New York State Bar offers awards to elder law clinic students

ALBANY  The Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association wants to reward law students who are taking the initiative to help the indigent and underserved elderly with an award and membership in the section. The Clinical Excellence Award honors law students participating in a clinical program at a New York law school during the 2005-06 academic year.

Clinical activities that could be eligible for consideration may include work on individual cases, law reform issues, community education, legislative advocacy and other projects. A panel of section members will make the award based on the quality and nature of the second- or third-year student’s work in the clinic, particularly the extent to which the work reflects excellent lawyering, service to elderly clients and an understanding of how to use the law to make a difference in the lives of individual clients, communities and the legal system.

To be eligible, applicants should submit an application form, supporting materials, a verification form and a recommendation from at least one clinical professor no later than May 1 to Daniel Fish, Esq., Freedman, Fish, & Grimaldi, 521 Fifth Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10175. For details and applications, visit http://www.nysba.org/content/contentGroups/Elder_Law_Section_Summer_Meeting/Clinical ExcellenceAwardFinal.pdf.

The recipient will receive $500, recognition at the Elder Law Section’s annual meeting in January 2007 and free membership in the section for one year following the recipient’s admission to the New York bar.

The Elder Law Section is one of 23 sections of the NYSBA. These groups publish material dealing with their fields of expertise, much of which is not available through commercial publishers. Sections also sponsor conferences, seminars and institutes, monitor legislation and conduct studies. Each of the sections contributes to policy-making, both in their subject areas and Association-wide, and originate many of the recommendations that become NYSBA policy positions.