16 | November/December 2021 | BAEC Bulletin ECBA Volunteer Lawyers Project’s 2021 Champions for Justice Award Winners
BY GRETCHEN GONZALEZ
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused innumerous changes to the law, to court procedures and how we interact with our clients and colleagues. At VLP, one thing has never changed: our volunteers are amazing! Though there were many changes to how we were able to serve our clients during the pandemic, our volunteers continued to advocate for our clients and provide representation for low-income people fighting for basic necessities of life. Though ongoing concerns regarding the safety of indoor events has caused us to cancel this year’s Champions for Justice Bash, we look forward to a time when we can all celebrate in person again. We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to those attorneys who continued to volunteer despite all of the obstacles and to recognize some stand out volunteers through our 2021 Champion for Justice Awards. Though we cannot be together to celebrate, we will be making the rounds to all of our award winners with small celebrations at their firms. This year’s group of awardees include: long time partners in the court and law enforcement; young attorneys newly dedicated to pro bono; and some stellar volunteers who went above and beyond to answer the call for pro bono volunteers. Congratulations to all of our 2021 award winners. You are all an inspiration to your colleagues and have truly made a difference in the lives of our clients. You are truly Champions for Justice! ECBA Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) is proud to announce VLP’s 2021 Champions for Justice Award Winners. Champion for Justice Award Jennifer Amo, FBI Special Agent (Retired) FBI Special Agent (Ret.) Jennifer “Jenny” Amo served as the FBI Buffalo Division’s representative to the Western District of New York Human Trafficking Taskforce from the taskforce’s founding around 2006 until her retirement this year. Human trafficking cases are extremely sensitive and time consuming due to their complexity as well as to trauma suffered by victims. During the eleven years that VLP has done trafficking work, our staff worked with Jenny to help over thirty undocumented victims of human trafficking move towards safety, stability, and justice. We could always count on Jenny to treat our clients with patience and compassion, to support their immigration cases where warranted, and to provide them access to
the criminal justice system they desperately needed. We thank Jenny for her many years of service to our clients and the WNY community and wish her all the best in her retirement. Divorce Award R.J. Friedman and Kristen R. Spulecki of R.J. Friedman Attorneys No one did more in 2021 to assist VLP clients needing divorce services than the team of R.J. Friedman and Kristen R. Spulecki. RJ began volunteering with VLP in 2011, just three years after being admitted to practice. He has consistently accepted pro bono divorce referrals each year since. In June, 2020, Kristen Spulecki, a newly admitted UB Law graduate, joined the firm of R.J. Friedman Attorneys and also volunteered through VLP. This Spring, when asked to choose one referral from the five divorce cases waiting for volunteers, most of which included domestic violence, RJ’s response was, “We’ll take them. What’s the old saying, justice delayed is justice denied? We’ll file them, serve them, get them into court, get attorneys appointed for the kids if need be and get them done for these folks.” We can’t thank RJ and Kristen enough for his dedication to pro bono and for going above and beyond to make sure VLP clients have access to justice. Congratulations! Immigration Award Amy L. Hemenway and Chloe J. Macdonald Harter Secrest & Emery LLP Amy L. Hemenway and Chloe J. Macdonald of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, represented a detained asylum seeker in her petition for review before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. This Togolese client had been denied Asylum when Amy and Chloe stepped in to handle the appeal on short notice. Their hard work and generosity resulted in a remand for the client who now has another chance to request asylum. Together, these attorneys provided 180 hours of free legal services for this client. Amy and Chloe did not hesitate to help when VLP called and went above and beyond to assist a client in need. They are truly Champions for Justice! Family Court Help Desk Award Kelly Buckley Chef Clerk Erie County Family Court Kelly Buckley is an invaluable resource for VLP. As Chief Clerk of the Erie County Family Court, Ms. Buckley has been instrumental in helping VLP reach our clients during
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