By Ryan Thompson
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

MONTAGUE STREET — Around the corner and down the street from the Brooklyn Bar Association, and down the stairs beneath TD Bank, assembled the integral parts of a local volunteer movement that is gaining momentum.

In Kings County, the Volunteer Lawyers Project is spreading. And despite the economic crisis that this country is facing, the project is expanding — perhaps even surging — with new attorneys willing to work for free.

It may even sound fictitious to some outsiders — that so many lawyers are willing to forego their fees for the sake of doing good. But it is happening; it is real.

“It’s truly been an explosion of pro bono,� said Jeannie Costello, executive director of the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project. “This has been an extraordinary year for the VLP.�

At last week’s event, Sidney Cherubin, supervising attorney of the VLP, recited some impressive statistics to the crowd of over 100 people. So far in 2008, the VLP has handled over 1,200 cases in Brooklyn, helping more than 2,500 low-income people who find themselves faced with some sort of legal issue or dilemma.

Bankruptcy, mortgage foreclosure, immigration, child support, wills and estates — the VLP can handle almost anything. When Cherubin recounted the number of clients that the VLP helped get divorced in 2008, the crowd let out a little laugh.

The VLP’s 2008 Volunteer Recognition Event, held in the basement of TD Bank (formerly Commerce Bank), was a fun-filled celebration, with food and drinks and ice cream. Even the always-jovial Brooklyn borough president showed up to say hello.

“Each and every one of you are the best of Brooklyn — that’s for sure,� Marty Markowitz praised the crowd of volunteers. He and his counsel, Jason Attano, presented the VLP and the annual award winner’s with honorary proclamations and citations.

This year’s award winners were Prof. Charles E. Coleman and Nicholas W. Chandler.

Coleman, a former NYPD lieutenant, began his work with the VLP almost at its inception in 1990. Described as “a tireless mentor and trainer,� Coleman was presented with the “Terri and Nick Letica Award� for his outstanding dedication to the VLP and its clients.

Chandler, a newly admitted attorney who graduated law school in 2007, was presented with the Christopher Slattery Young Professional Award. The VLP Board President James P. Slattery presented Chandler with the award, which was named in his son’s honor after Christopher Slatterly died on Sept. 11, 2001 in the World Trade Center attacks.

Chandler, who got involved with the VLP after meeting Brooklyn Bar President Diana Szochet on the day he was sworn in, was given the award for recognizing early on in his legal career the value of pro-bono service.

“This isn’t even like a job it’s so much fun to work at the VLP,� Chandler told the crowd.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008 All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law. Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net