The program was one of the first in the country to move beyond the traditional handling of administrative proceedings and litigation for individual clients to more community-based, public-interest work.

The clinics address a wide range of issues, including domestic violence, community economic development, housing and the environment.

Housing clinic one of first in U.S.

The Affordable Housing Clinic, supervised by Thomas Disare and George Hezel, both clinical associate professors of law, is one of the first in the country to train students in the skills necessary to plan, fund, construct and manage decent and affordable low-income housing.

Within the past decade, the clinic has obtained financing of more than $24 million to construct 350 of these units. A regional leader in developing tax-credit financing arrangements, the clinic's clients have included Catholic Charities, the Blind Association of Western New York, the Polish Community Center and the Town of Hamburg.

Another pioneering UB clinic-the Economic Development Clinic, directed by Peter Pitegoff, professor of law, and Lauren Breen, clinical instructor of law-is one of the first in the country to specialize in community economic development.

Assistance for community groups

Students and faculty assist community groups seeking non-profit status and entrepreneurs who want to create viable businesses in the inner city and other economically depressed areas. One of its achievements has been to assist in the opening of a high-quality day-care facility for single parents.

The Elder Law Clinic, directed by Anthony Szczygiel, clinical associate professor of law, organizes and administers the Coalition of Medicaid Advocates, a statewide professional group dedicated to continuing education for lawyers and others who represent the elderly. Efforts through the clinic include advising the governor and the legislature on health-care law and policy, and helping ensure that the elderly receive maximum benefits for home health care and nursing home treatments.

Through the Domestic Violence Clinic, students, directed by Suzanne Tomkins, clinical instructor of law, have worked with the district attorneys for Erie, Niagara and Monroe counties to develop response programs for incidents of family violence and local police implementation policies for dealing with family violence. A manual developed by the clinic for use by Niagara County agencies that assist victims of family violence is being expanded for use statewide.

The Environmental Policy Clinic directed by R. Nils Olsen, vice dean for academic affairs and director of clinical studies, represents municipalities and citizen groups that want to be actively involved in siting proceedings for proposed and controversial environmental projects, such as landfills and waste incinerators.

Education Law Clinic helps the disabled

Thousands of disabled youngsters are receiving appropriate and effective education through advocacy efforts by parents working with the Education Law Clinic directed by Jeff Marcus, assistant professor of law, and Melinda Saran, associate director of clinical education. Students and staff also have helped train lay advocates, assisted in estate planning and guardianship concerns, and advised school districts on policies affecting disabled clients.

Students in the Environment and Development Clinic, supervised by Robert Berger, professor of law, have prepared an analysis of the City of Buffalo's policy and practices on "brownfield" properties and have authored a comprehensive report on the legal status of brownfield sites for a joint New York State Legislative Commission. They also have helped local municipalities implement pilot projects and developed model legislation for redeveloping such sites.

In addition to the Legal Assistance Program, law-school faculty members and students work through internships funded by the law school with such community agencies as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, the governor's office and the environmental enforcement division of the New York State Attorney General's Office.

In a recent letter to law school Dean Barry Boyer, Michael Risman, acting corporation counsel for the City of Buffalo, had high praise for courses and clinics that encourage more "hands-on" experience for the students and enhance activities within the city's law department.

Risman wrote that while the law school had in the past provided informal assistance by recommending "qualified law students for clerk positions...more recently (it) has taken a more direct approach...."

Student research assistance cited

Risman cited the research assistance provided to the city by students in Professor Milton Kaplan's course on state and local government practice, noting that "in each instance, the students provided a level of research that our attorneys would have been hard-pressed to complete on their own, given the demands imposed by their caseloads."

He also praised students in the Environment and Development Clinic, who prepared the brownfields analysis, and in the Affordable Housing Clinic.

"We are enthused about the level of commitment the law school has demonstrated to the city and deeply appreciative of the practical advice and assistance it has generated," Risman concluded.