Naomi Cohn

Employment

City and State Recruiting Volunteer Attorneys

Did you know that the city and state are recruiting attorneys to work on a volunteer basis?

Overwhelmed by the needs of unrepresented litigants in the recession, the state courts are looking for volunteer attorneys to provide free legal advice in proceedings involving foreclosure, consumer debt, landlord/tenant, and other areas.

But the city and state are also recruiting volunteer attorneys to actually do the everyday legal work of their regular lawyers. The website of the city's law department advertises that volunteer attorneys who have recently been laid off are needed to conduct depositions. The state is recruiting volunteer attorneys to serve as law clerks for state judges. Volunteer attorneys are also working in various state and city agencies.

I don't have anything against these programs. I have already participated in four of them since being laid off in January, 2009. I am, however, wondering what people would say if the city and state were to begin recruiting people to work as volunteer teachers, firefighters, and police officers.

In the meantime, the volunteer work I have been doing has provided me the opportunity to help other New Yorkers who have been hit by the recession. I have gained experience in landlord/tenant law and employment law to add to my background in real estate, collections, and commercial litigation. Would anyone like to offer me a paying job?