Local Clinics Sponsored by Elder Law Section Will Provide Seniors With Free Legal Consultation

ALBANY, NY -- (10/18/2006; 1144)(EIS) -- The Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association today announced that they are sponsoring two free clinics that will give Central New York seniors free legal counsel on a wide variety of aging related issues. The senior pro bono clinics will be held in Onondaga and Cayuga counties and seniors who attend will receive face to face individual consultations with lawyers who specialize in elder law issues.

New York State Bar Association President Mark H. Alcott (Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP) said, "One of my main priorities as president is to encourage and increase opportunities for lawyers to provide assistance the needy. I want to thank our Elder Law section for organizing these clinics, which will be a great benefit to seniors who have questions about legal matters. This is one more example of the good things lawyers are doing all across the state."

Ellen G. Makofsky of Garden City (Raskin & Makofsky), Chair of the New York State Bar Association's Elder Law Section said, "Many seniors have never met with an attorney and do not know where to seek answers to very basic legal questions. The senior clinic pro bono project is designed to provide seniors with the good counsel they need in order to make very important decisions that will affect them and their families, and we are pleased to be able to offer this assistance."

The senior clinics are being organized in all areas of the State and will allow older adults to seek the advice of legal counsel on elder law related issues. At each clinic, attorneys will be seated at individual tables and will provide 15 to 20 minute, face to face consultations on basic issues to the pre-registered seniors. When a senior's legal problem is beyond the scope of the attorney's knowledge or is too complicated to solve within the applicable time frame, the attorney will direct the senior to additional referral sources for answers to their questions.

Details of the clinics are as follows:

Onondaga County Clinic

Friday, October 27 - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Onondaga County Bar Association, 1000 State Tower Building, Syracuse, N.Y.

Contact: Kim Richardson (315) 233-8245

Cayuga County Clinic

Saturday, October 28 - 10 a.m. to noon

First United Methodist Church, Community Hall, South Street, Auburn, N.Y.

Contact: Cayuga County Office for the Aging (315) 253-1434

Seniors looking for more information should feel free to contact the numbers listed above for more details.