Upcoming Events

Independence Day Celebration

July 4, 2012

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SHELTER LEGAL SERVICES

885 Centre Street
Newton, MA 02459

Tel : (617) 552-0623
Fax : (617) 552-2615

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About Us

Our Mission

To promote self-sufficiency, stability, and financial security through comprehensive and accessible legal services. By locating legal clinics at homeless shelters and service centers, Shelter Legal Services reaches underserved and neglected members of our society who are often reluctant to seek legal help. Shelter Legal Services serves over 450 clients per year at its legal clinics.

Check out our 2010-2011 Annual Report to learn more.

Funding and Contributions

Upcoming fundraisers are listed on the Events section of our website.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following organizations :

The Boston Bar Foundation
Boston College Law School
Cambridge Community Foundation
Capital One
D’Angelo Real Estate
Eastern Bank
First Parish Church – Weston
HUD McKinney Supportive Housing Program
The Massachusetts Bar Foundation
Seyfarth Shaw
The Evermedia Group, Inc.
Yale Appliance & Lighting
Alumni, Law Firm and Private Contributions

Staff:

Sarah E. Roxburgh, Esq.

roxburgh@shelterlegalservices.org

Co-Executive Director

Attorney Sarah Roxburgh focuses on assisting homeless and imminently homeless individuals with a variety of civil legal matters, including housing, landlord/tenant, and family law matters. She is responsible for SLS’s organizational management, along with Attorney Schleelein. Sarah directs SLS’s legal clinic at the Cambridge Multi-Service Center. She received her B.A. from Northeastern University College of Arts & Sciences and her J.D. from New England Law | Boston. Her student article, Divorce, Domestic Violence, and Deportation, was published in the Summer 2008 edition of the Massachusetts Family Law Journal. She was also Co4President of the National Lawyers Guild New England Law | Boston chapter. Sarah gained experience at Greater Boston Legal Services, the New England Law | Boston Clinical Law Office, and Suffolk County Probate & Family Court. She also gained experience in criminal law with the Law Office of E. Peter Parker, where she assisted defense counsel in a Middlesex County high-profile retrial for manslaughter. Upon graduation, she received the New England Law | Boston Dean Timothy J. Cronin, Jr. Memorial Award for the graduate with the most outstanding contribution to public service.

Sarah was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar on December 11, 2008. Prior to law school, Sarah was an associate at Bartram & Cochran, Inc., a national commercial real estate consulting firm based in Hartford, Connecticut, where she was a Connecticut-licensed salesperson. Sarah was also a copywriter at Think Creative Group in New Haven, Connecticut. Attorney Roxburgh is an active member of Senior Partners for Justice and the Women’s Bar Association. She also is a volunteer with Pawprints at Children’s Hospital Boston, where she volunteers with her Wheaten Terrier, Herman, visiting patients through their therapy dog visitation program.

Anna M. Schleelein, Esq.

anna.schleelein@shelterlegalservices.org

Co-Executive Director

Attorney Anna Schleelein focuses on assisting homeless and low income veterans with a variety of civil legal matters, including state and federal benefits issues. She is responsible for SLS’s organizational management, along with Attorney Roxburgh. Anna directs SLS’s legal clinic at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans. She has served as faculty for the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Basic Benefits Training offered by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (“MCLE”) teaching other legal services advocates about state and federal veterans’ benefits, as well as providing instruction to the private bar at MCLE’s recent course titled Military Families & Divorce. She has also performed trainings on veterans’ legal issues for the Boston Bar Association, the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center, and various legal services agencies. In October, 2011 Anna received Boston University School of Law's Victor J. Garo Public Service Award, presented annually to two alumni for their commitment and dedication to public service.

