Professor Victoria Esposito Honored with NYSBA President’s Pro Bono Service Award

Since joining Albany Law School in August 2022 as a Visiting Assistant Professor, Victoria Esposito has brought real-world experience and a deep commitment to public service into the classroom. Her dedication to both the legal profession and the community has now been recognized with the prestigious 2025 New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the 3rd Judicial District.

Now an Assistant Professor of Law, Esposito teaches Introduction to Lawyering and Systems of Poverty—a one-credit seminar—while remaining deeply engaged in public interest work through her ongoing volunteer efforts with the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY), where she formerly served as Advocacy Director. Each month, she represents low-income tenants in Albany City Court through the “Attorney for the Day” program, providing critical legal support on a one-day, pro bono basis.

“I’ll try to negotiate something or get a petition dismissed, or whatever I can do to help the tenant,” she said. “And I bring students with me if they're able and interested.”

For Esposito, the work is rewarding in itself, but sharing it with her students adds a deeper layer of meaning. Her approach to teaching is grounded in practical application and mentorship.

“What I’ve tried to do from the beginning is, to the extent possible, work with my students the way I would with a very new attorney I was supervising,” she said. “It's not exactly a one-to-one, but I try really hard to give my students a sense of the nuts and bolts of what it's like to be a lawyer.”

Esposito’s  impact is already clear: three students in her first class, now on the verge of graduation, will soon begin their own careers at Legal Aid, one of whom, Emilia Urban-Mosenson ’25, was awarded the 2024 NYSBA President's Pro Bono Award for her work with LASNNY.

 Esposito was formally recognized at the NYSBA ceremony on May 1, 2025, at the New York State Bar Association from 12:00–3:00 p.m. While the award is a significant honor, it’s clear her greatest pride lies in teaching, and inspiring, the next generation of public service attorneys.