Page 10 - NYLS Magazine • 2015 • Vol. 34, No. 1

as a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York from 1924 to 1961, including a term as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1958.
Issues Workshop” with Carlo Scissura, President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, as part of a weekend retreat at the Law School. Throughout the year, the Dean’s Leadership Council (DLC) takes
part in a series of dialogues, along with
Dean Crowell and top City leaders, about law, business, and government to tackle
legal and policy issues. During the March workshop, approximately 50 students worked in teams to offer President Scissura ideas and recommendations that will help with his strategic planning for the Chamber. Each team worked on one of seven issues: small business development/food equity; health and mental health; infrastructure: improving roads, bridges, and sanitation; impacts of gentrification and the need for affordable housing; immigration reform; public safety; and public education.
Dean Crowell said, “I was impressed with all of the recommendations the groups offered President Scissura for plans to address issues facing Brooklyn. By engaging with such
an influential figure in such an important borough, the DLC students learned to develop and maximize their leadership
skills. Remember that if Brooklyn were an independent city, it would be the fourth largest in the nation. So our students learned to think about social policy issues on a truly large scale.” Dean Crowell compiled the students’ ideas into a document for President Scissura to share with his board and staff as they develop a strategic plan for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
President Scissura said, “As New York’s
law school, NYLS is in a unique position and doing something with students almost unheard of at any other law school in the City: that is giving them the chance to get out into the communities of all five boroughs to help solve problems and build new opportunities to empower people through legal and policy advocacy. The Chamber is appreciative of the efforts of Dean Crowell and the NYLS students.”
Another collaborative effort with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is in the planning stages: an interactive map of food deserts in Brooklyn, to be created by students affiliated with the Unshared Bounty Project of the Impact Center for Public Interest Law.
Kings County alumni
Many prominent alumni have chosen to live or work in Brooklyn. Four members of the Brooklyn Bar Association Board of Trustees are NYLS graduates: Elaine N. Avery ’95 of Avery & Avery P.C.; Marianne Bertuna ’01 of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins; Richard A. Klass ’92 of the Law Office of Richard A. Klass, Esq.; and Glenn Verchick ’89 of Ginarte O’Dwyer Gonzalez Gallardo & Winograd, LLP.
Among the many notable NYLS alumni
in Brooklyn is William R. Coleman ’72, who has a private practice in Brooklyn Heights. Mr. Coleman is a former member of the Brooklyn Bar Association Board of Directors, and he gives to several causes
in Brooklyn, such as the Prospect Park Alliance, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and the Brooklyn Public Library. His grandfather, also named William R. Coleman, was
a long-time Brooklyn resident (1891- 1937), who worked, among other jobs as a clerk on the Brooklyn piers. His personal documents, correspondence, memorabilia, and photographs are part of a collection at the Brooklyn Historical Society.
Another notable Brooklynite alumnus
is Richard J. Moylan ’84, who serves as President of Green-Wood Cemetery,
a National Historic Landmark and Revolutionary War historic site, and was featured in a 2013 New York Times article.
brooklyn today: a hub of
student engagement
That close relationship is even stronger today. The Law School’s new housing facility is the St. George Residence Hall
in Brooklyn Heights, a historic building that was formerly a grand hotel. Recent graduate Michelle Skalrud is interning for the Brooklyn Nets, and third-year student Ariana Fodera will start interning for the team this fall. And fully half of the clinics offered by NYLS’s Office of Clinical and Experiential Learning have a Brooklyn connection. The Criminal Prosecution Clinic (Kings County) engages students
in the prosecution of criminal cases in conjunction with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, under the supervision
of adjunct faculty members who are experienced prosecutors. In addition, typically half the cases handled by the Elder Law Clinic are in Brooklyn. Also, during the 2014-15 academic year, three students in the Child Welfare Clinic worked on approximately 35 cases in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department in Brooklyn, along with attorneys from the NYC Administration for Children’s Services. Moreover, some students in the Municipal Litigation Defense Clinic are usually placed with
the Brooklyn office of the New York City Law Department, on Jay Street. Finally, Brooklyn residents are often clients of
the following clinics: the Civil Rights Clinic, the Criminal Defense Clinic, the Immigration Law and Litigation Clinic, the Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic, the Securities Arbitration Clinic, the Social Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, the Tax Planning Clinic, the Transactional Law Clinic, and the Wills Clinic
And clinics are not the only way NYLS students are engaging with Brooklyn. On March 21, 2015, the Dean’s Leadership Council—composed of students who perform in the top 25 percent of their class—participated in a “NYC Critical
Richard J. Moylan ’84 (top left) is the President of Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark. Top right and bottom: The Green-Wood main gate, the Green-Wood chapel, and an angel statute.
8 NEw York Law ScHooL maGazINE • 2015 • VOL. 34, NO. 1