Anna received her B.A. from Boston College and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law where she served as a note editor of the Public Interest Law Journal. Her student note, The Legal Implications of False Promises and Other Military Recruiter Misconduct, was published in the Journal's Fall 2007 issue. During law school, Anna received the highly competitive Rappaport Fellowship in Law and Public Policy. During her fellowship and following law school she worked with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs on issues including preventing elder abuse and improving accountability for reverse mortgage lenders. During law school, she also interned with the Civil Rights Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office where she drafted the agency’s Veterans’ Resource Guide, now available at mass.gov/ago. Upon graduation, Anna received the law school’s Warren S. Gilford Law and Humanity Prize for her commitment to public service. She is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar and is accredited to represent individuals before the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to law school, Anna worked as a paralegal at Grindle, Robinson, Goodhue & Frolin, a small family law and estate planning firm, located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Staff Attorney:

Kelsey M. Worline, Esq.

kelsey.worline@shelterlegalservices.org

AmeriCorps Attorney

Attorney Kelsey Worline assists homeless and imminently homeless individuals through the Cambridge Multi-Service Center, and homeless and low-income veterans through the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home. She assists clients with a variety of civil matters, including landlord/tenant, consumer debt, public benefits, and family law. Prior to joining SLS as a staff attorney, Kelsey completed a year of service with SLS as an AmeriCorps Legal Fellow.

Kelsey received her B.A. from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 2008 and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in May 2011. She was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in November 2011. Kelsey initially began working with Shelter Legal Services as Law Student Advocate during her first year at Boston University. She later joined the organization for a full-time summer internship, and continued participating in SLS’s pro bono initiatives throughout law school. Kelsey also spent a summer working as Summer Counsel for Harvard Legal Aid Bureau in the housing division, and gained criminal law experience through the Boston University Criminal Clinical Program. During the course of the program she defended juvenile and adult matters in the Boston Municipal Court and became a Student Prosecutor in the Quincy District Court.

Board of Directors

Officers

Tim McLaughlin, Esq., President – Holland & Knight Tim McLaughlin is an associate at the Boston office of Holland & Knight where he practices in the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. Mr. McLaughlin is experienced with maritime law, construction law and white collar criminal defense, and has handled pro bono matters before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and in Massachusetts Superior Court litigating prisoners’ rights claims. Mr. McLaughlin served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps from 2000 until 2006. During law school, Mr. McLaughlin spent six months living in Sarajevo while interning for the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its War Crimes Section. He received his J.D. from Boston College Law School and his B.A. in Russian from the College of the Holy Cross.

Theodore M. Grannatt, Esq., Secretary– McCarter & English, LLP Mr. Grannatt is a partner in McCarter & English's Corporate, Securities and Financial Institutions practice. He primarily focuses on federal and state securities regulation as implicated in public and private financings, as well as counseling broker-dealers and investment advisors in compliance and transactional matters. Most recently, Mr. Grannatt has been the U.S. securities counselor for a number of non-U.S. issuers privately placing securities into the United States for financing or strategic acquisition purposes. He has also been advising domestic and non-U.S. broker dealers as to their U.S. obligations when taking part in transactions that concern the United States Mr. Grannatt has been recognized as a Massachusetts Rising Star in 2009, 2010 and 2011. He earned a J.D. at The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and a B.A., Williams College.

Clayton M. Jones, Treasurer – Wunderlich Securities Mr. Jones is a Managing Director at the Richmond, Virginia office of Wunderlich Securities in their Investment Banking team. Over the course of his investment banking career, which included senior roles at Anderson & Strudwick and Ferris, Baker Watts, he has been involved in over 15 public and private financings which raised in excess of $1 billion. Mr. Jones also structured and underwritten 25+ debt and equity transactions, representing in excess of $500 million of transaction value, in the Energy Industry with GE Energy Financial Services. Mr. Jones began his career at the defense contracting firm BAE Systems North America as a Strategy and Acquisition Analyst. Mr. Jones also served as an active duty Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army for six years. Mr. Jones is licensed by FINRA as a General Securities Representative (Series 7, 79 & 63). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in environmental science from The United States Military Academy and an MBA from William and Mary.

