Edward V. Sparer ’59 (1932–1983)
Edward V. Sparer graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1959 and became one of the principal architects of modern poverty law in the United States. Born in 1932, he founded Mobilization for Youth Legal Services on the Lower East Side and later created MFY Legal Services, pioneering a model of community-based legal assistance that became foundational to the field. Sparer joined the faculties of Yale Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where his scholarship and litigation work helped shape national debates on welfare rights, economic justice, and access to public benefits. He is widely regarded as the “father of poverty law,” a title reflecting the lasting influence of his advocacy, writing, and institution-building on generations of public-interest lawyers and scholars.
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