Congratulations to our very own CLP Executive Director and California Western Professor, Dana Sisitsky, for being named to the Faculty Pro Bono Honor Roll for the Association of American Law Schools! The Pro Bono Honor Roll acknowledges and highlights the pro bono work of individuals engaging in, expanding, and supporting their law school community in providing pro bono legal services.
The Community Law Project is honored to have been chosen as a 2022 California Nonprofit of the Year for California Assembly District 78! San Diego Assemblymember Chris Ward met with CLP Executive Director, Dana Sisitsky and CWSL Dean Sean Scott on our campus last month, praising the clinic for providing vital legal services to those who could not otherwise afford them.
Assemblymember Ward remarked, “By providing law students the opportunity to work side-by-side with attorneys of various backgrounds, and in an environment that exposes them to the needs of our community, CLP is training the next generation of civic-minded leaders.”
Recognizing that low-income clients may require more comprehensive support, CLP’s collaborative model also integrates other services, such as medical care, into clinic locations throughout the region.
Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), reflects on the honor stating, “California Nonprofit of the Year gives elected officials the opportunity to shine a light on the important work nonprofits are doing in their districts and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits in our communities.”
Congratulations to CLP’s student leaders, volunteer attorneys, and staff for all their hard work!
From 2009 to 2014, due in part to the work done by the Community Law Project, California Western School of Law was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This honor recognizes the hours of service donated by the school’s faculty, staff, and students through academic service learning and volunteerism.
In 2010, the State Bar of California announced California Western School of Law as a recipient of the President’s Pro Bono Service Award. This award is the State Bar’s top recognition for pro bono service and was the first award ever given to a law school. Again, California Western received this award due to its sponsorship of the Community Law Project, as well as other pro bono programs.
In the spring of 2011, the Community Law Project was honored to receive a grant from the Parker Foundation. The Parker Foundation supports organizations with charitable purposes that aim to better the life for all people of San Diego County. For more information about The Parker Foundation, please visit their website.
In the spring of 2014, the Community Law Project was honored to receive a grant from Price Philanthropies for its City Heights locations. Price Philanthropies invests in organizations and programs that faithfully reflect the vision Sol Price had for a more just society. For more information about Price Philanthropies, please visit their website.
Recently, we held our 2017 Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. This was a chance for us at CLP to say thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time, knowledge, and expertise with us. At our Luncheon this year we awarded two very special awards.
Congratulations to Judge Judy Keep Award 2017 Winner: Adam Sherry, Esq.
The Judge Judy Keep Award is given each year to a Community Law Project volunteer who has demonstrated dedication, commitment, and compassion in the furtherance of justice, equality, and community empowerment. Judge Keep was a compassionate and inspirational federal district court judge, who, through her leadership and service to the community, broke down gender barriers in our city. Judge Keep began her career representing indigent persons and continued to strive for equity under the law in her work as a judge. Judge Keep’s husband, Russell Block, is on our advisory board and was able to present the award in his wife’s memory. This year we presented the Judge Judy Keep award to Attorney Adam Sherry.
Attorney Adam Sherry has volunteered with the Community Law Project since 2015. During that time, Adam has consistently gone above and beyond in his role as a volunteer attorney. He has provided expert estate law advice to dozens of clients at several of our Community Law Project sites, assisted our clients outside of regular clinic consultations, mentored our law students in a community education presentation, presented to our clinical students during a class session, and presented to clients in need during several workshops. This is a time of fear and uncertainty in the immigrant community. Adam has provided essential family safety and preparedness information to over 100 immigrant clients, leaving each with a greater sense of security and understanding. Adam is generous with his time and always willing to go the extra mile to help someone. He treats each client he meets with respect, providing them with legal advice in a clear and sensitive manner. The Community Law Project is lucky to have Adam on our team and is proud to honor him with the Judge Judy Keep Award.
Congratulations to Karen Zamudio Memorial Award 2017 Winner: Ileana Slavin
This year’s second award, the Karen Zamudio Memorial Award, was given to a CLP volunteer who has demonstrated compassion for others and a devotion to making legal information accessible through language interpretation. This award was given to Ileana Slavin.
Ileana always comes to the clinic eager to help in any way possible. She is a comfort to our clients through the kind and sympathetic manner in which she provides interpretation, and is a much appreciated conduit for many of our monolingual English speaking law students during attorney consultations conducted wholly in Spanish. Ileana is an amazing example to all of us of the importance of giving back to our communities. She has found a way to make a sincere impact despite her full time job, busy family life and relative unfamiliarity with the law!
The 2017 reception was a great success, and thank you again to all of our CLP volunteers!
