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Upstate Law
Projects
Community Bankruptcy
Law Project
Following a
successful pilot of the project in the fall of
2008, the Community Foundation of Herkimer &
Oneida Counties, Inc. has funded the Consumer
Bankruptcy Law Project in 2009.
Several students
will continue to work with the Legal Aid Society of Mid New
York to study consumer bankruptcy
cases in rural Upstate New York.
Applications
for the program are due on August 31, 2009.
Susan Conn,
'79, will train the students on issues on
consumer debt, bankruptcy law, and ethics, and
will complete outside reading as part of the
study. They will then work under the supervision
of a LASMNY attorney to prepare documentation
for bankruptcy cases. They will also sit in on
client credit counseling courses and complete
online debtor education courses, both of which
are required for individuals filing for
bankruptcy. This project will give students the
opportunity to develop a deeper understanding
of the issues facing low income individuals and
contribute to an innovative project that
provides a community benefit.
Students who participated in the
Consumer Bankruptcy Law Project in the 2008-2009
school year are:
Sarah Demaree, Bridget Henwood, Matt Schoenfeld,
Jenn Geffner and Adam Zimmerman.
Upstate Law Project
In the
spring of 2009, the Upstate Institute will
offer a seventh semester of the Upstate Law
Project. Susan Conn, '79, will teach SOSC
405: Social Security Benefits for Disabled
Children.
The course
introduces students to the Social Security
system, discusses the barriers that
low-income and disabled families face in
accessing social services, and addresses the
following legal topics: legal analysis,
legal ethics, Social Security disability
law, and legal writing.
In addition to
this coursework, students will also be
expected to engage in a practicum
experience. The practicum involves assisting
Ms. Conn in her pro bono work of
helping low-income children and their
mothers in securing SSI benefits and will
involve: interviewing disabled adults and
children, reading medical files, drafting a
persuasive legal argument to the
administrative law judge, preparing clients
for hearings, and attending administrative
hearings.
 Students
will prepare a policy/research paper
addressing selected topics on current
issues in social service provision.
The course will
meet on Tuesday evenings and Friday
afternoons (some meetings on campus and some
at the Utica Legal Aid Office).
Colgate
students who
have completed their distribution
requirement in social sciences and are
interested in law and public policy, as well
as a case study involving an individual with
a psychiatric impairment who is applying for
disability benefits, are eligible to take
the course. Please contact Ellen Kraly to
discuss participation in the course if you
are interested.
Students
participating in the course during the fall
of 2007 were: Avery Blank, '08, Kristen Coletti, '08, Jen Geffner, '09, Becca
Gildiner, '09 Christine Hawkins, '08,
Mallorie Heneghan, '08, Simon Rosen, '08,
and Audrey Stevens, '08.
Former
students who have participated in the
Upstate Law Project include Elly Arnoff '06, Tiffany
Chu '06, Jenn Frey '06, Hillary Gluck '06,
Erin Hanna '06, Theresa Kevorkian '09, Matt
Kroll '07, George Martin '06, Katie Powell
'06, and Sarah Swan '06.
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