Barry Strom

Barry Strom joined the clinical faculty at the Cornell Law School in August 1975 and continued as a clinical faculty member under various titles until his retirement as a Clinical Professor on December 31, 2011. During his thirty-six years at the law school, he was director or co-director of the Cornell Legal Aid Clinic on three separate occasions July 1978-June 1989, Jan. 2000-July 2001, and July 2008-July 2010. In addition, to teaching the Legal Aid Clinic 1, 2, and 3 throughout his tenure, he also taught on various occasions the Governmental Benefits Clinic, Welfare Law, Interviewing, Counseling, and Fact Investigation, the Prisoners Legal Services Clinic, the Neighborhood Legal Services Clinic, and the Legislative Externship. 

Over the years Professor Strom and his students represented hundreds of less privileged clients in a wide variety of civil cases with a concentration in the later years on governmental benefits cases. Under Professor Strom’s supervision students argued several significant cases in both federal and state court including Wagner v. Secretary of HHS, 906 F.2d 856 (2d Cir. 1990), McCoy, et al. v. IHA, et al., 559 F.Supp. 1351 (NDNY 1983), Calkins v. Blum, Corey v. Blum, 657 F.2d 44 (2d. Cir. 1982), French v. Blum, 54 N.Y.2d 1017 (1981) rev'g 81 A.D.2d 936 (3d Dept. 1981), and In the Matter of the Claim of Alm, 302 A.D.2d 777, 754 N.Y.S.2d 779 (3d Dept. 2003).

During the 20-year period from 1976 to 1996, Professor Strom wrote and published 33 editions of Public Benefits in New York (formerly the Cornell Legal Aid Welfare Manual) which covered a wide range of programs in New York. Starting in 1986 and for the next ten years, he published New York Medicaid Eligibility, which included the Medicaid, Medicare and relevant parts of the public assistance and SSI parts of PBNY. These publications were used by all the legal services programs in New York, by other legal offices, by hospitals and nursing homes and could be found in a number of public libraries throughout the state.

Professor Strom served as the first president of the Board of Directors, Legal Assistance of Western New York (LAWNY), 2004 to 2006 and as a member of the Executive Committee, 2004 to 2010. Prior to the merger creating LAWNY, he was Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Chemung County Neighborhood Legal Services, 1981-2003.