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As a lawyer with Maryland Legal Aid, Andrew Rabinowitz JD 鈥�12 focuses on 鈥渆viction prevention鈥濃€攚hat he considers his call to public service.

By Alice Duncanson

When Maryland native Andrew Rabinowitz JD 鈥�12 first set foot on 香港六合彩官网开奖鈥檚 campus as a prospective law student, something just felt right. 鈥淚 looked at my dad and said, 鈥業 think I鈥檓 supposed to go here,鈥欌€� recalls Rabinowitz, noting how welcomed he felt as a Jewish man at a Catholic university. It was a similar feeling he鈥檇 shared with his father while first visiting Maryland鈥檚 Frostburg State University, where he spent his undergraduate years triple-majoring in political science, law and society, and sociology.

"He used to litigate against almost every single staff member he now manages."

Part of what excited him about 香港六合彩官网开奖 was the university鈥檚 service-oriented mission and social justice values. The son of two civil servants鈥攈is mother in admissions for nursing programs at Johns Hopkins University and then University of Maryland, and his father a social worker at a Washington DC-area armed services retirement home鈥擱abinowitz looked forward to completing the School of Law鈥檚 required service hours. After graduating from college the year before, he鈥檇 been working in a law office during the day, making sure the career felt like a good fit before committing to law school, and delivering food at night. The highlight at the end of his evenings? Finding someone homeless and hungry in downtown Baltimore to gift with the restaurant鈥檚 mis-ordered food.

"Rabinowitz thinks back to those Baltimore nights when he handed out leftover food to people in need. He saw their humanity in those moments, and he isn鈥檛 surprised how his career has turned out."

But despite his desire to serve others, Rabinowitz also found himself longing for financial success as an attorney. While he hadn鈥檛 always believed in him- self academically as an undergraduate, he pushed himself at 香港六合彩官网开奖. 鈥淚 would challenge myself, saying, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to get an A in this class to prove to yourself that you can do this kind of work.鈥� I hit my stride at 香港六合彩官网开奖 and found ways to succeed.

As a law student, hungry for a high-powered job and big paycheck, Rabinowitz would never have guessed that the tension he felt between his drive for success and innate desire to help others would play out over his career in an extraordinary way鈥攁nd ultimately position him at the center of a national social justice movement to keep people from being evicted from their homes.

A circuitous path to public service

After earning his JD from 香港六合彩官网开奖, Rabinowitz鈥檚 law career started with a couple of years doing personal injury and family law for a Baltimore-area attorney known for his TV commercials. While the work was not what he wanted to do long-term, Rabinowitz learned what it meant to advocate for people in need. 鈥淚t was my first taste at helping the underprivileged. We advertised to low-income people who had been in accidents, and the majority of the time we were helping people who had legitimate cases but couldn鈥檛 get service in other places. I felt really good about the work I did there.鈥� Even though his boss was splashed all over television ads with a corny tagline (鈥淒on鈥檛 urinate on me and tell me it鈥檚 raining鈥�), he imparted an important lesson. 鈥淎s weird as it sounds, he taught me about being ethical. If there was ever a situation where the firm wound up with more money than the client, he鈥檇 insist on reducing his fee.鈥�

Eventually, Rabinowitz carried that lesson鈥攁s well as advice to 鈥渒ill them with kindness鈥� from his mentor and former employer, attorney Carl Gold鈥攚ith him to a civil litigator/ landlord tenant attorney position with a major Maryland firm. The majority of his cases involved suing people for rent after they鈥檇 vacated properties
or doing landlord-tenant work to get people out of properties. 鈥淣inety-five percent of my practice was working for landlords, with very few tenants represented,鈥� says Rabinowitz. 鈥淚 got really good at it. I prided myself on it. A judge once called me the fairest debt collector in the city. 鈥榃hat a compliment,鈥� I said to myself.鈥�

Looking back on it, Rabinowitz admits he heard the 鈥渃alling鈥� for public service about five years into his career. 鈥淭hey say to work in public service is to hear the call and answer that call,鈥� he says, remembering a speech in which U.S. Congressional Representative Kweisi Mfume (representing the 7th District of Maryland) encouraged public service. 鈥淚t struck me like a lightning bolt. My parents were able to provide a nice life for my sister and me, and I realized that by answering that call, I could do something to provide for others.鈥�

