Steve Toboonan took
his passion to the city.

JENIFER LOVY
Special to the Jewish News

hi le many of Steve
Tobocman's classmates
from the University of
Michigan Law School
were lured to the nation's most presti-
gious law firms, Tobocman quietly
turned down his attractive offer from a
big Chicago practice.
Given the choice between making a
nice living in real estate work or work-
ing in under-served communities,
Tobocman picked the latter despite
some hefty debts from law school
loans.
love what I do," said Tobocman,
from his corner office on the ninth
floor of a building at Bagley and
Grand River in downtown Detroit.
As the executive director of
Community Legal Resources (CLR),
an organization Tobocman co-found-
ed, this young attorney is using his
legal background to help provide non-
profit community organizations with
free legal assistance.
"I think I've been given a lot of
opportunities in life," he said. "My
parents always told me I could do any-
thing I wanted to do and I took that
advice to heart. What could be more
meaningful than helping to create a
higher standard of living for people,
attacking racial injustice and giving
back to the community"
Those who know Tobocman say is
sincere and truly means what he says.
They admire his dedication and ability

to make things happen.
"He's remarkably devoted," said Sally
Schwartz, an attorney who co-founded
CLR with Tobocman and serves on the
organization's board of directors.
"He genuinely wants to improve the
world and he will work very hard to do
that. I suspect he will spend his whole
career trying to improve conditions.
Some people burn out or leave for
more lucrative opportunities, but I
don't think he will."

Working For Others

Following law school graduation in
1997, Tobocman was awarded a
national fellowship, which he described
as being a lot like a domestic Peace
Corps. He received funding to match
those willing to offer free legal services
with non-profit community develop-
ment organizations. Some of those
entities included the Southwest Detroit
Business Association and Mexican
Town Community Development
Corporation.
Organizations began asking
Tobocman for assistance and there was
more work than he could possibly han-
dle. As a result, he and Schwartz estab-
lished CLR in 1998. It now has a staff
of two attorneys, an urban planner and
a shared office manager.
Since its inception, CLR has provid-
ed free legal services to 120 communi-
ty organizations on a variety of client
matters. They include affordable hous-
ing, neighborhood commercial devel-
opment, job training and environmen-

tal safety. To date, Tobocman has
helped recruit more than 100 attor-
neys. They have helped on 250 client
matters, donating more than $750,000
in legal services.
Margaret Garry, the real estate devel-
opment manager for the Mexican
Town Community Development
Corporation, works with Tobocman
and praises his ability to identify and
address needs in under-served commu-
nities.
The 31-year-old Tobocman has such
a passion for the city that, at the end
of the workday, he and his girlfriend
are proud to call Detroit home. After
living in Highland Park and then
Mexican Town, Tobocman, a born and
raised suburbanite, ultimately chose to
live on Detroit's southwest side.
Although renters now, the couple is in
the process of purchasing a home in
the area.
"I enjoy living in the city and, while I
don t walk alone at night, safety is not a
major concern," said Tobocman. "It's
not too different from living anywhere
else, except in Detroit, there are less
commercial retail opportunities nearby
so you have to drive everywhere.
"Also, when you first come to
Detroit, you notice blight and aban-
donment, but you have no relationship
to what is around you. It's like living in
West Bloomfield in the sense that you
could be surrounded by lakes, but
never pay much attention to them."
As for his neighborhood, Tobocman
describes it as ethnically diverse. "It's
one of Detroit's fastest growing areas,

'

and now there are three white Jewish
males in the neighborhood," he said
with a smile.
Even his free time is consumed by
community work, but Tobocman is
not complaining. He serves on five
boards of directors: the Detroit branch
of the American Civil Liberties Union,
the Mexican Town Community
Development Corporation, the Clark
Park Coalition, the Community
Economic Development Association of
Michigan, and the alumni board for
the University of Michigan Ford
School of Public Policy.
For the last five years, he has also
been active as a volunteer hockey
coach at Clark Park, the only outdoor
ice rink serving inner-city youth.

Sharing His Insights

As if all his non-profit, political and
volunteer work is not enough to keep
this Farmington Hills native busy,
Tobocman also teaches a course on
non-profit corporations and urban
development at Wayne State University
School of Law. The class is run as a
clinic, allowing students to help com-
munity groups incorporate.
"I can't think of any other thing I
would want to be doing with my life,"
Tobocman said. "I feel lucky that I am
able to help make a difference. It's -
great to see new stores opening up, or
to see large industry prevented from
destroying a neighborhood, and know-
ing that my work or the work of peo-
ple I know made that difference." 7

.ate

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2/15
2002

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