Legal Services NYC Board of Directors

Mark G. Cunha- Chair 
Joseph S. Genova- Vice-Chair
Carol S. Rosenbaum - Treasurer
Atiba Adams
Hiram L. Bell III
Susan Bryant
Vincent Chang
Pui Chi Cheng
Catherine Christian
Frederica-Azania Clare
Matthew Diller
John P. Hooper
Victoria Horowitz
Jack P. Jackson
Serge Joseph
John S. Kiernan
Sheila T. McGinn
Andrew Jay Multer
Jenny Ortiz-Bowman
David Parker
Kay Reese
Violet Rittenhour
Bruce D. Saber
Fern Schair
H. Richard Schumacher
Diana Sen
Karen Patton Seymour
James St. Furcy

Officers

MARK G. CUNHA- Chair

Mark G. Cunha is a partner in the civil litigation department of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. He has served as a director for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and serves as a Trustee for the Lycee Francais de New York. He has also been a Delegate to the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates, and served on the Executive Committee of the State Bar’s Section on Commercial and Federal Litigation. At the city level, Mr. Cunha has served as Vice President and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and has served as Chair of the Association’s Committee on Legal Assistance. Mr. Cunha’s legal advocacy has been recognized by both the Legal Aid Society, who deemed him Outstanding Volunteer Lawyer in 1990, and by the New York County Lawyers Association, which awarded him the Pro Bono Award in 1991. In 2007, Mr. Cunha was awarded the Chevalier de l'Order des Palmes Academiques by the government of France.

Mr. Cunha completed his undergraduate education at Cornell University in 1977, graduating magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and with distinction in all subjects, and received his law degree from Stanford University in 1980. He was a White House Intern from 1979-1980.

JOSEPH S. GENOVA- VIce chair

Joseph S. Genova is a partner in the Litigation Department of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP and the director of the firm’s Public Service Program. Mr. Genova has served on the Board of Directors of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, chaired several bar association committees concerned with legal services for the indigent or homelessness, and, since 2005, has been a member of the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial Department.

Mr. Genova graduated from Dartmouth College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1974, and received his JD from Yale Law School in 1977.

CAROL S. ROSENBAUM- Treasurer

Carol S. Rosenbaum is a Certified Public Accountant with extensive accounting, auditing and management experience. She has been the Chief Financial Officer at the New York City Bar for ten years and serves as the Assistant Treasurer on the Board of the City Bar Fund. Previously, Ms. Rosenbaum was the Assistant Controller at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Manager of Endowment Funds at the American Museum of Natural History. Ms. Rosenbaum serves on the Committee of Chief Financial Officers for the New York State Society of CPAs. She also serves on local boards and governing committees in her community, offering financial and accounting expertise. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Ms. Rosenbaum earned a masters degree in both counseling and clinical psychology, with honors, from New York University.

Members

ATIBA ADAMS

Atiba Adams is Vice President, Assistant General Counsel in Pfizer’s Legal Division, Chief Counsel to Pfizer’s Nutrition Business Unit, and a member of the Legal Division Executive Team. As Chief Counsel, Mr. Adams leads a team that is responsible for counseling a business with products available in more than sixty countries on all legal issues and matters. Mr. Adams joined Pfizer’s Litigation Practice Group in October 2000, and has since managed a portfolio of complex, mass tort and product liability litigation. Prior to joining Pfizer, Mr. Adams was in private practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he defended nationwide class action lawsuits involving pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and medical devices. In 2010, the Metropolitan Black Bar Association honored him as "Corporate Counsel of the Year." In addition to his service with LS-NYC, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Mr. Adams attended North Carolina Central University School of Law, in Durham, North Carolina.  He clerked with the Honorable James A. Beaty, Jr., United States District Court Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

HIRAM L. BELL III

Hiram L. Bell III is both a Supervising Court Attorney and Administrative Aide to Supervising Judges in four courts throughout New York City. In addition to serving on Legal Services NYC’s Board, Mr. Bell was the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Legal Services Corp. from 1996 to 2004. He is also an active member of the Brooklyn Bar Association, for which he is the Chair of the Criminal Court Committee and a member of the Grievance Committee and the Continuing Legal Education Committee.

A 1978 honors graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University, Mr. Bell received his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 1981.