Members

Aaron M. Bates– Alliance Bernstein Global Wealth Management Aaron Bates is a Principal in Bernstein Global Wealth Management's Boston office. Between 2005 and 2009, Bates relocated to London to launch the firm's Global Private Client practice in Europe; he was appointed a Principal in 2008. Previously based in the firm's New York City office, he was responsible for oversight of the Northeast US Private Client services group and served as an analyst in the Private Client Executive Group reporting on trends in the international high net-worth marketplace to aid in the strategic development of the firm's practice. Prior to AllianceBernstein, Mr. Bates served in the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Office of the US Trade Representative; he was twice selected to represent the United States at the German Marshall Fund's Conference on Transatlantic Relations. In 2007, Dow Jones named him one of the Top 40 under 40 in Europe. Bates serves on the board of directors for Shelter Legal Services, the community advisory board for WGBH Boston and is a member of Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs). Bates received a BA in International Affairs from George Washington University.

David M. Bizar, Esq.– Seyfarth Shaw, LLP Mr. Bizar is a partner in the Boston office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Mr. Bizar represents national and federal savings banks, financial services companies and other businesses in high-stakes disputes in the civil courts and before government authorities challenging the legality of their products and services, corporate practices and regulatory adherence. Mr. Bizar also prosecutes and defends creditor and debtor's rights suits in and outside of bankruptcy. Mr. Bizar has defended leading finance and other Fortune 100 companies in more than 20 consumer class actions, and has served as national or regional steering counsel in a number of cases.

From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Bizar served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) with the 1st Cavalry Division, and was attached to the 4th Infantry Division. In 1996, Mr. Bizar deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division during Operation Desert Strike to the Emirate of Kuwait, where he served as the legal counsel to the commander and was awarded The Army Achievement Medal for meritorious service. He is presently serving a three-year appointment to the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel, which liaises with the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and others to promote the delivery of legal services to military personnel and their families worldwide. Mr. Bizar earned a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, and a B.S. from Northeastern University, cum laude.

Jennifer Glanville– Boston Beer Company Jennifer Glanville is the Brewery Manager at The Boston Beer Company, brewers of Samuel Adams. She is responsible for innovation and new beer development, production and research and development brewing, sourcing unique ingredients, brewery marketing, brewery events, visitor's center and museum and sales, consumer, wholesaler and account training and education. She has been with the Boston Beer Company since 2001. Ms. Glanville is a graduate of Mount Holyoke, Doemens Brewing School in Munich, Germany and Babson's F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Matthew C. Hurley, Esq.– Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, PCMr. Hurley is a partner in the litigation department of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. He has extensive experience representing companies in complex business disputes in federal and state courts throughout the country and before arbitration panels. Mr. Hurley previously served as a special assistant district attorney as part of a firm-sponsored program with the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. During his time in the D.A.’s office, Matt prosecuted over 100 criminal matters and tried 12 jury cases. In addition to his law practice, Matt serves as the Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Southborough, MA. Before attending law school, Matt served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He received the Navy Achievement Medal for exemplary performance during the Persian Gulf War and the Navy Commendation Medal for superior performance of duty during a three-year tour on the U.S.S. Biddle (CG-34). Matt is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts. He is a member of the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He earned his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross (1989) and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law (1996).

Kristen Kuliga, Esq.– K Sports & Entertainment, LLC Kristen Kuliga is the Principal and Owner of K Sports & Entertainment, LLC in Boston, MA, a full-service sports and entertainment management and marketing firm. Prior to K Sports, Kristen was a partner at Altus Marketing & Management and Paid, Inc. in Boston, MA.

Kristen is one of approximately 30 females certified by the NFLPA as a contract advisor (out of approximately 1,000 registered NFL agents) and is the female that represents the most NFL players. She was the first woman to negotiate a starting NFL quarterback's contract, having negotiated Doug Flutie's original $33 million contract with the San Diego Chargers. She currently represents a number of NFL players in their contract negotiations throughout the league. In addition, Kristen works with corporations to develop their sports marketing initiatives. Kristen is well versed in the NFL/NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement and teaches about the history and structure of the Collective Bargaining Agreement as an Adjunct Professor of Sports Law at Suffolk University Law School and was an Adjunct Professor at UMass Amherst. Kristen is a cum laude graduate of both the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Suffolk University Law School.

