States News Service, June 19, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 States News Service

States News Service

June 19, 2007 Tuesday

HEADLINE: NATIONALLY RENOWNED LEGAL SERVICES AND DISABILITY EXPERT APPOINTED TO LEAD IOLA FUND

BYLINE: States News Service

DATELINE: ALBANY, NY

BODY:

The following information was released by the office of the governor of New York:

Governor Eliot Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson today announced the appointment of Edwin J. Lopez-Soto to a three-year term as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Interest on Lawyers Account (IOLA) Fund.

"Ed's more than 25 years of experience advocating for poor New Yorkers seeking Medicaid, Medicare and disability benefits provides him with the critical background and experience necessary to lead the IOLA Fund Board of Trustees," said Governor Spitzer. "Coupled with the recent initiative to increase state revenue for civil legal services, under Ed's leadership, the IOLA Fund will be poised to dramatically expand essential legal services for the poor."

Mr. Lopez-Soto has worked as a training and development specialist with Cornell's Employment and Disability Institute since 2001. In addition, Mr. Lopez-Soto has acted as a consultant to grant-sponsored initiatives such as the Rehabilitation and Research Training Center on the Economic Impact of Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities at Cornell University. He has provided expert guidance and training to federally sponsored regional Rehabilitation Continuing Education Centers (RCEPs).

As an attorney in legal services for more than 20 years, Mr. Lopez-Soto has been involved in many ground-breaking cases that gained federal disability benefits for thousands of New Yorkers. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Cornell Law School.

On May 31, 2007, Governor Spitzer announced new regulations to significantly expand state revenue for civil legal services. The proposed regulations establish new guidelines that require banks to pay significantly increased interest rates on IOLA accounts.

Since 1983, the accumulated interest on such accounts has been used to help fund not-for-profit programs that provide civil legal assistance to approximately three million poor New Yorkers. The IOLA program requires attorneys to deposit funds received from clients either in interest bearing accounts for the benefit of the clients or in interest bearing IOLA accounts, in accordance with Judiciary Law 497. The interest on IOLA accounts is pooled and provides the money for grants made by the Board of Trustees of the IOLA Fund to non-profit civil legal service providers across the state. To date, IOLA has provided more than $154 million in grants for providers of civil legal services to poor New Yorkers, furthering the goal of equal access to justice for all.

As Chair of the Board of the IOLA Fund, Mr. Lopez-Soto will not receive a salary.