Michael D. Young Elected Legal Services NYC Board Chair

May 19, 2014, New York, NY—Michael D. Young, Esq., a founder and full-time mediator and arbitrator with JAMS, was elected Chair of Legal Services NYC’s (LSNYC’s) Board of Directors at the Board’s annual meeting on May 13, 2014.
Mr. Young has had a long relationship with LSNYC, having served on the
Board of South Brooklyn Legal Services from 2004 to 2010 and as LSNYC’s
Interim Executive Director from June 2010 until June 2011. He has served
as Vice-Chair of the LSNYC Board for the past three years.

Mr. Young succeeds Joseph S. Genova, Esq., a partner in the litigation
department of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, who was elected
Chair in 2011. LSNYC bylaws limit the Chair to a single term. Mr.
Genova, a member of LSNYC’s board for the past fourteen years, will
remain a Director.

“Michael’s extensive management and legal experience, combined with his
understanding of the work of Legal Services, make him the ideal person
to follow Joe Genova as Chair,” said Legal Services NYC’s Executive
Director Raun J. Rasmussen. “Michael shares Joe’s commitment to access
to justice for low-income people and significant depth of knowledge of
our programmatic needs, and we are thrilled that he will be helping us
fulfill our mission of seeking economic and racial justice for low
income New Yorkers in this new role.”

Mr. Young began his career as a legal services attorney in Chicago. In
1989 he helped found JAMS, the largest private dispute resolution firm
in the United States, and he has long been recognized as one of the
nation’s leading neutrals. Prior to joining JAMS, Mr. Young served in
the Law Department of the City of New York, first as Deputy Chief of the
Affirmative Litigation Division and thereafter as Senior Litigator and
Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution Services. He is a 1978 cum
laude graduate of Harvard Law School.

"I am very pleased to have been asked to serve as Chair of the Board of
LSNYC,” said Mr. Young. “Our prior Chair—Joe Genova—will be a tough act
to follow. But, I am hoping that, after a number of years of fiscal
uncertainty and organizational change, I can help lead our Board in its
dual mission of, first, overseeing the continued growth and impact of
LSNYC's work and, second, raising funds for, and the public profile of,
our organization. I also look forward to working closely with our new
Vice-Chair, Susan Kohlmann, and the rest of the Board, as well as with
Raun Rasmussen, our Executive Director, and the rest of the staff of
LSNYC."

Susan J. Kohlmann, Esq., was elected Board Vice Chair. She is a partner
in the Content, Media & Entertainment Practice and Chair of the
Trademark, Advertising, and Unfair Competition Practice at Jenner &
Block LLP. Susan Bryant, Professor of Law at the CUNY School of Law, and
Andrew Multer, a partner at Bahn, Herzfeld & Multer, LLP, will
continue as Board Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. Arthur Grieg,
an attorney in private practice, and Diego Parra, an appointee of New
Immigrant Community Empowerment, were elected to the Board’s Executive
Committee. Finally, John S. Kiernan, a partner and Co-Chair of the
Litigation Department at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and LSNYC Board
Member from 1989-2013, will become Emeritus Director effective June 1,
2014.

Legal Services NYC fights poverty and seeks justice for low-income New
Yorkers. For more than 40 years, we have challenged systemic injustice
and helped clients meet basic needs for housing, access to high-quality
education, health care, family stability, and income and economic
security. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the
country, with deep roots in all of the communities we serve. Our
neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs
help more than 60,000 New Yorkers annually.

###