Archive for 'Peggy Maisel'

Pictured (l to r) are Cindy McKenzie, CEPS Program Manager; Jan Jacobowitz, Lecturer in Law; Laverne Pinkney; Anthony Alfieri, CEPS Director; and Ebonie Carter, CEPS Administrative Assistant.

The University of Miami School of Law’s Center for Ethics and Public Service recently honored Professor Laverne Pinkney with the 2013 Friend of the Center Award, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Historic Black Church Program’s Community Education Project.

The Historic Black Church Program is part of the Center’s ongoing effort to help Miami’s distressed Coconut Grove Village West community by providing multidisciplinary resources in education, law, and social services to underserved residents.

During the award presentation, Pinkney was praised as a wonderful role model and motivating teacher. The value of the collaboration she created between the Florida International University College of Law and the University of Miami School of Law, was also praised.

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In the following op-ed that appeared in the March 3, 2013, edition of the Miami Herald, FIU Law Professor Peggy Maisel makes the case that Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do in Florida.

Florida should agree to Medicaid expansion

by Cheryl L. Holder and Peggy Maisel

Fifty-year-old Miami-Dade County resident Mr. G worked every day. “I have always provided for my family,” he says proudly. Unfortunately, his job provided no health insurance and he and his wife could not afford to pay for the family plan at her job.

When he started losing weight and feeling weak, he went to a Broward County hospital ER where, with a white blood cell count near 1,000,000 and golf ball sized lymph nodes, he received the diagnosis of Stage IV Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. The hospital stabilized his condition and discharged him to continue care in Miami–Dade County.

With no health insurance, he then waited one month for an appointment in the Jackson Clinic and even longer to see an oncologist, both of which worsened his prognosis from 72 months (stage 1) to 19 months (stage IV)

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FIU Students from the Health Law and Policy Clinic – the College of Law’s medical-legal clinic that partners with the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine’s Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP (Health Education Learning Program) – recently spoke to Florida State Senator Rene Garcia about Medicaid expansion.

Under the direction of Professor Peggy Maisel, six law and six medical students were invited to meet with Senator Garcia, chair of the Health Policy Committee, to discuss Medicaid expansion and their efforts to improve health outcomes in four low-income Miami-Dade neighborhoods.

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By Martin Haro

Eight law clinics are currently operating within the College of Law at FIU. There, law students are not only gaining hands-on experience in many areas of practice but also improving the lives of their fellow community members. In this second part of a two-part story, we tell you about some of the cases handled by the Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, the Investor Advocacy Clinic, the Health, Ethics, Law and Policy (H.E.L.P.) Clinic and the Community Development Clinic.

Since 2004, the College of Law at FIU has had a flagship clinical program that provides students with hands-on experience outside the classroom.

“We are very much a law firm focusing on educating the next generation of lawyers through close supervision of law students as they practice for the first time and provide policy advocacy and community education throughout Miami-Dade,” said clinical director Peggy Maisel of the program, which primarily serves underprivileged individuals and nonprofits that must meet a certain threshold to receive services.

In part 1 of this two-part story, we told you about the work that has been done at Consumer Bankruptcy, Environmental Law, the Family and Children’s Advocacy and the Immigrant Children’s Justice clinics. Now, we share the good word on the work of the Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, the Investor Advocacy Clinic, the Health, Ethics, Law and Policy (H.E.L.P.) Clinic and the Community Development Clinic.

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By Martin Haro

Eight law clinics are currently operating within the College of Law at FIU. There, law students are not only gaining hands-on experience in many areas of practice but also improving the lives of their fellow community members. In this first part of a two-part story, we tell you about some of the cases handled by the Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic, the Environmental Law Clinic, the Family and Children’s Advocacy Clinic and the Immigrant Children’s Justice Clinic.

When Peggy Maisel joined the faculty of the College of Law in 2003, she did so with a clear goal in mind: to establish a flagship clinical program that provides students with hands-on experience outside the classroom.

In August 2004, Maisel and former College of Law Professor Troy Elder launched the inaugural law clinic, the Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. Currently, there are eight clinics and a ninth is being planned to work on behalf of veterans.

About 45 percent of FIU Law students work in a clinic before graduation. Through the end of the 2011-’12 year, the students had provided more than 27,000 hours of free legal services to approximately 400 individuals, groups and organizations. That is equivalent to a court-approved value of more than $2 million in free legal services, exclusive of faculty time.

“We are very much a law firm focusing on educating the next generation of lawyers through close supervision of law students as they practice for the first time and provide policy advocacy and community education throughout Miami-Dade,” said Maisel of the clinics, which primarily serve underprivileged individuals and nonprofits that must meet a certain threshold to receive services.

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Adjunct Professor John Little will be honored by the South Florida Community Development Coalition (SFCDC) for his leadership in community development. The awards will be presented at a cocktail reception at The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse in the developing arts district of Wynwood on May 1st. South Florida Community Development Coalition is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to building communities and developing assets in Miami-Dade County.

John Little is one of the co-founders of the Community Development Clinic (“CDC”) at Florida International University College of Law FIU College of Law.  In 2005, along with Professor Peggy Maisel, John created the CDC to assist small businesses and non-profit organizations in the process of incorporation, contracts, and many other legal matters which would have created a financial hardship on these organizations and community members if they had to hire a private attorney.

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MIAMI (March 27, 2012) – Law students from FIU’s Health Ethics Law and Policy (HELP) Clinic are helping low-income community members access vital healthcare services through community-based education. Three students – Ilana Bonan, Christopher Bryant and Justin Budwick – created a presentation explaining eligibility requirements and program benefits for Medicaid, Medicare, and Jackson Care Card programs. On March 22, they delivered the presentation to roughly 80 low-income residents of Little Haiti, Liberty City, and North Miami. “This information is incredibly important,” said organizer Christella Dorval. “Many people do not know how to apply, and they often are scared to ask for help. The fact that these students are willing to come out to the community to share information is really wonderful.”

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MIAMI (October 10, 2011) – FIU Law will join President Obama and Attorney General Holder on Thursday, October 13 for a Champions of Change discussion. This national discussion will include students and faculty from law schools across the country and will focus on the important role of lawyers in securing basic rights for all Americans.

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