SUSAN BRYANT

Susan Bryant is Professor of Law at the CUNY School of Law. Professor Bryant teaches evidence, family law and lawyering courses focused on work with immigrants and survivors of domestic violence. Her research interests include access to justice, cross-cultural, cross-lingual work between lawyers and clients, and clinical pedagogy. She works with lawyers, teachers, judges and law students to improve cross-cultural competence in the profession.

Ms. Bryant received both her J.D. and L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Prettyman Fellow.

Vincent chang

Vincent Chang is a partner at Wollmuth Maher and Deutsch LLP. Mr. Chang has significant experience in complex litigation, including class action litigation involving the telecommunications, pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York County Lawyers Association and is the immediate past President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York.

Mr. Chang is a graduate of Harvard College and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1987. 

PUI CHI CHENG

Pui Chi Cheng is a principal of the Law Offices of Cheng & Associates PLLC, a litigation firm handling Insurance Defense. Ms. Cheng has over 17 years of experience in handling insurance defense and personal injury cases from coverage matters, to trial, arbitration, appellate argument and lecturing on trial techniques. She is a Past President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, a member of the New York City Bar Associations and a member of the House of Delegates to New York State Bar Association. In 2005, she was selected as one of the Best Asian American Lawyers Under 40 by the National Asian American Bar Association.

Ms. Cheng is a graduate of Woffard College located in Spartenburg, South Carolina, and holds a J.D. from Washington and Lee School of Law.

CATHERINE CHRISTIAN

Catherine Christian was appointed Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office in 1988. She has investigated public corruption as an Assistant Counsel at the New York State Commission of Investigation and served as Supervising Court Attorney for Bronx County Criminal Court. She has served as Director of Legal Staff Training for the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor since 2001. Ms. Christian is the President of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Ms. Christian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hofstra University and is a graduate of the Dickinson School of Law of Pennsylvania State University.

FREDERICA-AZANIA CLARE

Frederica-Azania Clare was appointed to the Legal Services NYC Board by the City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court, Inc. She is Project Manager & Online Group Facilitator at Nabuur, Inc., where she founded Kamenge Online Village in Bujumbura, Burundi; helped construct the Recovery Empowerment Women's Sactuary of Central Africa; created and implemented Alternatives to Violence Project/Emotional Violence Alternatives Workshops; and is currently designing psychoneuroimmunology models for trauma recovery from war atrocities and AIDS focusing on Central African populations. She is currently studing Peace/Irenic Studies at The Graduate Institute with a specialization in Psychoneuroimmunology--clinical interventions for war healing to promote lasting peace in Africa and the world, and expects to receive her M.A. in 2009.

Ms. Clare also holds a B.A. in Psychology from the City University of New York (1974), an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1988), and a Certification as a Reading Teacher from the NYU Graduate School of Education.

MATTHEW DILLER

Matthew Diller is Associate Dean and a Professor of Law at Fordham University. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Poverty Law Section for the Association of American Law Schools, where has also served as Chair. Mr. Diller is a director of The National Center for Law and Economic Justice and of Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS). Because of his outstanding work as staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society (1986-1993), the Association of the Bar of the City of New York honored Professor Diller with the Legal Services Award (1991).

Professor Diller graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School, magna cum laude (1981 and 1985, respectively). 

 ARTHUR W. GREIG

Arthur W. Greig has been in private practice in Manhattan for over twenty years and is Of Counsel to Brown & Weinraub, LLC. He specializes in trial practice and election law appellate practice. Previously, Mr. Greig served as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County and as a Law Secretary in New York County Supreme Court. He was a Staff Counsel to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1987 through 1991 where he worked on issues presented to the Racing & Wagering Committee and Alcohol & Substance Abuse Committee). In 1998, he was a Special Counsel to the Chairman of the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, concentrating primarily on judiciary and court merger issues. He also served as Special Counsel to former New York State Senate Minority Leader David Paterson in the areas of redistricting and reapportionment litigation.

Mr. Greig is a graduate of Tufts University and American University’s Washington College of Law. 

 John P. Hooper

John P. Hooper is a partner at Reed Smith LLP. He has a broad range of experience defending companies in complex litigations, including a variety of financial services, insurance, product liability, and consumer class actions where he has served as national, regional and/or local counsel. Mr. Hooper is frequently invited to speak in the United States and Canada on various class action issues, and has been active in federal and state class action reform as the former chairperson of the Civil Justice Reform Group’s Class Action Subcommittee and the ABA Business Law Section’s Ad Hoc Committee on FRCP Rule 23 Amendments. He is also an active member of the Product Liability Advisory Committee.

