Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project Inc

“The organization's audit committee and president/ceo review and approve the form 990. It is then sent to the entire board of directors for review prior to submission.”

“The audit committee is responsible for monitoring any conflicts of interest. Each board member and officer must report any conflicts to the audit committee, and board members and officers must complete an annual disclosure questionaire to list any potential to list any potential conflicts of interest. The audit committee reviews the questionnaire and monitors any conflicts that may arise and investigates pursuant to the conflict of interest policy.”

“The president & ceo's compensation was determined and approved by the board of directors, using information from 990s of other organizations as well as compensation surveys, and then documented appropriately. On an annual basis, the board approves compensation increases as part of the annual budgeting process. The process for determining compensation of the organization's officers and key employees is set by the president & ceo using salary surveys and industry standardds and includes the use of an hr/compensatin professional. The president & ceo then makes the recommendations to the board as part of the budgeting process then the board approves them as part of the budget.”

“We will provide documents on request at the office of the corporation.”

“Founded in 1990, access justice brooklyn (ajb) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that provides high-quality, pro bono legal services and community education to our neighbors in need. Using the collective talents of our dedicated staff and volunteers, we help ensure a more accessible legal system and equitable brooklyn. Ajb serves brooklyn residents, borough-wide, who are low-income and need help with civil legal issues in any of our practice areas: advanced life planning and legal assistance for older adults; family stabilization matters, such as custody, visitation, child and spousal support, and uncontested divorce; homeowner assistance, including foreclosure intervention and prevention; and chapter 7 bankruptcy and consumer debt litigation and advocacy. Core to our approach is our pioneering pro bono model, which engages private attorneys and other volunteers to provide community support - allowing us to serve far more people than we could alone. During the past year, with the assistance of pro bono attorneys and law students, access justice brooklyn provided direct civil legal services in 5,448 matters affecting 12,710 individuals and families. We reached 786 people via community legal education and outreach events throughout brooklyn, and provided pro se assistance to an additional 337 individuals - giving them the knowledge and resources to better represent themselves in court. For matters outside of our scope of services, we provided 1,291 individuals with referrals for other legal and social service needs. Central to our mission and essential to our service model, access justice brooklyn recruits, trains and actively supervises volunteer lawyers and law students to provide pro bono representation, advice, brief legal services at courthouse clinics and in-office clinics, daily advice and counsel, and community legal education presentations. In the last year we deepened our relationships with private law firms, in-house counsel, and law schools to provide pro bono assistance to our clients, engaging a total of 253 pro bono attorneys, law students, and other volunteers who provided 5,606 hours of direct legal assistance and community legal education for the benefit of the brooklyn community. Our advocacy also helped brooklyn residents secure $3,068,548 in financial benefits and savings, improving the economic security of our clients and their households. Ajb clients obtained $67,397 in child and spousal support as well as $5,089 in monthly child and spousal support payments, or $61,068 in annualized benefits; recovered $36,832 in debt collection matters; and obtained $80,343 in foreclosure settlements, including emergency funds that help homeowners pay mortgage arrears and remain in their homes. We also helped clients save or recover $417,563 through federal bankruptcy protection; reduce monthly child support payments by $1,000; and reduce or dismiss $235,252 in debt that would otherwise be levied from clients' wages; $2,112,632 in other forms of debt collection; and $101,175 in fines imposed by the nyc department of buildings, achieved through representation before the office of administrative trials and hearings (oath). To alleviate the cost burden of court expenses on our clients, we also helped clients save $11,265 in filing fees in uncontested divorce and bankruptcy cases.”