CBA kicks off major fundrasing campaign

HARTFORD - The Connecticut Bar Association, looking at the lack of lawyers to represent low-income immigrants in need of legal assistance, has kicked off a major fundraising campaign.

Chase T. Rogers and Robert L. Holzberg, cochairs of the Connecticut Lawyers for Immigration Justice campaign, said they are raising the funds for the three full-service legal aid organizations in the state.

Holzberg, a partner at Pullman & Comley, LLC, who chairs its Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice group, said the money will be used to increase staff; pay for expert fees and underwrite technology so attorneys can talk with detained clients.

The three organizations are New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Connecticut Legal Services and Greater Hartford Legal Aid.

A Vera Institute of Justice in New York found that immigrants who are free from detention and have legal representation are up to 11 times more likely to have successful cases and ultimately get to remain in the United States.

New York state and city provide funding for legal services for immigrants, unlike Connecticut.

“Just a few weeks ago, lawyers from Connecticut Legal Services, worked with Yale Legal Services to win release and reunification for two children who were separated from their parents at the border and detained in Connecticut. We started this campaign to help provide that kind of advocacy to every Connecticut immigrant parent and child who requires legal assistance in protecting their rights,” Holzberg said in a statement.

The campaign, which has already received generous commitments from numerous law firms and lawyers, is supported by current president of the Connecticut Bar Association Jonathan Shapiro; seventeen past presidents of the CBA; the presidents of ten “affinity” bar associations, which are membership organizations of lawyers based on shared interests, regions of practice, or ethnicity and heritage; and Deans Timothy Fisher, Jennifer Brown, Heather Gerken and Sudha Setty of the UCONN, Quinnipiac, Yale and Western New England Law Schools.

Rogers, who is a partner and head of the appellate practice at Connecticut law firm Day Pitney, LLC is the former chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

“Everyone who seeks asylum in this country should have their status adjudicated with due process protections, including the assistance of counsel.” Rogers said in a statement.

For information or to make a donation can visit the campaign website: www.ctjustice.org.