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Local Voices

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley Staff Attorney Kyle Steller Receives 2014 Rising Star Award

WHITE PLAINS, NY - May 12, 2014…Legal Services of the Hudson Valley congratulates Staff Attorney, Kyle Steller, J.D./MBA, on being selected by the New York Law Journal as one of its forty-two 2014 Rising Stars, in company with attorneys from some of the country’s most prestigious law firms.  

An esteemed panel of twenty jurors reviewed more than 230 nominations of attorneys aged 40 and under who have established a record of accomplishments and demonstrated that they are top contributors to the practice of law and their communities.

Profiles of all Rising Stars will appear in a New York Law Journal special section on Monday, June 9, 2014. The attorneys will be honored at an event on Monday, June 16 at Manhattan Penthouse, 80 5th Ave., New York, N.Y., from 6 to 9 p.m.                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ms. Steller, who works in Legal Services of the Hudson Valley’s Poughkeepsie office and serves clients throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley, was nominated for her work on behalf of vulnerable and marginalized elders. Over the past year, she has spearheaded Legal Services of the Hudson Valley’s collaboration with The Mediation Center of Dutchess County’s Coalition on Elder Abuse in Dutchess County.

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The older adult populations of our seven-county service area are experiencing significant growth, creating a rapidly increasing need for high-quality legal services for seniors of all income levels.  As the legal needs of our aging population expand, so too must the capacity of our civil legal assistance programs to respond – which, in part, is why the community partnership between Legal Services of the Hudson Valley and The Mediation Center of Dutchess County’s Coalition on Elder Abuse was formed.

Ms. Steller handles 150 cases impacting between 225 – 450 family members each year. In partnership with the Mediation Center of Dutchess County’s Coalition on Elder Abuse, she served 50 seniors over the last year, across the range of our practice areas. She helps clients with issues including Medicaid and Medicare benefits; health insurance; permanency planning; home care; long term care; nursing home, assisted living and senior housing powers of attorney; guardianships; conservatorships; wills and trusts; protection from physical and emotional abuse; and consumer fraud and exploitation.  The 50 individuals she helped since May 2013 through this partnership represent a 17% increase in our Elder Law Unit’s caseload over the previous year. As Legal Services of the Hudson Valley and The Mediation Center of Dutchess County continue to do community outreach on this program, the number of seniors identified as needing LSHV’s assistance continues to grow.

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Through our partnership with The Mediation Center of Dutchess County, and Ms. Steller’s work, seniors who were otherwise unlikely to come to Legal Services of the Hudson Valley or unaware of the programs it offers, have found the help and empowerment they need.

“With the rapidly growing senior population, the work of staff attorney Kyle Steller and our Elder Unit is more vital than ever before. We are very proud to have Kyle’s exceptional work, and the work of Legal Services of the Hudson Valley’s Elder Unit, recognized by this New York Law Journal honor,” said Legal Services of the Hudson Valley CEO Barbara Finkelstein.

Ms. Steller is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, where she was a Presidential Scholar, with an undergraduate degree in economics/finance and a Masters of Business Administration degree. She received her J.D. from Western New England College School of Law. She is affiliated with the New York State Bar Association, Westchester County Bar Association, New York County Lawyers Association, Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, and the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.

Read more about this award: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202653397981/2014-Rising-Stars#ixzz30TWyZiv1.

For information on Legal Services of the Hudson Valley’s programs, visit www.lshv.org.

About Legal Services of the Hudson Valley

The mission of Legal Services of the Hudson Valley is to provide free, high quality counsel in civil matters for poor and low-income individuals and families who cannot afford to pay an attorney where basic human needs are at stake. 

With the gap separating those who can and cannot afford legal representation widening each day, we work hard to engage as many allies as possible in this vital mission.

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley is the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services to all seven counties of the Lower and Mid-Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan).

We are the recipient of Legal Services Corporation funding for the region and provide a full array of services to low-income individuals and families to meet the legal needs for “essentials of life” and preserve the stability of client households.

Provision of civil legal services is our principal activity. The work we do each day provides justice to thousands of our neighbors who have nowhere else to turn.  

Our funding empowers us to:

  • Save children from neglect;
  • Protect women from domestic violence;
  • Defend seniors against abuse;
  • Serve veterans on the home front;
  • Support the rights of the disabled;
  • Keep families in their homes.

With enough funding to meet demand, we could serve thousands more – ensuring fairness and closing the ’Justice Gap.’ 


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