; and enhancing my understanding of law, community development, and coalition-building. Thank you very much for this opportunity.
Megamenu Social