Posted April 22, 20143:06 pm
In the first quarter of 2014, the American Immigration Lawyers Association sought to recognize an individual who promotes pro bono legal assistance. This person may be an AILA member, but did not have to be, and may work for a non-profit organization, foundation, or law firm.
Among those selected was long-time Legal Aid volunteer, Stacy Cozart.
Stacy Cozart is a private attorney practicing immigration law with Sharon & Kalnoki, LLC in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to her own practice and pro bono cases, Stacy devotes endless hours to promoting and assisting in pro bono efforts in Ohio. She coordinates, oversees, and manages refugee advice clinics with Legal Aid in Cleveland. She also helps coordinate Citizenship Day. Stacy is a member of the C. Lionel Jones Pro Bono Immigration Committee, which works with Legal Aid to evaluate and refer pro bono immigration cases to Cleveland-area practitioners. These are cases that Legal Aid cannot handle because of restrictions on its funding. This referral work has meant that many low-income immigrants were able to receive competent representation that they would not otherwise have. Stacy also has spent many hours finding pro bono attorneys who can represent immigrants in immigration court cases in Cleveland. She helped create a program to pair up Cincinnati attorneys and Cleveland attorneys, which allow the Cincinnati attorneys to prepare cases and Cleveland attorneys to attend hearings. In addition to her direct referral and placement work on individual cases and her work coordinating clinics, Stacy is the Pro Bono Liaison for the Ohio Chapter, and she has served as a long-time member of the Pro Bono Services Committee of AILA National.