Celebrating 25 Years Of Justice For NYC Women
This year Her Justice celebrates a quarter century of enabling New York City women living in poverty to access the legal system.
NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Throughout 25 years and three name changes, Her Justice has been on the forefront of providing critical legal services at no cost to clients by mentoring and training volunteer lawyers from among the best firms in New York City. Tens of thousands of dedicated attorneys have represented more than 30,000 marginalized women living in poverty, often isolated by language or culture, enabling them to be heard in a court of law, resulting in validation, safety, stability and the opportunity to transform their lives.
Founded as Network for Women Services in 1993 by Catherine Douglass, then a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Her Justice remains committed to getting access to justice for women with high-stakes legal needs.
"As we move into our second quarter of a century, we have had many conversations about the course we want to chart, and as we look forward, we find echoes of our foundations in everything we want to do," said Executive Director, Amy Barasch. "Three key goals propel us today: going deep into communities to reach women who are underserved; growing pro bono opportunities to provide powerful volunteer experiences for legal and non-legal professionals; and finally transforming our rich experience with tens of thousands of individual clients into policy advocacy that can make change for so many more."
Her Justice landmark achievements over the last 25 years include a precedent-setting case in which a judge held for the first time that marital rape 'counted' as 'egregious behavior,' thus exempting an abusive spouse from receiving any share of the couple's assets; helping to develop fair spousal maintenance guidelines that improved the court's ability to estimate unreported income; and adding U visa petitioning to our immigration practice, where nonimmigrant survivors of domestic violence can receive the right to live and work in the US when they cooperate with law enforcement, allowing us to dramatically increase the number of survivors we serve.
Follow Her Justice social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) throughout 2018 to join us on a journey of flashbacks over the last 25 years. Stay tuned as well for upcoming anniversary events. www.herjustice.org
About Her Justice
Her Justice is a nonprofit organization that takes a 'pro bono first' approach to the provision of legal services to women living in poverty in all five boroughs of New York City. The staff of 18 lawyers and legal assistants, along with hundreds of volunteer attorneys, ensure that more than 3,000 women every year receive free legal help in family, divorce and immigration matters.
Contact: Sharon Rainey, [email protected], 646 442-1160
SOURCE Her Justice
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