Archer partners David Edelstein and Douglas Leney have been selected to receive the Equal Justice Medal from Legal Services of New Jersey and the New Jersey Legal Services system.
Specifically, Edelstein is being recognized for his service to clients referred by Northeast New Jersey Legal Services and Leney is being recognized for his service to clients referred by South Jersey Legal Services.
Their recognition as a Major Contributor of Pro Bono Services honors their outstanding commitment to pro bono service and their unwavering support to clients of Legal Services.
The Equal Justice Medal serves as a powerful acknowledgment of the firm’s longstanding partnership with New Jersey’s legal aid organizations, and along with Edelstein and Leney’s individual honors, Archer has also been named a recipient of the Equal Justice Medal and designated as a Major Contributor of Pro Bono Service, specifically those referred by Legal Services of New Jersey.
Under Edelstein’s leadership, the firm provides an expansive scope of pro bono services that ranges from the provision of legal assistance to local, public-interest minded media outlets, to an annual expungement clinic through which eligible individuals may have criminal records expunged thereby removing potential impediments to access to employment, housing, and education, to representation of nonprofit organizations in real estate and land-use matters. In addition to overseeing the firm’s pro bono activities, Edelstein has his own active pro bono practice that primarily focuses on environmental justice matters.
Leney, a member of Archer’s Bankruptcy Group, concentrates his practice in matters involving bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, and debtor/creditor rights. Since 2007, he has been a member of Rutgers University School of Law – Pro Bono Bankruptcy Program. He works with students in a variety of settings. Most of the projects are focused on bankruptcy; community legal education; life planning (medical directives, etc.); international refugee assistance; LGBTQ rights and legal needs; re-entry for returning citizens; and many other areas.
