Lawyer makes a difference in his job and with Harpur College

Alumnus Nelson Mar has been presented the 2017 medal of distinguished service for Harpur College for his consistent participation with Harpur and Binghamton University.

Awarded for dedicating time to Harpur College students in countless ways, Mar ’94 said that he was “surprised and extremely honored” to hear that he would be one of the recipients. He was presented with the award at the Alumni Association Awards Ceremony in New York City on March 30.

Mar received his bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University after double majoring in history and geography. From there, he went on to get his Juris Doctor (JD) degree and his master’s degree in social work at the University at Buffalo.

“Binghamton [University] was a good fit for me, and it was really because of the financial reasons,” he said. “Having significant loan debt would make it very difficult for me to work in the public interest sector. That was the main reason why I decided to transfer [from University of Michigan].”

Education continues to be an important aspect of Mar’s life; he primarily works as a senior staff attorney at Bronx Legal Services within the education law unit. Additionally, Mar works with Social Security disability cases.

Through the Liberal Arts to Careers Externship (LACE), Mar has had the opportunity to host externs at Bronx Legal Services. LACE provides a select group of Harpur College students with the opportunity to explore career options through shadowing experience at the sponsor’s workplace.

He has also been participating as a site host for the Harpur Law Council Pre-law Public Interest Law Internship Program in the summer for about six or seven years.

“I must say that most of the interns who have come through that program have been excellent and arguably on par with our law interns,” Mar said. “Even though they have not had some of the legal training, they have more than made up for some of those deficiencies with their diligence, passion, and their work ethic. That is not just my opinion, but an opinion shared with my colleagues.”

Because I had such a wonderful experience with the internships that I had while at Binghamton [University], I felt that it was important to provide those same opportunities for current undergraduates.

Nelson Mar ’94

To further his involvement with current Binghamton University undergraduates, Mar has been a guest speaker for the HARP 300 course titled Current Issues in Legal Practice. At some point, Mar said he can see himself getting into teaching, therefore this has been great practice for the future.

“It has been a mutually beneficial experience,” Mar said. “I think it is so important to pass on knowledge and guidance to students who are learning and trying to get into the field. It has been really helpful for me so I can learn how to be a better mentor. At the same time, I know it is extremely helpful for them to hear from someone like me who has been in their shoes and who has insights from practicing law. I think that assistance can be invaluable.”

Mar does not limit himself to assisting students at the University level. His career entails working on cases to support students ranging from elementary through high school.

Mar was the lead attorney on the federal lawsuit, TH et. al. v. Farina et. al, which dealt with administrators within public schools sending disruptive children to the hospital emergency rooms when no medical emergency existed. Mar got involved in the issue back in 2004, and finally filed a case in 2013 after mental health providers working in the South Bronx community had become more intense with advocating for change.

“I’m very proud of the work done with that case because this is a significant issue in New York City. It is also part of the national issue about children being overly disciplined for behaviors that in the past were considered typical childhood behaviors,” Mar said.

The results of this case included policies being enacted in schools within the New York City public school system.

“Now, every school in New York City has to have crisis de-escalation plans in place which surprisingly wasn’t required prior to our lawsuit,” he said. “These crises can happen at any school, and at any time, and for schools to respond effectively they should have a plan. They should be thinking about how to address these situations beforehand instead of operating in crisis mode.”

As a product of the New York City public school system, Mar finds cases surrounding this issue to be pertinent to him and what he has gone through.

His interest in law was sparked by an event that happened at a young age when he moved from Brooklyn to Whitestone, Queens.

“Upon moving into our house, our neighbors decided to throw a block party to tell us that we should leave the neighborhood. They didn’t want Asians in their neighborhood. Of course, they used more colorful language than that,” Mar said.

The discrimination that he endured as an Asian American inspired him to pursue a career in public interest law to fight for social justice. Though he initially went into law with a focus on immigration law and civil rights law, he ended up practicing in the area of education law and still has the opportunity to assist people in their civil rights.

Mar’s advice for not only law students, but all undergraduates, is to pursue your passion.

“I think if you are in a place where you are not really happy, then you are not reaching your potential,” Mar said. “At the same time, I believe people should be open to new opportunities because you never know what you may end up liking or disliking.”

In regards to him staying involved with the campus after graduating more than 20 years ago, Mar said: “If you value the experience that you got in Binghamton, I think it is hard not to be an active alumnus.”