Client Testimonial

Barbara Lee - The Work of Practitioner Toy

It is all too often that clients complain about their lawyers. They were either too expensive or never returned phone calls or did not do a good job, they gripe.

But 28-year old Maria Toy, who through City University of New York School of Law participates in a practitioner network consisting of like-minded peers, gets nothing but praise from her clients.

"Where other attorneys were charging me double for changing my name after I became a naturalized U.S. citizen, Maria was able to charge me a lot less," says Barbara Lee, who hired Toy a year ago. Lee, who tried to change her name by herself, ran up against many roadblocks. But to get an attorney was too expensive for this recent immigrant. After getting to know Toy in church sometime in 2001, she realized Toy was extremely capable and affordable and hired her to do the name change. 

"She really impressed me," says Lee. "She was really on top of things. I didn't even have to call her to ask how things were going. She volunteered to call me and constantly communicated to me the status of my name change," she says. "Despite of her youth and inexperience, she treated me very professionally and was an extremely reliable and responsible lawyer."

Toy is able to do good while doing well as a result of her participation in the practitioner network. The practitioner networks, which were created at CUNY Law School, University of Maryland Law School, and Northeastern University Law School, are part of the Law School Consortium Project. The Project aims to increase access to justice by supporting law schools to expand their educational and institutional mission beyond graduation to include support and service to solo and small-firm practitioners who are committed to serving low and moderate-income individuals and communities.

Margarita Hernandez, who met Toy while Hernandez was a student at Baruch College, agrees. "Toy researched my immigration questions and got back to me with answers very quickly," she says. Hernandez, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico, is one of many Baruch College students who get their questions answered for free each week by network attorneys, such as Toy. Hernandez, whose boyfriend is an illegal immigrant, could not afford to hire a lawyer but wanted to know if there was any way to change his status. Toy researched this question for her and unfortunately, despite her efforts, was not able to bring her good news. 

"She did an honest job and with a down to earth and caring manner. Even though she is a lawyer, she is not obnoxious or uppity," points out Hernandez. "It gives me more trust as a student to go to someone close to our age. And because she was recently a student herself, she understands the hardships students face," she says.

Toy is equally as loved by her older clients as she is by her younger ones. John Wong, whose 58-year old mother was represented by Toy in a wrongful termination mediation, says Toy was hired because of her caring and attentive manner. "My mom felt completely comfortable and relaxed to have the case taken care of by Maria. It is very rare to get the type of person who really cares about what they are doing and really wants to help people," explains Wong.

Wong, claims that his mother, who was working as a doctor at a nursing home, was unfairly let go by her employer a couple of years ago due to her age and race. According to Wong, his mother first hired another lawyer who wanted to sue, but soon after became unresponsive and uninterested in the case.

After speaking with Toy, Wong says his mom felt that Toy cared about her situation and was willing to work hard to remedy it. "Maria has a lot of compassion for people, especially for the plight of people who are in trouble," says Wong. "She really listened and cared. She made my mom feel like her case was important."

After Toy was hired, she presented different ways Wong could proceed with her grievance. Wong chose to mediate the dispute because to litigate would have taken years of time and emotional investment in addition to significant expense, says Wong. His mother wanted closure and chose the quicker, less contentious route. 

"My mom was able to air out her grievances and get a result that was satisfactory for her in a manner more consistent with her personality," says Wong. "While the other lawyer cut his losses and got out after thinking that he could not bring a long, drawn out case, Maria took on the case so she could help my mom and not solely for the money." 

Written by Victoria Rivkin, a freelance writer in New York City