February 25, 2022

Community Legal Aid Names Blair Komar-Bates & Mandy Winalski As Senior Supervising Attorneys in Housing Unit

BY Laura Hancock Barry, Community Legal Aid Development Managerlhbarry@cla-ma.org / (508) 425-2798

Community Legal Aid, a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income and elderly residents of Central and Western Massachusetts, is pleased to announce that Blair Komar-Bates and Mandy Winalski have been named as Senior Supervising Attorneys in its Housing Unit. Along with Jane Edmonstone, Attorneys Komar-Bates and Winalski will oversee the work of the Housing Unit’s attorneys, paralegals, and AmeriCorps advocates working across the organization’s five county service area.

Attorney Komar-Bates joined Community Legal Aid’s affiliate, Central West Justice Center, in 2016, first working as a Staff Attorney for the Benefits Unit and the Medical-Legal Partnership before transitioning to the Housing Unit. Since then, she has represented clients in housing cases in Housing Court, District Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and administrative hearings. Over the past year, she has been a Coordinating Attorney for the COVID-19 Eviction Legal Help Project (CELHP). Launched in the fall of 2020 with funding provided by the state, the CELHP project provided urgently needed legal assistance to combat the rise in evictions, and potential for homelessness, arising during the pandemic. Attorney Komar-Bates will oversee cases in the Worcester County area.

“Over the past five years, and particularly during the pandemic, I have been honored to be able to help individuals, the elderly, and families avoid eviction and homelessness,” said Komar-Bates. “I look forward to supporting and collaborating with members of the Housing Unit’s team as we continue to protect the rights of tenants in Worcester County.”

Originally from New Jersey, Attorney Komar-Bates is a graduate of Vassar College and Boston University School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review and a recipient of the Public Interest Scholarship. After graduating from law school, Attorney Komar-Bates served as a law clerk in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals as well as the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Attorney Komar-Bates resides in Upton with her spouse and two children.

Attorney Mandy Winalski has been with Community Legal Aid since 2014, first as a Staff Attorney and then as a Coordinating Attorney for the Housing Unit. In addition to representing low-income and elderly individuals in housing matters, she has staffed “Lawyer for the Day” and led “Know Your Rights” trainings for partners and client communities in Hampshire and Franklin Counties. Prior to joining Community Legal Aid, Attorney Winalski spent five years as a civil litigator in Connecticut. Attorney Winalski will oversee cases in Hampden, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Franklin counties, and work out of Community Legal Aid’s Springfield office.

“For the last seven years, I have proudly advocated for our low-income and elderly clients,” said Attorney Winalski. “The past year, I have had the incredible experience of overseeing the work of junior attorneys and case managers. Now, I look forward to the opportunity to take on a supervisory role and share my passion and expertise with my incredibly talented colleagues.”

Attorney Winalski is a graduate of Temple University and Boston University School of Law. She was also a member of the inaugural class for the Animal Law LL.M at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland Oregon, and she regularly participates in animals rights activism and outreach. She currently resides in Western Mass. with her spouse, 5 cats and 4 guinea pigs.

About Community Legal Aid:
Community Legal Aid provides free civil legal services to the low-income and elderly residents of the five counties of Western and Central Massachusetts (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester), and maintains offices in Worcester, Fitchburg, Springfield, Northampton, and Pittsfield. Community Legal Aid works to assure fairness for all in the justice system, protecting homes, livelihoods, health and families. For more information, please visit www.communitylegal.org.