The Einhorn Center funded this project, but does not run it or provide legal advice. If you’re seeking legal advice through a Cornell Law School Clinical Program, email clinicalprograms@cornell.edu or call 607-255-4196.
Formerly incarcerated individuals reentering the local community need free legal assistance but are often unaware of available resources. Reentry legal services have historically fallen into a wide gap between free civil legal aid and public defense. People are often bounced between public defender offices, who aren’t able to assist with civil cases, and civil legal aid, which often do not have funding to support reentry legal services.
In this project, Cornell law students and undergraduates work with attorneys to learn how to review records of arrest and prosecution and file for certificates of relief to close the gap in available services. The students and attorneys develop informational resources, conduct outreach with service providers and study case outcomes.
- Michaela Azemi, Department of Public Interest and Community Engagement
Cornell Law School
- Rachel Goldberg, The Lawyering Program
Cornell Law School
- Community partner: Legal Assistance of Western New York
Providing seed support for a wide range of community-engaged learning projects