Dedicated to the progress and advancement of all paralegals.
RAP provides in-court assistance to tenants and owners, who are parties to nonpayment proceedings and are appearing without an attorney in the Housing Court, Resolution Part. (Nonpayment proceedings are cases in which an owner/landlord sues a tenant to collect overdue rent) All volunteers are mandated to participate in one 1.5 hrs training provided by The Honorable Fern A. Fisher, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts and Director of the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program, and/or her staff provide the instruction. At the training, students receive a program manual and take part in role playing exercises. Training topics include Housing Court Overview, Basics of Nonpayment Proceedings and Interviewing and Communication Skills. RAP Assistants volunteer will require to commit to a minimum hours in the Resolution Part per year (more information to follow). Students are given flexibility with their schedules and may split their volunteer time into hourly blocks over a period of days or months. The participants will be assigned to a specific borough. While the program runs in the five boroughs, Queens, Bronx, and Brooklyn urgently needs volunteers. Each volunteer will be assigned to one particular Judge and have individual attention and supervision.
Schedule of training sessions:
Monday, October 18 | 3 pm — 4:30 pm Thursday, October 21 | 6 pm — 7:30 pm At the New York County Court House, 111 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013.