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.