Touro Law Receives $80K Grant from the Robin Hood Foundation

Money to Fund Newly Created Disaster Relief Clinic

February 7, 2013

Touro Law Center is pleased to announce that it has received an $80,000 grant from the Robin Hood Relief Fund to support our newly created Disaster Relief Clinic to aid victims of Superstorm Sandy.

“We are so grateful to Robin Hood for this grant,” said Dean Patricia Salkin. “The Disaster Relief Clinic is already hard at work serving victims who have complex legal issues related to the disaster. There is a high demand for legal services in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and I am proud that Touro Law is able to serve the community while training our law students. We are committed to this project and now, thanks to this grant, we are able to continue the clinic through the year.”

The Disaster Relief Clinic assists those with legal problems arising from Hurricane Sandy, the recent superstorm that affected the tri-state area in October 2012 causing widespread devastation and destruction. Students work under the supervision of Visiting Professor of Law Benjamin Rajotte to provide no cost legal assistance with insurance claims, environmental remediation, government assistance programs including FEMA, insurance and consumer fraud concerns and other legal problems that are a result of the storm. Students will also visit shelters and community organizations and work with elected officials to provide education about and referrals for available benefits.

Founded in 1988, Robin Hood is New York’s largest poverty-fighting organization, and has focused on finding, funding and creating programs and schools that generate meaningful results for families in New York’s poorest neighborhoods. The Robin Hood Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund has granted tens of millions of dollars to organizations throughout New York’s tri-state region that help individuals and families recover from the devastating effects of the storm.

Touro Law’s clinical program teaches practice-ready skills required for effective advocacy while providing no cost legal services for the community. Students work under close faculty supervision to provide legal assistance to actual clients. Currently, Touro Law offers several clinics including; Advanced Bankruptcy Clinic, Civil Rights Litigation Clinic, Elder Law Clinic, Family Law Clinic, Mortgage Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic, Not-for-Profit Corporation Law Clinic, and the new Disaster Relief Clinic. The initial funding for the clinic was provided by a generous donation from Reva and Martin Oliner.

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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law, which has a student body of approximately 750 and an alumni base of more than 5,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs, several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

About the Touro College and University System
Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris, and Florida. Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro College Los Angeles and Touro University Worldwide as separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/media/.
For more info contact:
Patti Desrochers
Director of Communications
pattid@tourolaw.edu
(631) 761-7062

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