Touro Law Reunion 2008 and "With Liberty & Justice for All" Dinner Wrap Up

On Saturday, November 8, Touro Law Center held Reunion 2008 celebrating the classes of 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998 and 2003. It was a truly memorable evening in Touro’s still-evolving history as the class of 1983 was the first to celebrate a 25th reunion. Alumni came together to reminisce with friends, classmates and professors, as well as tour the new facility in Central Islip. Thank you to the entire Reunion Committee and to everyone who attended to make this year’s reunion a successful and memorable event.

Touro Law Center held its annual “With Liberty & Justice for All” Dinner on Wednesday, November 12 at the Garden City Hotel. Dean Lawrence Raful presented Thomas Rosicki ’97 with the Paul S. Miller “With Liberty and Justice for All” Award for all his support of Touro Law Center and our students, along with his outstanding contribution to the community through his work with AHRC and representing those with disabilities. Touro College President Dr. Bernard Lander together with Dean Raful presented the “Friend of Justice” Award to Alan L. Fuchsberg for continuing the legacy of his mother and father along with his continued support and commitment to Touro Law Center and the community. The Dean also recognized the Honorable Leonard D. Wexler and the Honorable H. Patrick Leis III for their extraordinary work with Touro Law Center’s Court Observation Program. Thank you to our honorees, Dinner co-chairs John Bishar and Seymour Liebman, journal chair Cynthia Nierer, Dinner committee members, all our generous sponsors, alumni, friends and special guests who helped to make this year’s dinner a wonderful event.

Touro Law Students Volunteer to Make a Difference in Katrina-Affected Region

Thirty-six students from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center recently volunteered for a week in New Orleans, a city and region still trying to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina hit the area in 2005. The students volunteered with eight different organizations, using their legal education to benefit the groups they worked for and the people of the Gulf Coast.

Students worked with the New Orleans Public Defenders, Common Ground, the Common Ground Legal Clinic, and The Alliance for Affordable Energy, among others. Students worked on a variety of projects including searching a community group’s documents to determine whether the community had groundwater contamination claims, helping to revive legislation, exploring employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals, working on cases of contactor fraud, and so much more.

To read the full press release, please click here.

November Alum of the Month

Touro Law Center’s Office of Development, Alumni Relations and Communications is proud to announce that Randy Schaefer has been selected as the November Alum of the Month. Ms. Schaefer is of counsel with the firm of Silverman Acampora LLP and was an active member of the Touro Community while attending law school. She remains engaged through Touro Law Center’s Alumni Association, Alumni Council and Mentor Program as well as attending various alumni and student events throughout the years. Please click here to view the Alum of the Month page and her accomplished bio. On behalf of the entire law school community, we extend our congratulations to Randy Schaefer.

Judge Leon D. Lazer Atrium Dedication

On Wednesday October 29, Touro Law Center celebrated the dedication of the Judge Leon D. Lazer Atrium. Touro faculty, staff and students as well as several judges, alumni, family and friends were present to help celebrate the event. Dean Lawrence Raful, Dean Emeritus Howard Glickstein, Professor Eileen Kaufman, the Honorable James Lack and the Honorable Gail Prudenti spoke tributes to Judge Lazer and his remarkable career as an attorney, judge and professor. The ceremony concluded with Judge Lazer and his wife Renee revealing the plaque and lettering honoring Judge Lazer and formally naming the Judge Leon D. Lazer Atrium.

Leon Lazer, formerly a Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, is now a professor at Touro Law Center and serves as special counsel to the firm of Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid, PC. One of his many great accomplishments has been his 30-year stewardship of the Pattern Jury Instructions Committee, which annually produces a four-volume set of model jury instructions for use by judges in civil trials. Judge Lazer also runs the annual “Leon D. Lazer Supreme Court Review,” which has become the largest continuing legal education program on Long Island, this year drawing its largest crowd of almost 400 attorneys.

Touro Law PAC Featured in NYLJ

The New York Law Journal's Tom Adcock wrote a Back Page feature article on Touro Law Center’s Public Advocacy Center. The article covers how the Center came to be at Touro Law, some of the work our students are doing within the Center and how Touro Law obtained funding for the Center through the generosity of the Hearst Foundation. Below is a portion of the article. To read the full article, log on the New York Law Journal’s web site.


Touro's Public Advocacy Center Benefits Students, Community
By Thomas Adcock

October 24, 2008

The William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center of Long Island, a warren of tiny offices on the Central Islip campus of Touro Law Center, was created for the likes of Maria T. DeGennaro.

Never mind that five years ago neither Touro Law Dean Lawrence Raful nor the Hearst Foundations had ever heard of Ms. DeGennaro, who at the time found it ethically challenging to work as she was in the mortgage loan industry with the deals and debentures she saw as portents to the current economic crisis.

"I'm not a whistleblower," said Ms. DeGennaro, today a 44-year-old 2-L evening student at Touro Law. "I found another way."

As a law student with familiarity with the questionable practices of her former line of work, Ms. DeGennaro was a natural fit for Long Island Housing Services, one of 16 public interest agencies housed on campus at the public advocacy center.

The nonprofit agencies each pay $100 monthly for office, phone and Internet service - along with access to the Touro Law library and faculty, as well as proximity to state and federal courts adjacent to the campus. In return, the agencies pledge to use the passions of Touro Law students as legal support.

Touro Students Making A Difference

Thirty-seven Touro Law students are preparing to head down to New Orleans again on October 12 for another week of pro-bono legal advocacy work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Click here to check out great coverage of our students and the work they have been doing, and continue to do, on Newsday.com.

The Honorable Jeffrey Arlen Spinner Named October Alum of the Month

Touro Law Center’s Office of Development, Alumni Relations and Communications is proud to announce that the Honorable Jeffrey Arlen Spinner has been selected for the month of October. Hon. Spinner is Judge, County Court Of Suffolk County, New York; Acting Judge, Family Court Of Suffolk County, New York and Acting Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Suffolk County. Judge Spinner was an active member of the Touro Community while attending law school and remains engaged through Touro Law Center’s Mentor Program as well as attending various alumni and student events throughout the years. Please click here to view the Alum of the Month page and his accomplished bio. On behalf of the entire law school community, we extend our congratulations to the Honorable Jeffrey Arlen Spinner.