Lori O’Brien is a Deputy Director at Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. (LawNY). In that role, she is charged with the management of the Rochester office and development functions across LawNY’s 14 county service area. LawNY provides free civil legal services to eligible community members in the areas of government benefits, eviction prevention, fair housing, health law, employment law, and elder law. In addition, LawNY provides holistic legal services to specific populations with expanded civil needs. Lori has worked for LawNY since 2007, and is a past presenter at national, state, and regional conferences on issues relating to government benefits, emergency services, and community partnering models. Lori was the recipient of the Daily Record’s Leaders in Law Award (2020), an ATHENA Young Professional Award finalist (2019), the Daily Record’s Excellence in Law Unsung Hero Award (2017), and the NYSBA Denison Ray Civil Legal Services Staff Attorney Award for the development of partnerships that address the legal and non-legal needs of community members (2014).