Central Islip, NY – Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center will celebrate the opening of its new William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center on Monday, October 29 at 4:30 pm at the law school in Central Islip. The ceremony will celebrate the innovative center, which brings together non-profit legal advocacy agencies and Touro Law Center to provide services to the local community and provide opportunities for Touro students to participate in pro bono work while gaining hands-on legal training.

“This Center is the first of its kind in the nation and has the potential to affect many lives,” said Dean Lawrence Raful. “Our community and our law school will be enhanced because of this collaboration and I believe the Center will have an impact on social justice and legal training.”

When planning and designing the new Touro Law building, thought was given to creating a space for use by local agencies working within the local community  - creating the Public Advocacy Center.

“The Public Advocacy Center provides agencies the opportunity to serve the community from the law school and capitalize on the benefits of being located in the same space,” said Thomas Maligno, Director of Public Advocacy and the William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center at Touro Law. “This proximity lends itself to collaboration among organizations and has already lead to various groups working together for a common cause that otherwise probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Housed within the law school, the Center provides furnished offices to local non-profit agencies who agree to provide opportunities for law students to work with the agency. This partnership provides additional resources for participating non-profit groups and the opportunity for hands-on skills training for students while developing an understanding of the problems facing the local community.

Currently, fifteen agencies are part of the William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center. They include; the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Brighter Tomorrows, The Central American Refugee Center, The Empire Justice Center, The Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, Long Island Advocacy Center, Long Island Housing Services, Nassau/Suffolk Law Services Committee, Inc., The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sepa Mujer, Services for the Advancement of Women, The Society of American Law Teachers, The Suffolk Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk, The Workplace Project. In addition to these resident agencies, there are also more than 30 additional organizations who are affiliate members of the Center. Affiliate members have access to use Touro Law facilities and the ability to work with our students.

Congressman Steve Israel will give the keynote address at the opening via satellite. Immediately following the ceremony, the Touro Law Student’s Public Interest Law Organization is hosting a wine and cheese reception to benefit the Touro Student Loan Forgiveness Fund.