Mr. Hooper is a 1983 graduate of Colgate University and a 1986 graduate of Boston University School of Law.

Victoria Horowitz

Victoria Horowitz was appointed to the Legal Services NYC Board of Directors by the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island. She has been married for 32 years and has four children, one of whom suffers from autism. Mrs. Horowitz is active in various organizations involved with research and development of new ways of treatment for autism. 

Before taking up residence in 1979, Mrs. Horowitz lived in Israel for more than eight years. In Brooklyn, she raised her family, taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for many years, and now volunteers as an English essay writing teacher at Touro College.

Jack P. Jackson

Jack Jackson, a partner in Proskauer Rose LLP's Corporate Department, has extensive experience in a broad range of financing transactions (in the telecommunications, Internet, real estate, supermarket, automotive parts and electronics fields), work-outs and restructurings, and mergers and acquisitions, including venture capital financing of "start-up" and "new economy" companies. A "hands-on" lawyer with wide-ranging experiences, Jack has also worked on privatizations in Latin America, multiple cross border acquisitions and strategic alliances. Jack was recently recognized by Crain's as being among the top 100 most influential minority business persons in New York.

Mr. Jackson holds a B.A. from Fordham University (1979), an M.B.A. from Columbia University (1983), and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law (1983), where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

SERGE JOSEPH

Serge Joseph is a partner at Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph. A former attorney of the Housing Unit staff of Bedford Stuyvesant Legal Services, he represented tenants and tenants groups in summary court proceedings, DHCR administrative hearings and other forums. An expert in Residential Real Estate Law, he has also served as a panelist on numerous landlord/tenant and CLE seminars and programs and has appeared on television programs discussing Real Estate and Landlord/Tenant issues.

Mr. Joseph graduated magna cum laude from City College, City University of New York in 1986 and earned his J.D. degree from Cornell Law School in 1989.

JOHN S. KIERNAN

John S. Kiernan is a partner in the Litigation Department of Debevoise & Plimpton. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the New York City Bar and a director of the Federal Bar Council, and has chaired numerous committees of the New York City Bar, the Federal Bar Council and the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section. In addition, Mr. Kiernan is chair of both Prisoners' Legal Services and Volunteers of Legal Service, Inc., as well as a director of The International Center for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, the Justice Resource Center, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Mr. Kiernan was Mayor of Pelham Manor from 1999-2001, and is a director of the United Way of Pelham, NY.

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University (1976) and Harvard Law School (1980), where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Sheila T. McGinn

Sheila T. McGinn is a partner at Sargente & McGinn, LLC, which concentrates on representing plaintiffs and defendants in civil matters involving personal injury, property damage, and breach of contract and insurance actions. Ms. McGinn is admitted to practice in New York and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association, New York County Lawyers’ Association, Staten Island Trial Lawyer’s Association and Richmond County Bar Association. She has also served as a volunteer Small Claims arbitrator in Civil Court Richmond County. In November 2004 she became a Court Evaluator in Supreme Court, Richmond County. Ms. McGinn has been a member of Community Board 1, Staten Island since Spring 2001. She has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Staten Island Recreational Association since Spring 2008.

Ms. McGinn graduated from State University of New York, Oneonta in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She received her law degree in 1990 from Brooklyn Law School.

ANDREW JAY MULTER

Andrew Jay Multer is a partner at Bahn, Herzfeld & Multer, LLP. His commitment to legal access for low-income people began as a Staff Attorney in the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Division, Manhattan (1988-1995). Mr. Multer was recognized by the New York State Bar Association in 1995 for his efforts to increase funding for legal services. In 1996, he became an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the New York City Law Department. In 1999, Mr. Multer became General Counsel to Pilates, Inc.

Mr. Multer graduated from Harvard University in 1979 and received his law degree from Northeastern School of Law in 1987.

Jenny Ortiz-Bowman

Jenny Ortiz Bowman has been a community activist for more than 30 years, and a member of Brooklyn Legal Services' Board of Directors since 1981. She currently serves as Secretary for the Seth Low Houses Resident Association.

DAVID PARKER

David Parker is a shareholder and director of Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen P.C. Mr. Parker is a director of the New York City Justice Project, and was the citywide chair of the Associates’ campaign of the Legal Aid Society. He is a trustee of the Horace Mann School, as well as a Visiting Lecturer in Law and Finance for the William E. Simon School of Business, University of Rochester.

