In Memoriam
Jill Ann Boskey
(January 13, 1947 - January 3, 1999)
Jill Ann Boskey was undoubtedly one of the brightest and most dedicated lawyers ever to have practiced disability law. During her relatively brief legal career, from 1987 to 1998, she established a legendary reputation for her tenacious advocacy on behalf of the poorest of the poor: people with disabilities with little or no financial resources. Jill always put her clients first. Working day and night, she fought for every penny on their behalf, while still finding the time to litigate pressing legal issues in federal and state court.
In March 1997, to escape the restrictions on practice imposed by the Legal Services Corporation on legal services advocates, Jill created her own not-for-profit poverty law organization with Chris Bowes. The organization was dubbed CeDAR: the Center for Disability Advocacy Rights. Jill’s vision was to provide the highest quality legal services for people with disabilities in an office free of political or bureaucratic restrictions. To this end, Jill provided the initial funding out of her own pocket until grant money could be obtained. In its first two years, under Jill’s guidance, CeDAR was able to obtain funding from the Stern Family Fund, New York Community Trust, New York Foundation, National Association of Public Interest Lawyers, the New York State Interest on Lawyer Account Fund (IOLA), the New York State Disability Advocacy Program, as well as over $150,000 in Equal Access to Justice Act attorneys’ fees excised from the Social Security Administration and some $50,000 in individual donations. During that period, CeDAR provided legal representation to over 600 individual clients and served as counsel in several class action lawsuits, including the nationwide class action Ford, et. al. v. Apfel, which challenged constitutional adequacy of SSI non-disability notices.
Despite her death on January 3, 1999, the impact of Jill’s work was posthumously evident when, in February and March 1999, word came that Jill had won three important cases: two in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Rosa v. Callahan, 168 F.3d 72 (2nd Cir. 1999), requiring the commissioner to introduce affirmative evidence of ability to work at step five of the sequential evaluation; Tejada v. Apfel, 167 F.3d 770 (2nd Cir. 1999), forcing the SSA to consider treating podiatrists' reports; and one case in the Southern District of New York, Rivera v. Apfel, 60 Soc. Sec. Rep. Ser. 238 (March 15, 1999), holding that a treating physician’s report is entitled to controlling weight solely for calculation of benefits. These decisions were truly remarkable. As one friend said upon reading the Rosa decision, “I don’t believe in an afterlife, but I’m willing to make an exception just this once.”
Jill never turned anyone away: whether it was a client in need of legal assistance or a hot meal, a legal organization in need of a trainer, or an advocate seeking advice. And while Jill is gone, CeDAR lives on, employing three full-time and two part-time attorneys to continue the work that Jill began.
CeDAR is but one of Jill’s many legacies.