2.  Founder and managing partner of Allyn &
Fortuna, LLP, Nicholas Fortuna has been
actively practicing complex corporate
litigation for more than 25 years. A
distinguished alumnus of the Touro Law Center,
Nicholas Fortuna developed his legal
background by working directly in the
community.
For nearly 35 years, the Touro Law Center has
worked to engage law students with pressing
issues in the community through the William
Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center
(PAC).

3.  Funded in part by the New York State Courts Access
to Justice Program, the PAC is the only organization
of its kind in the country directly connecting law
students with local nonprofits. The Center for
Restorative Practices, Inc. (a legal branch of Hope for
Youth), is one program under the PAC which works to
stem the “school-to-prison” pipeline that affects
many low-income communities.
The “school-to-prison” phenomenon refers to a trend
in which children from underprivileged backgrounds
are more likely to be prematurely criminalized and
incarcerated for minor school infractions.

4.  According to data compiled by PBS, black
and Latino students are twice as likely not
to graduate high school as white children,
and approximately seven out of ten in-school
arrests or law referrals involve black
or Latino students. In order to fight this
trend, the Center for Restorative Practices
provides advocacy, guidance, and
representative services to the juvenile
minority community, seeking alternatives to
incarceration and expulsion.