Pro Bono Barrister: BBA President Andy Fallek to welcome incoming president Rebecca Woodland

May 27, 2014 By Charles F. Otey, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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A great number of lawyers and jurists will be in attendance at the Brooklyn Borough Hall Ceremonial Courtroom on the evening of June 11 to witness the induction of a new slate of officers to serve the Brooklyn Bar Association over the next year and to pay due homage to an outgoing president.

That’ll be the last night of Andy Fallek’s stellar term and the beginning of the leadership of President Rebecca Rose Woodland.

Other BBA officers, moving up, will be President-Elect Arthur Aidala, First Vice President Hon. Frank Seddio, Second Vice President Aimee Richter, Secretary David Chidekel and Treasurer Hon. Frank Carone.

Sharing the spotlight will be BBA trustees Marianne Bertuna, Joseph Costello, Dewey Golkin, Hermalee Patel, Steve Harkavy, Stefano Filippazzo and Michael Farkas.

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A reception will follow in the classic Borough Hall Rotunda. An RSVP is necessary, according to organization executives and can be obtained, up to June 9, by sending an email to [email protected]. Phone reservations will be accepted by calling 718-624-0675.

Reservations are important for BBA Executive Director Avery Okin, who, working with other staff, must make sure an adequate supply of refreshments are on hand.

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Outgoing President Fallek Defended Lawyers, Pro Bono

There were many notable agendas espoused during the Brooklyn Bar Association presidency of Andy Fallek. One we cite in particular was his ongoing effort to eliminate proposed attorney registration requirements, necessitating an inordinate amount of pro bono time, as well as public disclosure of attorneys’ donations to legally-related organizations.

The pro bono changes became one of the hot buttons on the legal scene and some barristers chose to let the debate, launched by Chief Judge Jon Lippman, run its natural course without comment. Andy Fallek is a guy who doesn’t suffer silence too well under such conditions.

Then-President Fallek effectively spoke out through his “Respectfully Submitted” column against these suggested changes, pointing out that bar members already support efforts to secure proper court representation for those who can’t afford it.

With a candor that many readers found refreshing, he made a number of good arguments and got directly to the point with the following remarks:

“The question at play here is not whether the poor need help, but, rather, whether we, as lawyers, should be singled out to solve the legal problems of the indigent. Lawyers already pay a biannual ‘registration’ fee, currently $375. How many of us even ask where that money goes? As they say, the answer may surprise you. Fifty dollars of that fund goes to the Indigent Legal Services Fund and $25 goes to the Legal Services Assistance Fund. That means $75 of that fee goes to pay for what might otherwise be called pro bono work. Another $60 dollars goes to the Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection to pay compensation to clients victimized by our fellow members of the bar. In other words, we, as lawyers, are already being compelled to pay for legal services for the poor in an amount above that of other taxpayers.”


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