With a JD from NYU School of Law and a BA in political science from Rutgers College, Deborah brings a passion for working with non-profit organizations. She began her law career working at the firms of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler and Chadbourne & Parke. She went on to work for the national office of the “I Have a Dream”® Foundation and the Entertainment Software Association. But the immediate backstory on her formation of Deborah Buyer Law was her time as General Counsel for the New York City Department of Small Business Services. While there, Deborah identified the New York non-profit community’s great need for sophisticated and cost effective legal counsel, and decided to form Deborah Buyer Law in 2011. She says, “I’m essentially a corporate lawyer for non-profits. This is very much a social entrepreneurship. Non-profits are doing things I care about.” Deborah is a member of the NY Nonprofit Coordinating Committee’s Government Affairs Committee, the NYC Bar Association and NACUA.
Lydia graduated from Harvard Law School and earned her BA in Political Economy and Asian Studies at UC Berkley. Lydia started her career at the firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, and subsequently served as Legal Counsel at the Nonprofit Finance Fund and Assistant General Counsel at The Rockefeller Foundation. In her work with non-profit organizations, Lydia enjoys developing a good rapport with her clients and learning about the organization’s programs and mission. Lydia enjoys working with non-profit organizations this way because, “It leads to a level of trust that’s really rewarding.”