LAW OFFICE OF RICHARD RODRIGUEZ
Profile
Legal Assistant, New York City Legal Aid Society
Case Worker, Covenant House Community Program
Program Director, U.S. Department of Justice Grant
Seasonal Job Service Representative, Massachusetts Division of Unemloyment Assistance
Legal Intern, Merrimack Valley Legal Services
Government: New York City Mayor's Community Service Office
Labor Union: District 65 Health and Safety Unity
Group Project: Fund for the City of New York's Community Court Project
Business: WCBS-TV Stawnion/s Public Relations Office.
Merrimack Valley Legal Services
Attorney Rodriguez served as a law school legal intern with the Merrimack Valley Legal Services (2000-2001), a legal aid program which provides free legal advice and representation in civil legal cases to low-income and elderly residents of Essex County and parts of Middlesex County. His responsibilities included assisting tenants with housing eviction matters and unlawful landlord practices; inspecting tenants’ apartments to determine landlords’ compliance with State Sanitary Code Chapter II: minimum Standards of Fitness for Habitation Compliance (105 CMR 410…) and filing complaints with the Board of Health if necessary; and performing legal research and drafting legal memos for preparation of litigation.
Massachusetts Bar Association Legal Fellowship
Attorney Rodriguez was one of eight law students awarded to do a competitive legal fellowship with the Massachusetts Bar Association (2000). This fellowship involved researching the constitutional implications regarding the conditions of the only women’s prison, which kept female inmates together irrespective of the crime committed in contrast to men who were kept in different prisons depending on the type of crimes executed.
Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development - Division of Unemployment Assistant Program
Recently Attorney Rodriguez worked for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Assistant Program (20012-2013). His responsibilities included interviewing claimants and processing via online applications for Unemployment Insurance Benefits; investigating issues by conducting fact-finding to gather information from claimants and employers and/or their representatives; and adjudicating claims to establish whether claimants are eligible for Unemployment Insurance Benefits.
Lawrence Police Department
Attorney Rodriguez worked for the Lawrence Police Department as the Program Director of the Lawrence Weed and Seed Program (2002-2006). Operation Weed and Seed is a strategy aimed at preventing, controlling, and reducing violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in high crime neighborhoods in Lawrence. His responsibilities included managing a $1.1 million U.S. Department of Justice Grant Project; working in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Essex County District Attorney’s Office and Lawrence Police Department in an innovative, comprehensive multiagency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization; and responding to public records requests and ensuring adherence to open meeting laws.
Covenant House Community Program
From 1995 to 1998 Attorney Rodriguez worked as a Community Worker with Covenant House, a non-profit organization serving at-risk and homeless youth as well as serving family and youth. As a community worker, Attorney Rodriguez was in charge of a caseload of 80-100 clients and had responsibility for developing programs to meet the needs of the clients. Along with staff attorneys, Attorney Rodriguez advocated on behalf of clients having legal issues relating to housing, family, education, immigration and other legal matters.
Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division
For five years Attorney Rodriguez worked as a paralegal with the Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division (1987-1992); a private, not-for-profit legal services organization dedicated to providing quality legal representation to low-income New Yorkers. His responsibilities included assisting in case preparation, pretrial and preparation, both in and outside the courtroom; compiling and analyzing case documents; locating victims and witnesses; assembling trial exhibits; coordinating case schedules with courts, law enforcement officials, witnesses and defense attorneys.
