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Touro Receives $24K Grant from NYS to Support Veterans Initiatives

September 4, 2019

Touro Law Center is pleased to announce that New York State, through Senator John Brooks, has awarded Touro Law $24K to support programs and initiatives designed to help veterans and servicemembers of Long Island.

Touro Law currently has a Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Rights Clinic that provides free legal assistance to veterans and their families in Suffolk County. Suffolk County has one of the highest concentrations of veterans anywhere in the country. Students, working under close faculty supervision, visit veterans homeless shelters, participate in stand-downs, and present programs advising veterans on their legal rights. Students also work with individual veterans on a variety of legal issues including landlord-tenant/eviction, debt relief/collection, bankruptcy, mortgage foreclosure, driver’s license restoration, child support modification, unemployment insurance, warrants and fines, income tax, benefits applications and appeals, discharge upgrades, and more. 

Touro Law Dean Elena Langan stated, “We believe it is an honor and a privilege for Touro Law students to provide legal services to veterans in need. Our Long Island veterans have unique legal needs and challenges. Touro is committed to helping the men and women who have sacrificed so much to serve our country. The services provided through our Clinic not only impact individual veterans, but they also have a ripple effect on their families and our region.”

New York State Senator John E. Brooks is chairman of the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs. His legislative priorities include tackling government corruption, ensuring that all students receive the highest quality education possible, addressing taxation evaluation, confronting hunger in our communities, combating the opioid epidemic, and making Long Island an affordable place to live and raise a family. Brooks is a veteran of the New York Army National Guard, and holds a Bachelor’s degree from New York Institute of Technology and an Associate’s degree from the State University of New York at Farmingdale.

Senator Brooks stated, "As Chairman of the New York Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs, I consider it my top priority to make sure that the rights, needs, and benefits due our men and women who have served are met. The Touro Law Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Rights Clinic provides crucial legal services to many vets who would otherwise have no recourse. By providing the necessary funding to continue this work we are ensuring our commitment to those who have sacrificed so much for us."

The Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Rights Clinic is directed by Chad Lennon ’15 and includes two staff attorneys, Craig Bruno and Judge John J. Toomey. Director Lennon was appointed in February 2019. He was previously an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County who was also the Prosecutor in Veterans Treatment Court for the District Court and East End Court. Previously, Director Lennon was a Criminal Defense Attorney in Maryland before taking the position at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. In addition to his role as the Director of the clinic, he serves in the Marine Corps reserves as a Major. His current billet is the Company Commander of Bravo Company. He has participated in numerous deployments and exercises around the globe and is a Purple Heart recipient. He serves on many boards and committees including: committee member, New York State Bar, Committee on Veterans; committee member, American Bar Association, Coordinating Committee on Veterans Benefits and Services; advisor, Bob Feller Act of Valor Award; co-chair, Suffolk County Bar Association, Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs; and co-chair, Advocacy Committee, National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium.

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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning experience for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law is dedicated to providing hands-on learning that enables students to gain experience while offering much-needed legal services in the community.

Touro Law, which has an alumni base of more than 6,500, offers full- and part-time JD programs where students can earn a degree in 2, 3 or 4 years and provides four areas of concentration Additionally, Touro offers a hybrid, four-year FlexTime JD Program combining online and on campus learning. Touro Law offers several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

About the Touro College and University System 
Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 18,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has 30 campuses and locations in New York, California, Nevada, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College; Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus; Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division; as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Ill. are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/.

For more info contact:
Patti Desrochers
Director of Communications
pattid@tourolaw.edu
(631) 761-7062

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