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Touro Law Receives $475,000 Community Funding Grant to Support Small Business Legal Assistance Clinic

Congressman Andrew Garbarino Endorsed Community Project Funding to Provide Legal Services to Local Underserved Small Businesses

March 28, 2023

Dean Elena B. Langan is pleased to announce that Touro Law received federal funding in the amount of $475,000 to create a new Small Business Legal Assistance Clinic that will offer free legal services to minority and women-owned small business on Long Island. The grant was endorsed by Congressman Andrew Garbarino, who serves on the House Small Business Committee and has historically supported small businesses as he believes they are the backbone of the economy and livelihood for so many Long Islanders.

“This grant will enable us to fund a new clinic that will provide legal support for underserved minority and women-owned small business in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties,” stated Dean Langan. “We plan to support the incubation, development and success of these businesses through critical legal assistance, access to resources, network building and educational programming. Our community has a great need for this type of legal clinic, and we are proud to be able to develop the clinic through this funding. We are grateful recipients of this grant and want to thank Congressman Andrew Garbarino for his endorsement.”

Touro Law’s clinical program provides opportunities for students to provide representation to actual clients with real legal problems, working under the supervision of faculty who are licensed to practice law in New York State. The work is done at no charge, providing both valuable experience for students to hone their legal skills while serving community needs. This grant will enable Touro Law to establish the clinic and provide students with unique training opportunities in business law. Touro intends to partner with local agencies for referrals and proposed educational programs including the Long Island Association, the Small Business Development Center at Farmingdale State College, and others. Currently, Touro Law offers more than a dozen clinics to train students and benefit community members in need in areas including veterans' and servicemembers' rights, mortgage foreclosure and bankruptcy, senior citizen law, education and youth law, immigration law, and more.

“An effort like this is tremendous and goes a long way to help small business owners who have real needs and may not have the resources to get the assistance they need to be successful,” stated Congressman Garbarino. “The establishment of this clinic and planned collaboration with local agencies to assist and educate the small business community is the exact kind of project that the Community Project Funding is intended for. I am proud to be a part of this project and look forward to the impact it will have on the local community and for the law students involved.”

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Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse, is the only law school in Suffolk County, located in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses and location in the center of a vibrant legal community, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning experience for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law is dedicated to providing hands-on learning that enables students to gain experience while offering much-needed legal services in the community.

Touro Law, which has an alumni base of more than 6,500, offers full- and part-time JD programs where students can earn a degree in 3 or 4 years. Additionally, Touro offers a hybrid, four-year FlexTime JD Program combining online and on campus learning. Touro Law offers several dual degree programs and a graduate law program for foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of Touro University.

Touro University - Touro University is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education chartered in 1970. Touro was founded primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled at Touro University’s various schools and divisions, which encompass 37 campuses and locations in New York, California, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College; Touro University California and Touro University Nevada; Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division; as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois are separately accredited institutions within the Touro University system. For more information, visit www.touro.edu.

For more info contact:
Patti Desrochers
Director of Communications
pattid@tourolaw.edu
(631) 761-7062

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