LAW PROFESSOR PRESENTS $100,000 GIFT TO THE NEW YORK BAR FOUNDATION
Professor Merril Sobie recently presented The New York Bar Foundation with a $100,000 gift to establish the Merril and Hope Sobie Fund to advance justice for children through the Foundation’s grant program. Professor Sobie is Professor of Law Emeritus at Pace University Elizabeth Haub School of Law.
“The Bar Foundation has successfully advanced children’s rights and interests through generous grants and programs,” said Professor Merril Sobie. “I am happy to support and expand the Foundation’s commitment by establishing this fund.”
“Professor Sobie is an inspiration for everyone concerned for children and families who need to have their legal problems addressed in Family Court,” said Foundation President Carla M. Palumbo. “He has been a stalwart example of bringing issues to the surface through his research and publications. The Foundation is very appreciative of his work, commitment to family and children’s law, and generosity to the Foundation.”
“Prof. Sobie has long been a distinguished leader in the field of family law,” said Stephen P. Younger, 113th President of the New York State Bar Association. As NYSBA President, Younger designated Professor Sobie as reporter for the NYSBA’s Task Force on the Family Court. “He and his wife’s generous donation will help fund important research in this field. It is very much appreciated.”
Professor Sobie teaches Jurisprudence, Children and the Law, Advanced Family Law, and Comparative Family Law at Pace University Elizabeth Haub School of Law. He has authored two books, New York Family Court Practice and The Creation of Juvenile Justice: A History of Children’s Law, has published the official McKinney’s Commentaries to the Family Court Act and the Domestic Relations Law, and has written numerous articles concerning children’s laws.
“Professor Sobie has specialized in family and children’s law for several decades,” said Chair of the Foundation’s Grants Review Committee Lucia Whisenand. “This generous gift is in perfect alignment with the Foundation’s grant program as this is an area in which we receive numerous grant applications on an annual basis. Professor Sobie is a shining example of how someone can combine their passion and resources to make a life changing impact. This gift will have a long-lasting positive impact on the program and those we assist.”
Professor Sobie co-authored the New York State Bar Association Study of the Legal Representation of Children, drafted the official Bar Association Standards and Commentaries for Representing Children, and drafted the New York Juvenile Delinquency Code. He is Past-Chair of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Children and the Law and is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation.
“Professor Sobie has played an extraordinary role in the establishment of the NYSBA Committee on Children in the Law and the Task Force on Family Court,” adds Chair of the Foundation’s Restricted Gifts Committee, Susan Lindenauer. “Making such a significant gift in an area he is passionate about speaks to his commitment to the profession and the Foundation’s mission of making a difference. “