Boston — In recognition of her outstanding service to the poor and disadvantaged in need of legal services, Suzette E. Fagan-Clarke, Chief Housing Specialist for the Southeast Division of the Housing Court, recently received a Community Service Award at the 2003 Equal Justice Reception in Dartmouth.

          The Bristol County Bar Association, the New Center for Legal Advocacy, and the Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation present the award annually to community leaders and legal professionals, who work with individuals of limited means in need of legal assistance in the areas of family, juvenile, housing, immigration, and income maintenance.   These organizations chose Ms. Fagan-Clarke for her work in the mediation and resolution of landlord-tenant disputes in the New Bedford and Fall River Housing Courts, and presented the award to her on November 10, 2003.

          Housing Court Chief Justice Manuel Kyriakakis said, “Suzette Fagan-Clarke is well-deserving of the recognition this award represents.  I worked with her at the Southeast Housing Court until 2002, when I became Chief Justice, and know how very effective she is in her work in general and specifically with pro se (self-represented) litigants.  I congratulate her and compliment her on her achievement and dedication.”

          A resident of Taunton, Ms. Fagan-Clarke has worked at the Housing Court Department of the Trial Court for sixteen years, starting at the Boston Housing Court in 1987.  She has served at the Southeast Housing Court since 1991. As Chief Housing Specialist, Ms. Fagan-Clarke conducts site inspections, investigates complaints, mediates landlord/tenant disputes, supervises staff, and responds to public inquiries and requests, among other duties. Ms. Fagan-Clarke graduated from Northeastern University in 1987 with a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice.