Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Opens Legal Hand Call-In Center Providing Free Support to Westchester County
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University has opened Westchester County’s first Legal Hand Call-in Center, in partnership with Legal Hand, Inc., an innovative community-based service.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University has opened Westchester County’s first Legal Hand Call-in Center, in partnership with Legal Hand, Inc., an innovative community-based service.
Legal Hand is based on the powerful idea of Neighbors helping Neighbors. Legal Hand’s highly trained non-lawyer volunteers are available to community members to help assist them, always at no cost, with issues in the areas of housing, immigration, family issues, public benefits, domestic violence, elderly assistance, estate issues and other challenging life issues.
Originally established in 2015 in New York City, Legal Hand has virtual Call-In Centers in Suffolk, Nassau, Schenectady, Albany Counties, in addition to its newest location at Haub Law in Westchester County. The new virtual Legal Hand Call-In Center serving Westchester County will be operated by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, with the support of Haub Law students and community Volunteers. It will provide free legal information, assistance and referrals to community members six days a week via phone, text message, email and chat.
“Our Legal Hand Volunteers are highly trained law students and community members who care deeply about understanding the issues facing Westchester individuals and families and empowering them by connecting them to resources and information that can help.” said Elyse Diamond, Director of the Public Interest Law Center and Access to Justice Project, at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. Center Attorney Stephanie Costa added, “we are excited to provide this free service to the Westchester community and empower folks to take control of the issues that impact their everyday lives. Center Manager Diego Gomez emphasized, “our Legal Hand Call-In Center is open Monday through Saturday and offers convenient evening hours. People can call, text, email or chat with us. You never need an appointment and there are no eligibility requirements.”
As an indication of the excitement around the opening of the new Legal Hand Call-In Center, over 70 representatives from Westchester government, local legal and social services offices, community groups, libraries and others attended a Virtual Open House on January 24 where details about the Centers services were outlined. It was clear from the response that Legal Hand’s services will be an important new resource in Westchester County and relevant to the constituencies of those in attendance.
For Call-In Center Assistance:
Call or text: (914) 425-5483
Email: westchesterhelp@legalhand.org
Call-In Center Hours:
- Monday: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
- Tuesday: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
- Wednesday: 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
- Thursday: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
- Friday: 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Visit the Legal Hand website for more information
About Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law offers JD and Masters of Law degrees in both Environmental and International Law, as well as a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in Environmental Law. The school, housed on the University’s campus in White Plains, NY, opened its doors in 1976 and has over 9,000 alumni around the world. The school maintains a unique philosophy and approach to legal education that strikes an important balance between practice and theory. Haub Law launched its Environmental Law Program in 1978, and it has long been ranked among the world’s leading university programs, with a current #1 ranking by U.S. World and News Report.
About Legal Hand
Legal Hand is a nonprofit organization and has provided support for communities since 2015. Originating in New York City, Legal Hand’s proven community-based model has helped thousands of people in need. Legal Hand helps people navigate some of life’s most difficult challenges in the areas of housing, public benefits, employment, family issues, domestic violence, elderly rights and many more. Legal Hand works to help resolve issues before they become legal matters.
Derek Segars '23: An Inspired Public Servant
Derek Segars ’23 comes from a family of Detroit public servants and has always placed a strong value on it as a result. “My great-grandfather was a bus driver for the City of Detroit, my grandfather was a police officer, my father was a fire safety inspector and arson investigator, and my mother was a social worker for 25 years,” said Derek. “I grew up surrounded by public servants and understanding the importance of dedicating your career to helping others.”
Derek Segars ’23 comes from a family of Detroit public servants and has always placed a strong value on it as a result. “My great-grandfather was a bus driver for the City of Detroit, my grandfather was a police officer, my father was a fire safety inspector and arson investigator, and my mother was a social worker for 25 years,” said Derek. “I grew up surrounded by public servants and understanding the importance of dedicating your career to helping others.”
Derek spent much of his childhood in Detroit, only having moved to the suburbs once he reached 9th grade. “Detroit is over 70% African American and the suburb my family moved to was predominantly white. This was a culture shock for me and adapting to my new environment was challenging. Until 9th grade, I had spent my entire life being surrounded by black people. For the first time, I experienced outward racism and discrimination. That stark juxtaposition from Detroit to the suburbs motivated me and continues to motivate me as I pursue my law degree.”
Derek chose Pace because he is confident it is the right school to get him one step closer to his goal of helping others as an attorney one day. “Pace is a very special place. Both the professors and student body make the law school experience positive and unforgettable. Professor Betty Lawrence Lewis has been instrumental in developing my advocacy skills and continues to support me and mentor me as I apply to jobs and internships. Professor Josh Galperin and Professor Elyse Diamond have also been extremely supportive and continue to provide me with advice and mentorship as I finish my last year of law school. And, I have felt such a sense of camaraderie from my classmates – we are all here to uplift each other and celebrate each other.”
"Pace is a very special place. Both the professors and student body make the law school experience positive and unforgettable."
During his time at Haub Law, Derek has had many opportunities to be an active participant in his law school experience. “I was able to participate in the DC externship. It was an amazing experience and the professors were very supportive and continue to serve as mentors to the participants.” Derek also serves as President of the 2022–2023 Black Law Students Association (BLSA), as a board member and Director of Gender Diversity and LBGTQIA+ Services for the North East Chapter of BLSA, as a student member of the Faculty Hiring Committee, and he is also a member of the BLSA mock trial team at Haub Law.
As for the future, Derek’s biggest goal is to be a decision-maker one day and serve the public. He notes that this could mean “running for office, working in a government agency, starting my own advocacy organization, or becoming a professor.” As far as an immediate goal, Derek hopes to practice environmental law after graduation and pursue a fellowship or clerkship with the federal government.
