Congratulations to JFCS volunteer attorney Hilary Spatz, recipient of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s Jane F. Hepting Award! This annual award is given to an attorney who has shown exemplary commitment to or made substantial achievements in pro bono legal services, and dedication to public service, the legal profession, and the community. The 2019 awards will be presented at the Fall Foundation Reception on Wednesday, October 2, 5:30 p.m., at the Fairmont Hotel.
JFCS Immigration Legal Services nominated Attorney Spatz because of her significant contributions to the delivery of free legal services to immigrant children and their families. Most of these children are in removal proceedings (being deported) and in desperate need of representation to assist with proceedings in immigration and family court. None of them have the means to hire an attorney.
JFCS is indebted to the work Hilary has done to lead the effort to represent immigrant children in Family Division proceedings who are seeking Special Juvenile Immigrant Status to allow them to remain in the United States. She worked closely with JFCS to prepare the Family Division judges to insure that JFCS clients could file petitions to obtain the very specialized findings of fact and court orders required for the immigration process.
With Hilary’s help, this process was expanded to include unaccompanied minors who are also in ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement) custody so they don’t lose their immigration options while in detention.
In addition to handling cases herself, Hilary has helped JFCS respond to the dramatically increased number of unaccompanied minor cases by recruiting pro bono attorneys and training over 60 volunteer attorneys at several Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs.
The ACBF Board of Trustees Created the Jane Hepting award in 2002, in honor of her dedication to the delivery of pro bono legal services and innovation of programs through her 26 years as an NLSA attorney, and the exemplary work she did to encourage and train volunteer attorneys. This is one of several ACBA Pro Bono Achievement Awards that recognize individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to pro bono service in our communities.
If you are interested in serving as a pro bono counsel in this work, your help is needed: call JFCS Immigration Legal Services at 412-904-5966 or email immigrationlegal@jfcspgh.org.
Photo: Hilary Spatz (front left) with JFCS Immigration Legal Services staff (L to R) Joyce Ramirez, Megan Walker, Orlando Portela, and Jamie Englert, Director.