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59 Nassau Law. 1 (2009-2010)

handle is hein.barjournals/nassau0059 and id is 1 raw text is: assau

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THE JOURNAL OF THE NASSAU COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

September 2009                  www.nassaubar.org                  Vol. 59, No. 1
NCBA undertakes BOLD initiative

By Linda Nanos, Esq.
In the upcoming weeks and months you will be hear-
ing a great deal about BOLD initiatives. BOLD is the
acronym for a Task Force formed by NCBA President
Emily Franchina and it stands for Bridge Over
Language Divides. The purpose of the Task Force is to
increase the reach of the Bar Association into communi-
ties speaking languages other than English.
Sean Sabeti, a NCBA member with ties in the Persian
community, calls BOLD a win-win proposition. It will
promote member lawyers who can service non-English
speaking clients, while enhancing legal representation of
these under-served communities. It is expected that the
initiative will cut across all areas of practice and reach a
number of diverse ethnic communities.
The first phase of the initiative is to identify current
NCBA member attorneys who are capable of handling
non-English speaking clients and to identify their specif-
ic areas of practice. We may also attract new members to
the association who are interested in this Task Force
focus. These attorneys can assist in pinpointing our tar-
get communities and the most effective ways to reach out
to them. Next we will disseminate information into the

ethnic communities about our BOLD initiative to provide
them with greater representation.
Currently the Lawyer Referral Service receives calls
daily from clients who speak languages other than
English. Spanish speaking callers are most common but
there has been an increase in calls from clients seeking
attorneys who speak Russian. The Board of Cooperative
Educational Services of Nassau County (BOCES) has
identified sixty-four different languages being spoken in
homes in Nassau County. The most recent U.S. Census
found that over twenty per cent of households in Nassau
speak languages other than English at home. Our Bar
Association must be responsive to our county's popula-
tion if we want to remain relevant. Our long range goal
is to provide educational programs on areas of the law of
interest to diverse communities in addition to direct legal
representation.
The BOLD task Force encourages any attorney who
is interested in the BOLD Task Force's work to contact
one  of the   Co-Chairs. They   are Linda    Nanos
(lnanos@i2000.com) and Howard Brill (hrbrillesq@
aol.com) whose complete contact information can be
found in the NCBA directory.

Yvette Pacheco, Deputy Director, Homeownership Center of
Nassau County; Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force Chair
Martha Krisel, Chief Deputy County Attorney for Special
Projects, Office of the Nassau County Attorney; and NCBA
Immediate Past President Peter Levy, at the August clinic,
held at Domus.
More volunteers needed for
Mortgage Foreclosure Clinics
By Valerie Zurblis
Hundreds of Nassau homeowners facing foreclosure
are feeling a little bit better, due to the assistance they
have received from attorneys and other officials at the
Nassau County Bar Association Mortgage Foreclosure
Legal Consultation Clinics. Six clinics have already taken
place, and, Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force Chair
Martha Krisel only sees the need for the services provid-
ed at the clinic and the need for more volunteers increas-
ing. Nassau County has some of the highest foreclosure
filings in the state, and the need to help homeowners has
never been greater, she said. 'The clinics resulted from
the community forum held in February, which was organ-
ized by the Community Relations and Public Education
Committee. Our initial goal was to host one clinic a
month. Recently, demand has increased and we are
scheduling our clinics more frequently Accordingly, we
need more volunteers.
See CLINIC, Page 6

Student mentors make positive changes, one student at a time

By Valerie Zurblis
A teacher by training, NCBA member
Alan Hodish felt his career wouldn't be
complete without a law degree. So after
he earned one at St. John's Law School
and passed the bar in 1989, he quit his
job teaching 5th and 6th graders at
Jackson Main Elementary School in
Hempstead to practice law. However, he
could never ignore his inner need to con-
tinue to help the kids at Jackson. So in
1994, he went to Hon. Ira Warshawsky,
then serving as the chair of the NCBA
Community Relations and Public Educa-

tion Committee, with an idea for a stu-
dent mentoring program. I wanted to
form a partnership with Hempstead
schools and the Bar Association, having
lawyers serve as mentors for these kids,
and I wanted to get as many attorneys,
judges and members of the Bar in-
volved, he said.
The seed Alan planted 15 years ago
has blossomed to now reach hundreds of
students at 6 middle schools with a dedi-
cated cadre of about 75 volunteer men-
tors, including not only NCBA members,
but also other attorneys, judges, and even

police officers. Research has shown that
children who have a caring adult in their
lives have a better chance of staying in
school, out of gangs and away from drugs.
These positive effects are much more
likely when one-on-one mentoring has
been strongly implemented. Members of
the Nassau County Bar Association have
See MENTORS, Page 2
NCBA Student Mentoring Program Chair
Alan Hodish listens to how one mentee
was affected by his mentor at the annual
Student Mentoring luncheon, held In May.

OF NOTE             W     __
NCBA Member Benefit - I.D. Card Photo
Obtain your photo for court identification
cards at NCBA Tech Center. Cost $10.
Sept., 15, 16 & 17 - 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Attention NCBA Members!
Nassau Lawyer Articles Needed
The Lawyer Assistance Program provides
confidential help to lawyers and judges
for alcoholism, drug abuse and mental
health problems. Call 1-888-408-6222.
Calls are completely confidential.

EVENTS
Shoemaker's Children
Wed., Sept. 23, 2009
Just as they often go
unshod... so, too,
lawyers often neglect
taking care of the very
matters they zealously
urge their clients to
address. This lunchtime
program will offer
advice about health care
proxies and an opportu-

nity for you to execute
one of your own
See page 16
NCBA Domus Open
Mon., Oct 5, 2009
Eisenhower The Red
See insert
Judiciary Night
Thurs., Oct. 15, 2009
5:30 p.m. at Domus
See page 4

Women in Law
Symposium
Wed., Oct. 21, 2009
See page 6
WE CARE Event
WE CARE Italian Feast
Saturday,
Oct. 24, 200P
See insert

UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Thurs., Sept. 10, 2009 0 Thurs., Oct. 8, 2009 - 12:45 at Domus

Bar Welcomes Newly-
Appointed Judge Coccoma
NCBA President Emily F. Franchina (c) and Hon.
Anthony Marano (L), Supreme Court Justice
and Administrative Judge of Nassau County,
welcome Hon. Michael V. Coccoma at a special
luncheon meeting held at Domus in August.
Judge Coccoma was appointed as Deputy Chief
Administrative Judge for Courts Outside New
York City in May 2009 by Chief Administrative
Judge Ann Pfau.

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