Brooklyn Law School to Receive NYSBA President’s Pro Bono Service Award

Brooklyn Law School has been selected by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) to receive the President’s Pro Bono Service Award in the law school category, bestowed each year on Law Day to individuals and entities who have rendered extraordinary pro bono service over the preceding year. The Law School will be recognized for the work provided by the Pandemic Employment Relief Clinic (PERC) last summer during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the supervision of Professor Minna Kotkin, director of the Law School’s Employment Law Clinic, the innovative program allowed 100 Brooklyn Law School students to serve more than 700 clients, including out-of-work drivers for ride-hailing apps, restaurant workers, film and theater actors, and many others, helping them navigate the unemployment insurance system in the midst of the pandemic.

“I am thrilled that the Law School has been selected to receive this year’s New York State Bar Association Pro Bono Service award,” said Kotkin. “At the height of the pandemic last summer, when the need was most urgent, I was gratified to see so many students sign up to serve the most vulnerable members of our community.”

The President’s Pro Bono Service Award is presented in order to convey a message to the profession and the public about the importance of pro bono efforts in achieving equal access to justice. The 2021 ceremony will be held as a Zoom webinar in early May in coordination with the Court of Appeals.