“Lawyers have a really powerful platform, and I believe it is both an obligation and a privilege for us to use this platform and our skills to help people in need.” – Sarah Roscioli, Associate, Nixon Peabody
Nixon Peabody associate Sarah Roscioli first met Anna* at one of the Clearinghouse’s Legal Clinics.
Anna was seeking legal assistance after a bad experience moving into her first apartment, which she had initially only seen in pictures. When she arrived to move in the unit was in disarray, with faulty electric and an untreated rat problem.
Anna requested assistance from her landlord multiple times, but he was unreliable and often unresponsive. After a couple of weeks he told her he was not going to address the issues, and that if she was unhappy she could move out. Anna decided to move out, only to find he would not refund the $2,300 she had given him for first and last month’s rent and a security deposit, even though she had lived in the apartment for less than a month.
Sarah researched landlord-tenant law and, with guidance from clinic mentor Dick Bauer and Nixon Peabody partner Sarah Connolly, drafted a demand letter to Anna’s former landlord, who by then had left the state and moved to Texas. After receiving the letter, the landlord quickly refunded all of Anna’s money. Anna has since found stable housing elsewhere and is happy she was able to recoup such a large sum of her savings.
*Client’s name has been changed to protect privacy.
