On March 15, Sam Finkelstein of West Hills sent a letter to Bet Tzedek with 38 enclosures—all checks from residents of the nursing home where Sam lives. All of these residents of Fairwinds-West Hills wanted to express their appreciation for work done by Jody Spiegel, Director of Bet Tzedek's Nursing Home Advocacy Project (NHAP). Their generosity amounted to nearly $2,000.

In the Fall of 2004, Sam and his fellow residents asked Spiegel to investigate the legality of a “Care Coordination” fee. After interviewing residents and reviewing their admission agreements, she determined that the fee patently violated California law SB 211, which passed in 2003 because of Bet Tzedek’s advocacy. Spiegel then sent a demand letter to Leisure Care, the owner of Fairwinds-West Hills, and the eighth-largest assisted living care provider in the nation. Bet Tzedek’s policy is to pursue negotiation prior to litigation, and in this case, the President of Leisure Care responded to the letter. After several months of negotiations, Leisure Care discontinued assessing the fee to the residents of Fairwinds-West Hills, and made full restitution to the 63 impacted residents totaling over $85,000.

To quote from Sam’s letter: “The contributions also reflect the high esteem in which the residents of Fairwinds hold Bet Tzedek not only because of the excellent legal services Bet Tzedek makes available…but also because of the mission which Bet Tzedek has set for itself and the dedication with which it seeks to carry out that mission.”

Spiegel and NHAP help in over 100 cases annually. The appreciation demonstrated by the Fairwinds-West Hills residents is unique, and deserves a great thank you!

Bet Tzedek Expands Services to Low-Income Seniors

For more than two decades, Bet Tzedek has comprehensively served the legal needs of low-income seniors in Los Angeles. Our staff includes specialists on the myriad legal issues that affect seniors—consumer fraud and elder abuse, nursing home issues, public benefits, family and kinship caregiver needs, and housing —and our staff regularly meets with clients at more than 30 senior centers around the county. We’re proud of our ability to innovate to meet the changing needs of L.A.’s seniors, and recently have added to our array of services with a series of legal clinics.

In the past year, Bet Tzedek has developed five new legal clinics designed to help seniors help themselves. Each clinic provides an overview of a particular legal issue and guides seniors in the preparation of the appropriate legal documents. These programs empower seniors by giving them the tools they need to address basic legal issues on their own, and also save valuable staff time by reaching more clients than possible through one-on-one meetings.

Clinic topics include:

• Debtors’ Rights
  This clinic is designed to educate seniors about various legal issues surrounding their relationship with creditors, including bankruptcy and other forms of debtor protection.
• Wills and Simple Estate Planning
  With the assistance of the law firm of Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal, this clinic offers basic estate planning to seniors who need something more than a statutory will (which our advocates currently offer at senior center one-on-one visits).
• SSI Overpayment Clinic
  This clinic is designed to educate SSI recipients about their rights and responsibilities, particularly with respect to overpayment issues. The program was developed by a Fellow funded by New York University School of Law, and includes a 32-page handout for each participant.
• Power of Attorney for Healthcare
  Through this program, Bet Tzedek staff train volunteer attorneys, who in turn, visit a senior center and assist 4-8 clients with powers of attorney for healthcare. This program began last year under our Area Agency on Aging contract, and has continued this year.
• Tax Clinic
  In conjunction with McDermott, Will & Emery and the VITA program, Bet Tzedek will assist low-income seniors with preparation of their 2004 tax returns. Bet Tzedek will be hosting tax clinics on April 6 and April 13. More info >>

These clinics are in addition to the ongoing, educational programs that Bet Tzedek staff conducts on the following topics.

• Conservatorship
• Home Equity Fraud clinic
• Planning for Long Term Care and Incapacity
• IHSS Consumer Training
• Surrogate Decision Making
• Home Equity Fraud and Predatory Lending
• Elder Law
• Elder Abuse TRO’s
• Public Benefits for Caregivers
• Holocaust Restitution Assistance
• Elders at Risk - Making a Difference
• Nursing Home Residents’ Rights
• Protecting Yourself Against Senior Fraud & Abuse
• Legal & Financial Planning

Bet Tzedek believes in client education and empowerment. In times when the demand for services is higher than ever and funding for services are under constant threat of reduction, Bet Tzedek will continue to evolve to serve Los Angeles.

