We mourn the loss of Sue Ochs,
a friend, colleague and Benchmark alumna. Sue worked as a paralegal and then
attorney at Mass Law Reform in Boston. In the 1980's she moved to San
Francisco and worked for the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County. She opened
her own practice but remained an integral part of the legal services
community.
Throughout the years, Sue took many cases
pro bono because it helped people and communities that she cared about. She
took the hard cases, often winning the "un-winnables."
Sue generously shared her time and talent
with legal services advocates including Benchmark. She advised participants
at our public benefits training. She helped create training problems that
were realistic and useful for learning. She wrote materials for our
training.
In the best tradition of the legal
profession, Sue contributed to the common good and carried out her work in
expert fashion. She loved researching and analyzing the law and it showed in
her work. If you wanted the best advice on handling a law and motion matter
or an administrative agency appeal, you'd ask Sue.
In the truest sense of the word, Sue was an
artist of the law.
She had many other talents such as painting
and drawing. She donated a beautiful pencil drawing to be auctioned at our
annual celebration. We can't bring ourselves to part with it now.
Goodbye, friend. And from all of us, thank
you.
Donations in Sue's memory may be made to
her daughter Hannah's college fund as follows: Fidelity Investments, P.O.
Box 770001, Cincinnati, Ohio 45277-0015
Ref.: Hannah S. Ochs # 608178314
Remembering Sue Ochs, A loving tribute by Stephanie Levin
reprinted from the Oct 2003 Noe Valley Voice. |