New Volunteer Training Join Open Hands, Brooklyn Jubilee and Graffiti Legal Ministries to learn how YOU can help provide free legal advice, spiritual support and hope to thousands of New Yorkers in need.

Learn the basics of housing law, public benefits law and more to serve at our legal help desks.  CLE credit is available for attorneys.  

All are welcome, no prior legal experience necessary!

When Saturday, September 20    9:30 AM- 1:30 PM

Where Hope for New York 1359 Broadway, 4th Floor New York, NY

Volunteer training is a prerequisite for Open Hands Legal Services volunteers and is a great way to stay up to date on the legal issues facing the clients we serve.

This course is FREE to those who volunteer with Open Hands, Brooklyn Jubilee or Graffiti Legal Ministries by January 2015.

 *CLE credit available for attorneys* (1.0 Ethics credit; 2.0 skills credits pending)  Light breakfast and lunch will be provided

Click Here to Register Registration deadline September 12, 2014

Law Students -- Intern with Open Hands!

Open Hands Legal services offers law student internships throughout the year.  The internship program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to support the provision of free legal services in a collaborative Christian social services setting and throughout New York City. Position description.   The intern will work with our Open Hands and our partners to provide Christ-centered, holistic social services low-income New Yorkers.  The intern will assist in operating the legal aid desk, will conduct legal research and regular client intake and, under attorney supervision, he/she provide clients with legal advice in areas relating to landlord-tenant law, consumer law, family law, and re-entry, among other things.

Qualifications.  The applicant should either be enrolled in law school or have already graduated.  He/she must have an interest in social justice and legal issues, and serving low-income New Yorkers in a fast-pasted and energetic start-up environment.  He/she should have excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills, be responsible, flexible and hard working.  Interns are expected to work a minimum of 15 hours per week (Monday through Wednesday and on occasional Saturdays) over a 10 to 12 week internship period.

About Open Hands.  Open Hands Legal Services is a faith-based legal services organization.  We provide free legal services and spiritual support to the poor and indigent in New York City.   We do our work primarily through the use of volunteer attorneys.  We are lean, aggressive in our desire to effect justice and change lives and are passionate about providing hope and stability to individuals and communities.  More information is available at www.openhandslegalservices.org.

Open Hands' internship and fellowship programs provide students and attorneys with a rich learning experience, but do not provide monetary compensation.  

To apply, please submit a resume and letter of interest (no longer than one page) to Executive Director C.J. Masimore at cj@openhandslegalservices.org.  Please write “Open Hands Law Student Intern Application” and your first and last name in the subject line of the e-mail.  For fall 2014, one position is available.  Applications are accepted – and decisions will be made – on a rolling basis.  No calls please. We will only respond to those candidates we wish to interview.

College Students -- Intern with Open Hands!

Open Hands Legal services offers college student internships throughout the year.  The internship program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to support the provision of free legal services in a collaborative Christian social services setting and throughout New York City. Position description.   The intern will work with our Open Hands and our partners to provide Christ-centered, holistic social services low-income New Yorkers.  The intern will assist in operating the legal aid desk, social media and communications as well as day to day operations at the New Hope Community Center in East Harlem, which includes routine administrative tasks.  The intern will also assist in Open Hands’ ongoing transition from paper to electronic records. 

Qualifications.  The applicant should either be enrolled in a college or university or have already graduated.  He/she must have an interest in social justice and legal issues, and serving low-income New Yorkers in a fast-pasted and energetic start-up environment.  He/she should have excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills, be responsible, flexible and hard working.  Interns are expected to work a minimum of 10 to 15 hours per week (Monday through Wednesday and on occasional Saturdays) over a 10 to 12 week internship period.   

About Open Hands.  Open Hands Legal Services is a faith-based legal services organization.  We provide free legal services and spiritual support to the poor and indigent in New York City.   We do our work primarily through the use of volunteer attorneys.  We are lean, aggressive in our desire to effect justice and change lives and are passionate about providing hope and stability to individuals and communities.  More information is available at www.openhandslegalservices.org.

Open Hands' internship and fellowship programs provide students and attorneys with a rich learning experience, but do not provide monetary compensation.  

To apply, please submit a resume and letter of interest (no longer than one page) to Executive Director C.J. Masimore at cj@openhandslegalservices.org.  Please write “Open Hands  Intern Application” and your first and last name in the subject line of the e-mail.  For fall 2014, one position is available.  Applications are accepted – and decisions will be made – on a rolling basis.  No calls please. We will only respond to those candidates we wish to interview.

C.J. Masimore Named a “Rising Star” by New York Law Journal

New York, NY – Open Hands Legal Services (“Open Hands”) Executive Director, C.J. Masimore, has been recognized by The New York Law Journal as one of its 2014 Rising Stars.  The award recognizes New York lawyers age 40 and under "who have established a record of accomplishments and demonstrated that they are top contributors to the practice of law and their communities.”  An esteemed panel of judges selected the 42 award recipients out of more than 230 nominations.  A profile of Ms. Masimore appearing in a special section of the New York Law Journal on Monday, June 16 highlights the “leadership role to grow and strengthen a unique model of services to low-income New Yorkers” undertaken by Ms. Masimore and notes that “[u]nder her leadership, Open Hands has experienced a 600 percent growth in its client base.”

Karen I. Wu, President of Open Hands, commented: “This is a well-deserved recognition of C.J.’s hard work and her passion to serve individuals in need.  We are grateful that this panel of judges chose to include among its honorees the leader of a Christian legal aid organization.”  Open Hands Legal Services’ mission is to faithfully respond to God’s call to seek justice and defend the rights of the poor by providing legal services and counseling to the poor and indigent in New York City.

Open Hands brings together volunteer attorneys to provide legal advice and representation to clients, focusing primarily on housing, family and re-entry law.  Open Hands partners with established community-based organizations to provide legal services, and currently assists clients at The Father’s Heart Ministries (on Manhattan’s Lower East Side), The Relief Bus (in East Harlem), All Angels’ Church – Our Place Café (on Manhattan’s Upper West Side), Exodus Transitional Community (in East Harlem), The Bowery Mission (at its lower Manhattan and East Harlem locations), and Defy Ventures (Manhattan).

Ms. Masimore has served as Open Hands’ Executive Director since September 2011.  During her tenure, she has developed an entrepreneur law workshop to serve ex-offenders, developed a Know Your Rights curriculum, and increased the number of its service sites from one to seven. Ms. Masimore currently oversees over 100 volunteer attorneys, translators, law students, and paralegals, and one part-time staff attorney.  For more information about Open Hands Legal Services and its work, visit www.openhandslegalservices.org.

More information about the Rising Stars award is available here.

New Volunteer Training

When: Saturday, April 12, 2014

Time: 1- 3:45 PM (Registration begins at 12:30 PM)

Where:  Father's Heart Ministries 531 East 12th Street, New York, New York 10009

Appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys as well as new and experienced Open Hands Legal Services volunteers. MCLE Credits pending:  1.5 Skills, 1 Ethics

Volunteer training is a prerequisite for Open Hands Legal Services legal aid desk volunteers.  This course is FREE to those who volunteer with Open Hands Legal Services by August 2014.  Volunteers may serve at one of the following legal aid desks:  Father's Heart Ministries (East Village), All Angels' Church - Our Place Cafe (Upper West Side), The Bowery Mission, The Relief Bus, Exodus Transitional Community,  and Defy Ventures.

Click here to register for the training. Deadline for registration is April 9,2014.