Latest News...
Brooklyn Community Foundation Awards BDS A Grant to Continue Assisting the Haitian Community in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people in Brooklyn through grantmaking and by encouraging local giving and community service. The first and only one of its kind in Brooklyn, the Foundation was founded in 2009 to support the borough’s most effective nonprofits through five Fields of Interest: Community Development, Education and Youth Achievement, Caring Neighbors, Arts for All, and Green Communities. Since 1998, operating as the Independence Community Foundation, the Foundation distributed more than $70 million in grants throughout New York Metro area, more than half of which were in Brooklyn.
To read the full article, click here
April 2010: BDS Holding Legal Assistance Clinics to Help Haitians Apply for Temporary Protected Status
Brooklyn Defender Services is spearheading a Brooklyn-based initiative to help Haitian residents apply for Temporary Protected Status. We are working in partnership with the Brooklyn Bar Volunteer Lawyers Project, the Brooklyn Bar Association, and the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and in collaboration with other Brooklyn-based service providers.
Clinics will be held every Monday from April 5th through July 12th at 123 Linden Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Please see the attached flyers for more information:
HILAP flyer English.pdf
HILAP flyer Creole.pdf
February 2010: BDS receives grant from New York Community Trust to continue providing immigration services through the Haitian Immigration Legal Assistance Program
"Coming out of hiding as an undocumented immigrant and applying for Temporary Protected Status is a serious decision, and Haitian immigrants need lawyers who can explain the benefits and possible risks,” said Kathleen Masters, who works in Flatbush, Brooklyn as Deputy Executive Director of CAMBA. Also, in the rush to apply, new non-English speaking immigrants are more easily tricked into paying exorbitant fees or paying for help from lawyers with no experience in immigration law. Fortunately, there are legal services providers who have the expertise and the ability to train and coordinate services.
A $45,000 grant to Brooklyn Defender Services will support its Haitian Legal Relief Project, which held a training session on TPS on February 3 that drew more than 200 attorneys. The funding will enable the agency to help 3,000 people apply for TPS and file petitions to bring family members to the U.S. from Haiti temporarily. It will also conduct three workshops and coordinate 15 legal clinics in the heart of the Brooklyn Haitian community through July.
To read the full Press Release from the New York Community Trust, click on the link below:
NYCT Help for Haiti.pdf
BDS Opens Immigrant Justice Initiative
Our Immigrant Justice Initiative advocates for our clients’ access to programs that address root causes of their arrest, identifies the immigration services they need and represents them in their immigration cases. We help clients apply for citizenship, green cards, visas for domestic violence or trafficking victims and other immigration benefits. We secure our clients’ release from immigration detention when possible, argue in court for a finding of non-deportability and apply for a deportation waiver based on favorable factors in our clients’ lives. We also advise our defense attorneys on strategies to minimize the immigration impact of the criminal proceedings. Our immigration attorneys are Sarah Vendzules and Marianne Yang. If you are a client and have an immigration concern, please advise your attorney or call Ms. Vendzules at (718) 254-0700, ext. 192 or Ms. Yang at ext.167.
2010 Summer Internships
BDS is no longer accepting applications for its summer 2010 internship positions. We appreciate the number of highly qualified students who applied and would like to congratulate the following students who were selected:
Amanda Jack, City University of New York School of Law - IDV/Criminal Internship
Becca Olson, City University of New York School of Law - Criminal Internship
Hilary Dowling, Brooklyn Law School - Criminal Internship
Mark Weiner, New York University School of Law - Criminal Internship
Seth Engel, Georgetown University Law Center - Criminal Internship
April 2009: BDS Announces Fellowship Opportunities for First Year Associates Whose Job Offers Have Been Deferred
Applications are now being accepted for a limited number of Fellowships. Applicants should be attorneys whose job offers with other law firms have been deferred, and are looking for meaningful interim employment. For details, go to our Career Opportunities page or click on:
Fellowships
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