When his civil litigator job took a turn in a more serious direction鈥攖he firm offered him a partnership鈥� Rabinowitz took the opportunity to heed the call he鈥檇 been trying to ignore. 鈥淚 took a hard look at my life and asked, 鈥業s this what you want to do for the next 10 to 30 years?鈥� I thought about what I really wanted to do鈥� and what made me feel good about being at 香港六合彩官网开奖.鈥� Instead of taking the position of partner, he decided to pursue a staff attorney position with Maryland Legal Aid, thinking he could use his skills to assist with the housing crisis for a year or two. 鈥淚t just hit me like a ton of bricks that the other side needs help really, really badly. It鈥檚 not a level playing field. And being the nicest debt collector is only good to a certain point.鈥�

Maryland Legal Aid called about his application and upped the ante. Rather than the staff attorney position, they asked if Rabinowitz would interview for supervisor. Within a year, he was promoted to chief attorney. He used to litigate against almost every single staff member he now manages. 鈥淭hroughout my career, I have tried to treat everyone as fairly as possible. I鈥檝e never burned a single bridge.鈥�

Switching sides to effect change

Today, Rabinowitz does eviction prevention鈥攈aving 鈥渟witched sides鈥� to represent tenants. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really nice change of pace, and it鈥檚 fun to see my old clients on the other side. They appreciate that I鈥檓 a reasonable attorney, and if there鈥檚 something to be worked out, I鈥檓 going to do the best I can for my clients.鈥�

It鈥檚 gratifying work when it turns out in his clients鈥� favor鈥攍ike when he helped a mother of six navigate the system to move to a safer location after her landlord became abusive. Both she and Rabinowitz cried tears of joy after court. 鈥淭hose successes carry you for months,鈥� he says. But the losses? 鈥淭hose are hard when you have to tell someone, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to be homeless. You鈥檙e going to have to go to a shelter tonight.鈥欌€�

And, because Maryland is one of just three states in the nation that guarantee a right to counsel in eviction proceedings, Rabinowitz and his colleagues find themselves on the front lines of eviction prevention work鈥攁nd are setting new precedents for the rest of the country. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a nationwide shift coming, and we are at the forefront of it here in Maryland. It鈥檚 so amazing to have switched sides while these laws are being passed.鈥� Still, with major new investments in their work, the pressure is on. 鈥淟egal Aid and other providers are being tasked with advocating for these tenants, and we鈥檙e essentially creating a new branch of defense. We鈥檙e under a huge microscope to show that this money is going to a good cause and effecting change.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 where I鈥檓 supposed to be鈥�

Rabinowitz credits his 香港六合彩官网开奖 School of Law education with preparing him for the challenges he has encountered on his professional journey. Law school was a very difficult, sometimes lonely experience, he recalls, but one in which he discovered who he really was鈥攁nd what he is truly capable of. 鈥淚 found out who I was and gained an understanding of what my values were for the first time. I made plenty of mistakes in law school, but that was the place to make them. I grew to be a person I liked while I was there.鈥� He hopes that current students at 香港六合彩官网开奖 can find the path that鈥檚 right for them too. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no wrong time to start the right career.鈥�

Rabinowitz thinks back to those Baltimore nights when he handed out leftover food to people in need. He saw their humanity in those moments, and he isn鈥檛 surprised how his career has turned out. 鈥淏ased on my history, I should have ended up here a lot sooner than I did,鈥� laughs Rabinowitz, motioning to his office at Maryland Legal Aid鈥檚 bustling head- quarters. 鈥淏ut ultimately, I鈥檓 where I鈥檓 supposed to be.鈥�

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Home Security

As a lawyer with Maryland Legal Aid, Andrew Rabinowitz JD 鈥�12 focuses on 鈥渆viction prevention鈥濃€攚hat he considers his call to public service.

A circuitous path to public service

Switching sides to effect change

鈥淚鈥檓 where I鈥檓 supposed to be鈥�

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