Mr. Parker graduated from Brown University, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1969 with a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and from Yale Law School in 1973.

Kay Reese

Kay Reese is a Marketing Communications and Publicity Consultant. She was formerly Director of Communication for YWCA of the U.S.A, Communications Coordinator for the Diocese of Brooklyn's Office of Black Ministry, and Director of Communications for the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. She is also an award-winning artist and photographer.

Ms. Reese received a B.F.A. in painting and sculpture from The College of New Rochelle in 1972.

VIOLET RITTENHOUR

Violet Rittenhour was a Parent Organizer with the Child Welfare Organizing Project and a Parent Advocate at Concord Family Services. Ms. Rittenhour is also a member of the NYC Administration for Children's Services Parent Advisory Work Group. She has served as a consultant to the New York City Council on child welfare issues and legislation, and as a guest-lecturer at New York University, Hunter College, and Fordham University on parent/citizen involvement in the development of public policy.

Ms. Rittenhour received her B.A. in Early Childhood Development from Columbia University.

BRUCE D. SABER

Bruce D. Saber was most recently General Counsel for the Goldman Sachs real estate funds. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he was the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Monday Properties. He has been a partner with the law firms Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Heller Ehrman, as well as General Counsel/Senior Managing Director of Tishman Speyer Properties. Mr. Saber received the Corporate Counsel Award from the Legal Aid Society of New York City numerous times for his pro bono services.

Mr. Saber graduated from the University of Rochester in 1980, and received his J.D. from New York University in 1983, where he served on the Law Review.

FERN SCHAIR

Fern Schair is currently Senior Vice President of the American Arbitration Association.  She served as  Chair of Legal Services NYC’s Board from May 2006 until May 2009. Ms. Schair served as Executive Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1982 to 1997). She has also served as Director of Civil Justice Programs, Fund for the City of New York (1997 to 1998) and Program Development Officer for the Soros Foundation – Open Society Institute (1999 to 2000). Ms. Schair is co-founder and President of the Children’s Law Center; Board Chair, immediate past Chair of The Fund for Modern Courts; Vice-Chair, Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts (NY); and First Vice President of the National Equal Justice Library. In 1997, Ms. Schair became the first woman recipient of the Association Medal, awarded by The Association of the Bar of the City of New York. 

Ms. Schair attended Cornell University and received her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law.

H. RICHARD SCHUMACHER

H. Richard Schumacher is a retired litigation partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Mr. Schumacher was Legal Services NYC’s Board Chair from 1994-2003, concurrently serving on the Board of Directors for the New York County Lawyers Association. In addition, he has been a director for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; a member of the Manhattan Community Planning Board No. 6; and a member of the New York County Democratic Committee, where he was both a candidate for the State Assembly (1962, 1963) and served on the Executive Committee (1987-1995).

Mr. Schumacher graduated from Yale University in 1951, then served in the U.S. Navy, cum Atlantic Fleet Destroyer. Following his military service, in 1958 he received his JD magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

DIANA SEN

Diana Sen is a Civil Rights attorney at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Educational Fund (PRLDEF). Prior to her current position she served as a senior litigation associate at Fried Frank, where she represented institutions and businesses involved in securities litigation, general commercial litigations, and white-collar investigations. Ms. Sen was a recipient of the 2000 Fried Frank/Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) Fellowship, and worked for two years as an employment and immigrants’ rights attorney for the MALDEF Atlanta office.

Ms. Sen received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Florida in 1996 and 1997, respectively, and received her J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 2000.

Karen Patton Seymour

Karen Patton Seymour is a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where she heads up the firm’s Criminal Defense and Investigations Group. In 2005 she returned to private practice after having served as Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2002 to 2004. She had also served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1990 to 1996, and was Chief of the General Crimes Unit and Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Unit. She was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell from 1987 to 1990 and rejoined the firm in 1997, where she was a member of the firm from 2000 until early 2002.

Ms. Seymour received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1986, and an LL.M. from the University of London in 1987. She received a B.S. and B.A. from Southern Methodist University.

JAMES ST. FURCY

James St. Furcy is a car insurance salesperson. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Crown Heights Service Center in Brooklyn. Mr. St. Furcy facilitates community activities as a member of Queens Empowerment, a group that puts on a city-wide paddle ball tournament; he has been formally recognized in appreciation for making the youth tournament such a success.

Mr. St. Furcy is a 1979 graduate of Brooklyn College.

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