Derek has an important piece of advice for future law students. “Relationship building is essential to your future career. Start now. And, advocate for yourself. Be confident in your intellect. Be confident in your capabilities. Be confident in your moral compass that led you to law school and always be vocal about your goals and what you need from others to get there.”
Outside of law school, Derek is an avid swimmer. He loves the outdoors and frequently spends days at local parks with a blanket and picnic basket in the summer. He is skilled in ceramics and wheel-throwing. Derek also enjoys spending time with his sister, Taylor, who is a quadriplegic and as he describes her, “the happiest person I know.” He also enjoys being with his big and close-knit family in Detroit, who he credits with motivating him on his law school journey and celebrating his accomplishments.
The Power of Perspective
Hinako Tanakamaru ’24 has seen the international student experience from nearly every angle. From her time in Japan as an intern assisting international student services, to her own experience as an international student in both high school and college, she knows the challenges and benefits of studying in a culture that is not your own, and of the power a shift in perspective can offer.
My name is Hinako Tanakamaru and I am an international student from Japan. I plan to graduate in 2024 with both my bachelor’s and master’s in Business Administration and Management. I attended an international high school in upstate New York, and a lot of my friends who graduated before me came to Pace, so I heard good things about the business courses from them. I also wanted to have college life in New York City because it’s so diverse and there’s so much happening. So, I came to Pace.
Here I can learn a lot of things I might not have learned in Japan. At Pace and in New York, I get a lot of perspectives, because I’m studying in a different culture I never experienced back in Japan. People in the United States have a lot of different opinions and share them directly. In Japan, it’s not like that. It’s made me feel like I should speak up more and I feel like I’ve become a more open-minded person because I have to think about other people’s cultural perspectives.
For over a year, I’ve been a peer leader UNV 101 courses, and I’ve had the opportunity to interact with a lot of first-year international students. It’s so nice to join the class because I really like teaching and supporting others. I also did an internship at the EF Language School. It was kind of similar, but I did the internship in Tokyo, so the students were different countries and there to learn Japanese. I supported students by issuing visas, helping with accommodations, and troubleshooting other customer service issues. It was new for me to have real-life experiences in a company, and it is very satisfying be on the other side and help students studying internationally with that transition period.
I strongly recommend international students come to New York and to Pace. In New York you can experience everything, meet new people, and learn new things. I think experiencing new things is the best thing in life.
Haub Law Opens Legal Hand Call-In Center Serving Westchester County
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University has partnered with Legal Hand, Inc., a New York State not-for-profit corporation, to launch the Legal Hand Call-In Center serving Westchester County. The virtual center is staffed and operated by Haub Law, and is scheduled to open for visitors this month. “Through our partnership with Legal Hand, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law will serve an important role as a resource for the community, while providing our students with an invaluable opportunity to understand and address access to justice issues,” said Horace E. Anderson, Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. “The Center’s goals are to empower both Volunteers and visitors to understand and navigate issues and self-help resources, and to help visitors resolve issues before they turn into legal action.”
2023’s Best States to Retire
Pace University's Professor Sheying Chen was featured in WalletHub's recent article about Best States to Retire.
House C’tee’s ‘Don’t Buy From Huawei’ Report May Fall on Deaf Ears
“This reminds me very much of the 3-letter agencies in this country having said they won’t use Lenovo laptops anymore,” Darren Hayes, the CIS Program Chair at Pace University, told the E-Commerce Times. “With mobile devices there’s always going to be areas of memory that a forensic examiner can’t access, whether it’s a ROM chip or any other kind of memory, and one of the issues for intelligence here is, we don’t have access to all the memory on these devices and don’t know what they can do.”
Environmental Rights Invoked in New York Courts
Last November New Yorkers voted to inscribe environmental rights into the constitution. Now, as the first cases emerge, government is struggling to comply with these rights. Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law Professor Nicholas Robinson explains the changes necessary in government operations for the state to uphold this new law and how NY courts hold the ultimate decision in the first four pending cases.
Iowa Is The 27Th Best State For Starting A Business, Report Says
Pace University Clinical Professor of Management Bruce Bachenheimer said in the report that tax breaks and other incentives to encourage new businesses often don’t produce net economic gains for states. “Businesses may take advantage of these new incentives while they last, but then look to move on to the next economic opportunity just as quickly,” he said. “States should conduct the same careful due diligence and long-term analysis that corporations do when crafting such incentives,” he said.
John Nolon: A Career in Land Use Law and Conservationism
John Nolon, distinguished professor of law emeritus at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, is widely seen as one of the most prominent thought leaders in land use law. The roots of this focus, which fueled a career that spanned decades, can be traced to his childhood on a ranch in Nebraska. “There didn’t seem to be too much confusion about the fact that we’d take care of the land and use it and make a profit from it, but that we would always treat it with respect,” Nolon recalled.
Laid Off? Here’s How Higher Ed Is Even More Accessible For Adult Learners Than Ever Before
Layoffs are once again making headlines.
After a period when it seemed like employers couldn’t hire fast enough — which unfortunately led some young people to forego college in favor of readily available work — things are slowing down. And, perhaps most frighteningly, layoffs are hitting even blue-chip, successful companies. Google’s parent, Alphabet, is laying off 12,00 employees. Microsoft will lay off 10,000. Amazon laid off 10,000 — and then started laying off 8,000 more. Goldman Sachs laid off 3,000; ad agencies, media companies, and even videogame makers are announcing rounds of layoffs. Who knows when the layoffs will end at Twitter.