Steptoe associate Kevin Fincel has been named a recipient of the Children’s Law Center Clinic Attorney of the Year Award by the Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP). The award honors Fincel’s exceptional pro bono service to teens and young adults with limited access to legal services. Justice W. Scott Bales of the Arizona Supreme Court and former Chief Justice Frank X. Gordon, Jr. presented the award to Fincel at the VLP’s For Love of Justice reception on June 13 at the Phoenix School of Law in Arizona.
The VLP, co-sponsored by Community Legal Services (CLS) and the Maricopa County Bar Association, established the Children’s Law Center (CLC) in 1998 to address the unmet legal needs of children. The VLP increases access to the civil justice system for low-income persons by recruiting, training, and mentoring lawyers who extend services to those who cannot be served by CLS due to limited resources. The CLC collaborates with several service organizations for children to increase legal services to at-risk children.
Fincel, a litigator based in Steptoe’s Phoenix office, was recognized for his work with the Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development, a private nonprofit agency founded in 1972 to provide emergency shelter and services for runaway and homeless youth. The mission of the center is to provide a safe space for collaboration with adolescents and young adults in the community who are vulnerable or experiencing homelessness.
Since 2010, Fincel has provided services to teens and young adults who are homeless or have been declared dependent by the courts in a wide variety of matters including emancipation of minors, custody, immigration, employment, and child support. He provides young people with advice and resources that offer opportunities for them to develop their full potential.
