20 | November/December 2021 | BAEC Bulletin York in January 2019 and two months thereafter accepted her first pro bono referral from VLP. In her young legal career, Patty has already accepted eight referrals through VLP either representing Article 17A petitioners on behalf of persons intellectually or developmentally disabled, or acting as the Article 81 Court Evaluator in cases involving indigent incapacitated persons. She has quickly developed a reputation for competent and reliable advocacy as evidenced recently when one of our local Supreme Court judges reached out to her directly for an emergency Article 81 appointment (which she, of course, readily accepted). We are proud to have Patty on the VLP team of volunteer attorneys and commend her for taking such an active role in supporting our low-income community through pro bono efforts so early in her career. You too can volunteer for VLP! Please join us in congratulating all of our award winners. We hope that their stories have inspired more of you to volunteer your time to provide access to justice for VLP’s clients. We have volunteer opportunities to match any area of expertise and any level of time commitment. If you have as little as an hour to give, VLP has an opportunity for you! For updated
volunteer opportunities please contact Maria Valeri, Pro Bono Administrator at (716) 847-0662 x 321. •
GRETCHEN GONZALEZ CEO/Executive Director Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. ggonzalez@ecbavlp.com
THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS. THE SUPPORT OF COLLEAGUES. Learn More At: eriebar.org/foundation
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