Christian Abbott received his bachelor’s degree in Humanities and Justice Studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2014, where he developed an interest in law after learning of the barriers faced by underserved populations in accessing critically needed benefits. He later earned his law degree from CUNY School of Law in 2022. Prior to law school, Christian worked as a paralegal at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) where he provided free legal assistance to clients with Social Security benefits applications and appeals. Over the summer of 2021, Christian interned at the Legal Aid Society, assisting supervising attorneys with case research and records review for Social Security appeals at the federal level. Christian also worked as a student attorney at CUNY Law’s Disability and Aging Justice Clinic (DAJC) during his 2021 fall semester where he provided advice and legal assistance with Article 81 guardianship proceedings to low-income New Yorkers with disabilities, aging adults, and their families.
As a 2022-2024 Borchard Fellow, Christian will be hosted by the Disability Advocacy Project (DAP) and Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program (EFRLP) at NYLAG, where he will lead a project representing clients aged 65 and over with discontinuances or reductions in their SSI benefits and SSI-related Medicaid. As part of the project, Christian will lead know your rights trainings aimed at educating legal and non-legal professionals through outreach to community-based social service providers. He will also participate with workgroups at the city and state level to advocate for an improved Stenson process, which allows individuals to remain on Medicaid when they no longer qualify for SSI and are waiting for a determination on their Medicaid qualification. Finally, the project will afford him the opportunity to assist in impact ligation with NYLAG’s Special Litigation Unit (SLU) against SSA.
