Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship
Jessica Radbord Selected As Vermont’s Second Poverty Law Fellow
Jessica Radbord has begun her work as Vermont’s second Poverty Law Fellow. Ms. Radbord was chosen from more than one hundred applicants from all over the country as the 2010 Vermont Poverty Law Fellow. She is a 2010 graduate of Columbia Law School, where she was a Kent Scholar and a public interest award winner. She worked extensively in public service before and during law school.
The Poverty Law Fellowship was launched in 2008 by the Vermont Access to Justice Coalition and is funded through generous contributions from more than 100 law firms, individual attorneys, corporations and organizations. So far, the Access to Justice Campaign has raised almost $200,000. The first Vermont Poverty Law Fellow, Grace Pazdan, focused her efforts on addressing the foreclosure crisis. Over the course of her two year fellowship, she represented more than 125 individual Vermonters and their families and was able to preserve the homes of many of those families. Working with attorneys at Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Law Line of Vermont, she helped identify needed reforms in Superior Court foreclosure practice and litigated cases across the state, including in the Supreme Court. Ms. Pazdan played a key role in drafting and working toward the passage of the Foreclosure Mediation law. This allowed the courts to require the parties to a foreclosure to mediate their issues and try to reach an agreement that will allow homeowners to save their home.
Ms. Radbord’s Fellowship will focus on promoting safe, affordable rental housing in Vermont. She will focus her efforts on raising public awareness about this important issue and addressing gaps in the systems in an effort to improve the safety and well-being of families and children throughout Vermont. “More than half of the rental housing stock in Vermont was built more than 50 years ago, and studies have shown that over a quarter of the rental units in the state are in substandard condition. I look forward to helping our clients and their children secure their rights to habitable living conditions,” said Ms. Radbord. “As the Poverty Law Fellow, I will be able to address the policy issues presented by our cases in addition to providing direct service to clients, which is an amazing opportunity for a new lawyer. I am truly grateful to members of the Vermont Bar Association who made this possible.”
Campaign 2010 Report and Donor List
2012 Campaign
Co-chairs:
- Sam Hoar
- Scott McGee
Campaign Cabinet:
- Addison County
Tad Powers - Bennnington County
Rob Woolmington - Caledonia County
Chad Hickey - Chittenden County
Bud Allen - Essex & Orleans Counties
Greg Howe - Franklin & Grand Isle Counties
Megan Monahan - Lamoille County
Mark Kolter
Chandler Matson - Orange County
Alison Ericson - Rutland County
Erin Gallivan - Washington County
Bernie Lambek - Windham County
Jean Giddings - Windsor County
Sue Buckholz
Donate to the Fellowship
For online donations to the Fellowship, please click the link below.
Donate Now with “Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship” Designation
To donate by check, make your check payable to Vermont Bar Foundation- ATJ and mail to:
Vermont Bar Foundation
PO Box 1170
Montpelier, VT 05601-1170.
Thank you for donating to the Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship.