Captain Mary Jo Majors, Nurse Corps, USN (Ret.) – South Cove Community Health Center

Brian McLaughlin, Jr., Esq.
– Attorney at LawBrian McLaughlin Jr. is the owner and sole proprietor of Brian McLaughlin LLC. His practice focuses heavily on family law, including divorce, paternity and child support. In addition to family law, Mr. McLaughlin regularly takes unemployment benefits and special needs education cases. Mr. McLaughlin is committed to pro bono work and has successfully resolved cases for both the Volunteer Lawyers Project and Women's Bar Foundation. He believes in the importance for quality legal representation for all and regularly serves as the Volunteer Lawyer of the Day at the Suffolk Probate and Family Court. Mr. McLaughlin currently serves on the Family Law and Pro Bono Steering Committees at the Boston Bar Association and holds the position of Civil Rights Liaison to the New Lawyers Section. Brian earned a B.A. from Boston College and holds a J.D. from Boston College Law School. His article Not Your Average First Year appeared in the July 2011 edition of the Massachusetts Lawyers Journal.

Steven Sheinkopf– Yale Appliance & Lighting Steven Sheinkopf is CEO of Yale Appliance and Lighting, one of the premier retail appliance establishments in New England. Under Mr. Sheinkopf's leadership, Yale has been rated Best of Boston for 10 years running for its impressive selection, easy comparison shopping, and exceptional overall customer service. Yale has also been selected as a "Best Place to Work" by the Boston Business Journal. Mr. Sheinkopf is a graduate of Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business and participates on various boards in addition to that of SLS, including Stop Handgun Violence and the New England Appliance Group.

Robert Sheridan, Esq.– Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, PCRobert Sheridan is an associate at the Boston office of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, PC where he practices in the firm’s Litigation Section. His practice encompasses a wide variety of litigation matters including complex business litigation, misappropriation of trade secrets, class action defense, attorney malpractice, securities litigation, and allegations of unfair and deceptive business practices. As part of his litigation practice, Rob also has experience representing and counseling employers with respect to noncompetition/nonsolicitation agreements (enforcement and defense) and defending against discrimination claims. Rob has experience representing a wide range of clients from small privately held companies to large multinational public companies.

Prior to joining Mintz Levin, Rob was a Corporate Financial Analyst at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin where he successfully completed mergers and acquisitions and prepared opinions for a variety of financial institutions. Rob earned his B.A. from Yale University and holds his J.D., magna cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School. He is also a member of the Massachusetts bar and is admitted to practice in federal court for the District of Massachusetts.

Wendy B. Silverman, Esq., Board Member & Past-President (2008-2011) – State Street Bank & Trust Company Ms. Silverman is Vice President and Senior Counsel at State Street Bank and Trust Company. Prior to joining State Street, Ms. Silverman was an associate in the Corporate practice at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. where her practice focused on venture capital financings, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, securities compliance, and general corporate matters. Ms. Silverman also represents non-profit organizations on a pro bono basis relating to general corporate matters, as well as individuals in domestic violence and immigration cases. Ms. Silverman served as a law clerk to the Honorable Reginald C. Lindsay of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert G. Flanders, Jr. of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. During law school, Ms. Silverman served as a legal intern to the Honorable Bruce M. Selya of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and as a legal intern to the Honorable Reginald C. Lindsay of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Ms. Silverman received her B.A., cum laude, from Providence College and earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School.

Jonathan Sym– The Evermedia Group, Inc. Mr. Sym is Chief Executive Officer of The Evermedia Group, Inc. and a U.S. Navy veteran. Lieutenant Commander Sym received his commission in the U.S. Navy in 1999. He was recalled to active duty in 2003 and deployed to serve with NATO forces in support of Kosovo Operations and to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and continues to serve in the Navy Reserve.

The Evermedia Group, Inc., with its wholly owned subsidiaries Evermedia Biometrics Corporation and System Technology Solutions develops biometric-based identification solutions for military and commercial applications as well as providing engineering, security other defense contracting services to the U.S. federal government. Mr. Sym oversees all operations of the company including corporate finance, government affairs, mergers and acquisitions, and business development. Mr. Sym earned his B.S. from Boston University's School of Management and attended graduate school at Harvard University.