Receive Clinic Announcments! Bet Tzedek will be launching in April a new Clinic e-newsletter that will include information on all upcoming clinics. If you would like to receive the Clinic e-newsletter, please click here >>

For more information on clinics, please call Michelle Williams Court, Dir. of Litigation, at (323) 549-5840.
For more information on volunteering at BT, please call (323) 549-5814 or click here >>

Mark Drooks—Partner at Bird, Marella —Takes the Helm as Bet Tzedek's President

Mark T. Drooks, a partner at the Los Angeles firm of Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg, P.C., became President of the Bet Tzedek Board of Directors for a one-year term beginning March 16.  Drooks has been an active member of BT’s Board since l996, serving on the Employee Relations Committee and the Long Term Planning Committee for the 31-year-old public interest law firm.  He succeeds Glenn A. Sonnenberg of Legg Mason Real Estate Investments.

“Bet Tzedek’s Board of Directors is one of the most involved and hard-working nonprofit boards in Los Angeles,” comments Executive Director Mitchell A. Kamin.  “ We are extremely lucky to have such a devoted group of leaders from the business and legal communities.  In particular, Mark has shown extraordinary dedication to Bet Tzedek through the years and we are grateful to attract someone of his ability to serve as our Board president.”

Described by American Lawyer magazine as “one of the nation’s great specialty litigation firms,” Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg engages solely in the practice of complex civil and white collar criminal litigation.

Since joining the firm in 1982, Mark has handled numerous breach of contract, civil fraud and commercial cases in both the state and federal courts. He has frequently represented lawyers and other professionals in connection with partnership breakups, ethical issues and malpractice claims. He has litigated several consumer protection cases, and has handled numerous civil cases in which there have been parallel criminal proceedings.

Mark has particular expertise in securities matters. He has represented broker-dealers, investment advisers and investors in both individual and class actions. He has represented broker-dealers in various lawsuits and in more than 200 customer dispute arbitrations.

“I am honored to serve as Bet Tzedek’s president,” said Drooks, “and I am fully committed to finding ways to expand our mission of providing free legal services to the neediest in our society.  With anticipated cuts in health care benefits and an affordable housing crisis here in Los Angeles, the need for Bet Tzedek’s services is greater than ever.”

Drooks graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1981.  He has authored numerous articles relating to business litigation.  He resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Donna Gold, and their three sons.

Mitch Kamin, David Scott & Glenn Sonnenberg.

Stephen Kroft, Mary & Dr. David Collins

Bet Tzedek Gala Honors Amgen and Dr. David & Mary Collins

A capacity crowd of 1,200 filled the newly renovated International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton on January 26 to pay tribute to the wide-ranging corporate philanthropy of the Amgen Corporation and the generous support of the Collins Family Foundation for Bet Tzedek.

Bet Tzedek Board member Steven A. Kroft of McDermott, Will & Emery presented the Rose L. Schiff Commitment to Justice Award to Mary and Dr. David Collins.  David is a founder, Chairman and CEO of Learning Tree International, while Mary is Learning Tree’s Chief Administrative Officer.  Together, they established The Collins Family Foundation, the Pegasus Foundation and the John Marshall Park Foundation, all of which provide financial and operational support for the educational activities of children in grades 4 through 12. Over the years, the Collins have also provided funds to Bet Tzedek to meet general needs as well as to enhance the technical infrastructure used by Bet Tzedek staff to support their clients.

Amgen General Counsel David Scott accepted the Luis Lainer Founder’s Award from Latham & Watkins partner Charles Ruck for the work of its philanthropic arm, the Amgen Foundation.   Established in 1991, the Amgen Foundation has contributed more than $37 million to deserving organizations—including nearly $11 million in 2003 alone.  Support is focused on the key areas of health and medicine, science education and community life.  In addition to direct Foundation grants, Amgen also fosters charitable giving among its 14,000 employees worldwide through its matching gift program and makes corporate product and cash donations to help address patient needs.  Total Amgen corporate giving exceeds $150 million annually.   David Scott joined Amgen as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in 2004.  He is responsible for Amgen’s legal and communications teams and serves as Chairperson of the Amgen Foundation. 

