NEW YORK - The book was so fat with letters of support that the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Project had to publish a journal addendum for its 17th Anniversary Gala, honoring bar leader Barry Kamins.

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, the governor of New York and the chief judge, joined the state attorney general and the mayor of New York City, a congressman and several state legislators in congratulating the Brooklyn Bar Association's nonprofit legal services office and Kamins, a prominent Brooklyn defense attorney and president of the citywide Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

"Barry Kamins is truly a Man For All Seasons," said New York State Bar Association President Mark Alcott, as he presented Kamins with the 2007 Leadership Award, a sturdy glass sculpture of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Kamins, who began his career as a prosecutor in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, is now a partner in the Court Street firm of Flamhaft Levy Kamins & Hirsch. He also teaches at Fordham and Brooklyn Law Schools, and has become a "'go-to' guy" for colleagues, as well. He has served and led many professional boards and committees, including the Grievance Committee of the 2nd and 11th Judicial Districts and the chief judge's Advisory Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure. Last year he became the first president of the citywide Association of the Bar of the City of New York who is not from Manhattan.

"Throughout all of this, Barry remains the same, unassuming, down to earth, old-fashioned, nice guy that he has always been," Alcott said.

Accepting his award at Monday's gala reception at Bridgewaters restaurant, Kamins focused on the need for low-cost civil legal services. He praised the Volunteer Lawyers Project, its board of directors, President Jim Slattery, Esq. and Executive Director Jeannie Costello.

Excerpts from Kamins' speech are reprinted here, with permission.

'The Great Promise'
"The delivery of civil legal services to low-income families depends both on pro bono assistance and government-funded legal assistance programs. The pro bono efforts of the bar have been significant, but government funding remains woefully inadequate. The organized bar and individual lawyers should therefore take steps to ensure that all levels of our government substantially increase the funding for civil legal services for low-income individuals.

"One hundred years ago, there were private organizations providing civil legal services to the poor in a few areas around the country, including New York, but generally very little assistance was available in most locations. Like many good things, government funding of civil legal services began in earnest in the '60s as part of the war on poverty.

"The legal profession and, in particular, the American Bar Association, were initially hostile to the idea of federal funding for civil legal aid, but in the end we came around, and the support of the organized bar became critical in helping to bring the legal services corporation to fruition.

"The '60s saw the birth of the legal service corporation and a commitment by the federal government to fund legal services. Unfortunately, in the decades that followed, the federal government has departed from that great promise. Government funding has failed to provide adequate support, and indeed there has been a decrease in the funding provided for legal services, despite the increased need.

"… [O]nly about 20 percent of low-income people who need a lawyer actually secure legal assistance. "The record in the United States is particularly dismal and indeed embarrassing when we compare it to other countries around the world . . . . In virtually every country in Western Europe, for example, there is some form of civil legal services for low-income individuals, including free representation at the initial stage and help in court, including, usually, the right to representation during the proceedings.

"New York has not had a particularly good record of government spending for legal services.

However, there is good news. The new state budget includes full restoration of funding for civil legal services - $4.6 million in line item appropriations through the Department of State, as well as approximately $2 million in line item restoration through the Division of Criminal Justice Services, using the Legal Services Assistance Fund.

"In addition, the budget includes a new $3 million appropriation through the IOLA fund, to be distributed based on the plan to be developed by the governor, and a new $5 million appropriation in the Judiciary budget for civil legal services. A total of $8 million in new funds will now be appropriated for these critically important services. I applaud Governor Spitzer's action in including these funds in the budget. But New York is still far behind in this area. On a per capita basis, we do not compare favorably to other states.

"Legal services organizations have come together in an effort to have their voices heard, through the New York Equal Justice Commission. It is time now to put the force, voice and influence of the legal profession as a whole behind these efforts. The ABA engages in serious lobbying efforts on this issue in Washington, with some success.

"We have the opportunity to make real strides with our current state and city administrations, where the dual messages of great need and relatively modest cost should resonate.

"I urge the legal services community, ... the organized bar and individual lawyers to join together in these efforts to raise many voices to support the need for government funding for civil legal services. "We must also continue to increase the pro bono efforts of the bar and ongoing private support of legal services organizations, and of course that is why you are here tonight, to support the Volunteer Lawyer Project. This terrific organization has made a significant contribution towards civil legal services, and I congratulate its board of directors, its energetic President Jim Slattery and its amazing executive director, Jeannie Costello."

The Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) was founded in 1991 and has become a model for bar associations' pro bono legal services projects across the country.