Joseph S. Genova Elected Chair of Legal Services NYC

May 12, 2011, New York, NY—Joseph S. Genova, Esq., a partner in the Litigation Department of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP and the director of that firm’s public service program, was elected the new Chair of the Board of Directors of Legal Services NYC at the Board’s annual meeting on May 10, 2011.

A member of LS- NYC’s board for the last eleven years, Mr.
Genova has also served on the Board of Directors of New York Lawyers for
the Public Interest, chaired several bar association committees
concerned with legal services for the indigent or homelessness, and,
from 2005 to 2010, was a member of the Departmental Disciplinary
Committee for the First Judicial Department. Mr. Genova graduated from
Dartmouth College in 1974, and received his JD from Yale Law School in
1977.
Mr. Genova succeeds Mark G. Cunha, Esq., a partner in the civil
litigation department of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, who was
elected Chair of the Board in 2009. Board bylaws limit the Chair to a
single term. 

Legal Services NYC’s Interim Executive Director Michael D. Young, in
announcing the leadership transition, said “Joe Genova’s long
relationship with Legal Services NYC will ensure a smooth transition in
our Board leadership and will also ensure that the selection process for
a permanent Executive Director proceeds as planned. We are at a
critical juncture in our organizational history in that millions of
dollars have been cut from access to justice funding on the City, State
and Federal levels over the last two years, and we will need to adjust
in many ways while at the same time maintaining the level and quality of
our services. To have, at this time, a dedicated and committed Board
chair such as Mark Cunha followed by someone with the same level of
commitment to access to justice for low-income people and a significant
depth of knowledge of our programmatic needs is very fortunate for Legal
Services NYC, its staff and its clients.”

Mr. Young was elected Vice-Chair. He has served as Interim Executive
Director of Legal Services NYC since June 2010 and is otherwise a
mediator and arbitrator with JAMS. He will return full time to JAMS at
the end of June, as planned. In addition, Susan Bryant, Professor of Law
at the CUNY School of Law, was elected Board Secretary and Andrew
Multer, a partner at Bahn, Herzfeld & Multer, LLP, was elected
Treasurer. Also elected as members of the Board’s Executive Committee
were Atiba Adams, Assistant General Counsel at Pfizer Inc., Kay Reese, a
Marketing and Communications Consultant, and Rachel Seger, an Associate
Attorney at the Law Offices of Arcia & Associates. Additionally,
Fern Schair, Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Feerick Center at
Fordham University School of Law, and LS-NYC Board Chair from 2006-2009,
will become an Emeritus Director effective June 1, 2011.

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