Statement from Legal Services NYC on Winners of NYC Bar Association’s Legal Services Award

New York, NY (May 15, 2024) – Legal Services NYC is proud to announce that two of our organization’s longtime attorneys, Marie Richardson and Luis Henrίquez Carrero, are receiving richly deserved Legal Services Awards from the New York City Bar Association. See the full list here.

 Marie and Luis have dedicated their entire careers to working on behalf of clients exploited in their workplaces, homes, finances and in the criminal justice system.

“Marie and Luis are two of the best and brightest minds in the legal services field and we couldn’t be prouder,” said Raun Rasmussen, LSNYC’s executive director. “They are model lawyers who exemplify the key qualities that make for successful leadership in legal services: an unwavering moral compass, a strategic mind and a willingness to chip away, day by day, at the barriers that support structural racism and institutionalized poverty. They truly lead by example.”

For more than twenty years, Marie has managed lawyers addressing a range of issues, including bankruptcy, immigration and employment. She is as comfortable sitting with a client and going through bank statements as she is organizing cohorts of lawyers to tackle complex, policy-focused litigation. Most recently, as Project Director of Legal Services NYC’s Bronx office, she has shepherded LSNYC through the pandemic era, using her expertise in negotiations, fundraising and advocacy to keep the organization strong and agile.

Luis began his career litigating over inhumane conditions in Puerto Rico’s prisons, and since then has focused his work on securing adequate living conditions for people in vulnerable places. In cases at the city, state and federal levels, he has won major victories on behalf of working class people; in Fields v. Russ, Luis led a team of LSNYC advocates in achieving a settlement that barred NYCHA from filing eviction cases over rent that tenants did not owe. He is a frequent representative of LSNYC in the media, and throughout his career has mentored new generations of public interest lawyers.

“We are delighted that Marie and Luis are being recognized for their immense talents by their peers in the legal community,” Rasmussen continued. “We wish them continued success in their fight for justice, and are honored to fight alongside them.

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Legal Services NYC fights poverty and seeks racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, LSNYC has challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and helped clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC fights every day to ensure New Yorkers and their families have access to the services, resources, and protections they need to survive. http://www.legalservicesnyc.org/