Bankruptcy Advocacy Clinic
What We Do
The Bankruptcy Advocacy Clinic is a full-year clinic offered in partnership with Legal Services NYC (LS-NYC), the largest U.S. organization exclusively devoted to providing free civil legal services to low-income people. LS-NYC has neighborhood offices in every borough of New York City.
If you wish to become a client, call:
917-661-4500
The Bankruptcy Advocacy Clinic is a full-year clinic offered in partnership with Legal Services NYC (LS-NYC), the largest U.S. organization exclusively devoted to providing free civil legal services to low-income people. LS-NYC has neighborhood offices in every borough of New York City.
The Clinic offers critical and timely legal assistance to New Yorkers. In July 2010, New York City unemployment was at 9.4%. And in the third quarter of 2008, the federal courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn recorded about 36% more bankruptcy filings than in the same period a year before. Yet, with the bankruptcy laws implemented in 2005, Congress has made it far more difficult to file for bankruptcy.
Under the supervision of Adjunct Professor William Z. Kransdorf, Coordinator of the NYC Bankruptcy Assistance Project (NYC BAP), students in the Clinic learn first-hand about bankruptcy law and practice. They meet and screen debtors, gather documents and information and prepare bankruptcy petitions for use in Chapter 7 pro se proceedings. When appropriate cases are available, students also take part in the preparation, filing and advocacy of Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions, including representing debtors at creditor meetings, confirmation hearings, motion arguments and other court appearances.
Contact Us
William Z. Kransdorf
Clinic Director
Coordinator, NYC Bankruptcy Assistance Project
Legal Services NYC
40 Worth Street, Suite 606
New York, N.Y. 10013
[email protected]
646-442-3646
Our Clinic
The Bankruptcy Advocacy Clinic is a two-semester, ten-credit clinic open to second and third-year students.
Participants attend a weekly, two-hour seminar class consisting of a case review roundtable and a discussion of assigned readings on a range of topics, including:
- Bankruptcy law
- Essential lawyering skills
- Public policy of bankruptcy
- Access to justice
In addition to attending the seminar class and participating in classroom discussions, students must perform 14 hours of bankruptcy legal work each week on site at the NYC Bankruptcy Assistance Project.
When to Apply
St. John's Law students can apply to the Bankruptcy Advocacy Clinic during the spring semester for the following academic year.
Application Process
Students apply to the Clinic by submitting an online application and the following materials:
- A cover letter stating your interest in the clinic
- Your current resume
- Your unofficial transcript printed from the Academic Record screen in UIS
Attend an Information Session
To learn more about the Clinic and our application process, we recommend that you attend the Clinical Information Session held in April and October.
Questions?
If you have questions about applying to the Clinic, please email [email protected].