Mitch Kamin announced that the Amgen Foundation had made a grant of $100,000 to underwrite a new consumer guide, The Caregiver Companion, which will be available in spring, 2006, and will supplement information already widely distributed in The Nursing Home Companion.

More than $2.1 million was raised from the event, the net proceeds of which provide nearly 40% of Bet Tzedek’s operating budget.

Click here to read coverage of the dinner from "The Scene" feature in the Daily Journal.

We welcome new board member Brette Simon, Esq.
Brette is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP and has been actively involved in Bet Tzedek for many years. Most importantly, she has served as a dedicated co-chair of The Justice Ball® for more than eight years.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Brette practiced corporate law at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles. She has written over a dozen articles and contributed to a book focusing on securities law and mergers and acquisitions, and she has lectured on these topics and venture capital issues at numerous seminars and conferences. Brette was recognized as a "Rising Star" in 2004 and as a "Super Lawyer" in 2005, in the area of mergers and acquisitions, by Los Angeles Magazine.

Brette received her law degree from the UCLA School of Law, where she graduated first in her class, and served as an Editor of the UCLA Law Review. She received her B.A. in Quantitative Economics and Decision Sciences, magna cum laude, from the University of California at San Diego, where she was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

We are grateful to have Brette on board. We know she will prove to be an invaluable asset to Bet Tzedek and its mission. Read more about Brette >>

Welcome New Staff!

Connie Huang, Staff Attorney
Connie received both her B.S. in gerontology and her J.D. from the University of Southern California.  Prior to joining Bet Tzedek, Connie was an Irmas Fellow at Public Counsel.  As part of the Children's Rights Project, she represented youth emancipating from the foster care system. At Bet Tzedek, Connie handles a variety of legal issues including landlord-tenant, government benefits, consumer and conservatorships.

Becky Monroe, Employment Rights Project Attorney
Becky has joined Bet Tzedek's Employment Rights Project, where she provides legal assistance and representation to Los Angeles's working poor.  Becky joined Bet Tzedek after working as an associate at Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, a public interest litigation firm in Santa Monica.  Before joining the firm, Becky clerked for Judge Richard A. Paez of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  She graduated from Yale Law School in June 2002, where she was a Student Director in the Legal Services Clinic.  Before law school, Becky was a paralegal in the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.  She holds a B.A. from Georgetown University, graduating as Valedictorian of the College of Arts and Sciences, Phi Beta Kappa.

Congratulations to BT's Nursing Home Advocacy Attorney Jody Spiegel,
who has been named "Legal Services Advocate of the Year" by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.  Jody will receive this honor at CANHR's Elder Law Conference on May 6, 2005, in Monterey.  This award is well deserved:  Jody has been fully dedicated to the plight of nursing home and residential care facility residents for a long time, and has accomplished some remarkable results in the past few months.  We're very proud of NHAP and thrilled that CANHR has recognized Jody's important work in this way!

To serve the 10,000 clients who need our help annually, Bet Tzedek relies upon a wide range of funders, including corporate and private foundations. Bet Tzedek thanks the funders who provided grants in the last two months:

The Amgen Foundation granted $100,000 for the creation and publication of The Caregiver Companion, a new resource for family caregivers. The Caregiver Companion will use an easy-to-comprehend, “plain English” approach to the complex laws and regulations governing benefits available to caregivers and their disabled family members. Using a question-and-answer format, the Companion will address the most frequently encountered problems and issues faced by family members caring for aged and infirm seniors.

The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation granted $65,000 in general operating support. General operating grants are difficult to obtain in today’s funding climate, and Bet Tzedek greatly appreciates the assistance and trust shown by this grant.

HSBC granted $10,000 in support of the Home Equity Fraud unit. The three attorneys in this Unit work to protect the equity and title rights of clients who have been defrauded. In the last year, Bet Tzedek saved homes worth over $1.7 million for clients.