Every month, Southern Arizona Legal Aid’s Volunteer
Lawyers Program (VLP) recognizes an attorney for his
or her efforts and contributions to the program.
The VLP’s
monthly award is a distinct honor: of the 1220
attorneys who volunteer their time
with the VLP, only 12 receive the VLP’s Outstanding
Pro Bono Attorney award
each year.
Melvin Cohen was selected to receive the Outstanding
Pro Bono Attorney of the
Month Award for December 2011.
Mr. Cohen has been
a member of the VLP
since 1986.
Over the course of
the last twenty-five years Mr. Cohen has
assisted clients with consumer, contract, real
property and mortgage
foreclosure issues.
Recently Mr. Cohen
volunteered to work on a real
property matter that involved a family that had been
displaced from their home
after a neighbor disconnected their sewer line.
Mr. Cohen met with
the clients,
conducted research, consulted with opposing counsel,
drafted a potential
settlement agreement, and advised and consulted with
the client.
The case
came to a conclusion when the clients were able,
with Mr. Cohen’s assistance,
to obtain a loan for a new sewer line.
Mr. Cohen
dedicated twenty-two hours
to this matter and as a result of his efforts the
clients were able to make an
informed decision about how to proceed.
They are once
again residing in
their home.
Q & A with Melvin Cohen
Where did you go to College?
I graduated from
the University of Cincinnati
with a B.A. degree in
political science and University of Pittsburgh
School of
Law.
Upon graduation
from law school, we moved to Tucson in the summer of
1973.
What is the history of your practice of law?
I first practiced
as a Deputy
County Attorney in the
Civil Division, then practiced in the firm of Watt &
Cohen,
then with Mesch, Clark &
Rothschild.
My current
practice areas are:
Construction and
Commercial law, Transactions and Litigation.
What drives you to volunteer with VLP?
Being a volunteer
lawyer is a
privilege and opportunity
based upon our status as attorneys.
We have an
obligation to help those
in need.
Other VLP volunteers you’d like to give a shout out
to?
Those who have
contributed to my legal
career include Rose Silver, Howard Watt, Albin
Kreitz,
Emery Barker and Lowell
Rothschild.
Things you do when not working?
When not working, I
volunteer with the
board of Literacy
Connection, Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging,
including conducting the
regular Sabbath and holiday services.
I practice Tai
Chi and enjoy reading a
variety of literature, including mysteries and
ancient
Jewish texts.