Clearinghouse Celebrates its Volunteers
On a balmy summer night in June, dozens of volunteer attorneys gathered on the hardwood deck at Goulston & Storrs for a light-hearted evening of drinks and appreciation. Rain had threatened all day but cleared just in time for the Lawyers Clearinghouse “Thanks to You” event.
Chaired by Karen Kepler, President of the Lawyers Clearinghouse, the “Thanks to You” program recognized the many dedicated volunteers who give of their skill and time to ensure that homeless clients, affordable housing developers, and nonprofit organizations have stellar legal representation. Karen, a director at Goulston & Storrs, welcomed the volunteer attorneys, firm representatives and clients, “The attorneys who volunteer with the Clearinghouse show their dedication and their commitment to giving back. We are here tonight to recognize their efforts and to say ‘Thank you’. We look forward to continuing to partner with you to serve pro bono clients.”
The program featured Scott Ford of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, who has given years of service as the firm’s coordinator of the Clearinghouse’s Massachusetts Legal Clinic for the Homeless; Stacy Blasberg and Adrienne Penta, co-coordinators of the program for Choate, Hall & Stewart; and Jamie Zembruski, pro bono coordinator at Nixon Peabody LLP. Each speaker poignantly described several of their firms’ clients and the critical impact their firms’ attorneys have had on their clients’ lives.
Just one of the stories of dedication involved two pro bono attorneys from Mintz Levin who rented a U-Haul truck and traveled from Boston to New York City with their homeless client to retrieve her belongings from a storage facility who was holding them illegally. Needless to say, the client was profoundly grateful.
The evening ended with a raffle of an I-Pod and several gift cards for music on Amazon, all of which were generously donated by Board Member and Development Committee Chair, Mitch Appelbaum of WilmerHale.
Appreciation goes to the Development Committee, including Mitch, Karen, Jeff Katz of Ropes & Gray; Steve Nolan of DLA Piper US LLP; Cindy Rowe of Rowe Resources, and Andy Stern of Foley & Lardner, for envisioning the evening and for insisting that it be both meaningful and fun!
The Clearinghouse’s volunteers know that taking a case will make a difference. We thank them, their firms and all of the Clearinghouse’s investors for their commitment and for their ongoing support of the Clearinghouse’s programs.
Brown Rudnick Volunteers Assist the Homeless
Thank you to the volunteer lawyers from Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels who met with 12 clients at the Massachusetts Legal Clinic for the Homeless on October 12th. Mary O’Malley, Camille Gerwin, Anil Ranganath, Steve Veenema, and Jennifer Paradee are all first year associates at the firm and Al Wallis is the Executive Director of the Brown Rudnick Center For The Public Interest.
Thank you very much again for your help.
Nonprofit Legal Workshop Update
Since January 2003, the Clearinghouse, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts (VLA) and Goodwin Procter LLP have offered an informational seminar for nonprofit representatives seeking legal assistance with incorporating in Massachusetts and filing for federal tax-exempt status. Led by Susan Abbott, Esq. and Stephanie Pare, Esq. of Goodwin Procter LLP, Jim Grace, Esq. of theVLA and David Adams Esq., of the Law Office of David W. Adams, LLC, the project remains a huge success with 152 nonprofit representatives attending eight seminars in 2006. The Clearinghouse now offers these workshops in Lawrence in collaboration with Jericho Road Lawrence (with weblink: www.jerichoroadlawrence.org) and at the Boston Public Library at Copley as well.
In 2007, the Clearinghouse has expanded its educational programs for nonprofits. In order to help nonprofit agencies to address the challenges from an increasing number of foreclosure in Massachusetts, the Clearinghouse in collaboration with Boston Private Bank & Trust Company’s Social Investing Series offered a four-hour legal workshop on foreclosure led by Gary Klein, Esq., of Roddy, Klein & Ryan. Sixty-seven attendees packed the Boston Private Bank’s conference room. Also, in response to surveys conducted through previous nonprofit clients, Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporation (MACDC) members and nonprofit clients of the Boston Private Bank, the Clearinghouse offered a two-part, four-hour legal workshop on nonprofit risk management and employment law. Led by David Adams, Esq., of the Law Office of David W. Adams, LLC, and Mark Ventola, Esq., Sheehan, Phinny, Bass + Green PA, the highly interactive workshop was extremely well-received by the participants despite a mid-summer date and a follow-up workshop on employment law issues is now being planned for November, 2007.
Our gratitude to Susan Abbott, Esq. and Stephanie Pare, Esq. of Goodwin Procter LLP, Jim Grace, Esq. of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, to Gary Klein, Esq., of Roddy, Klein & Ryan, David Adams, Esq., of the Law Office of David W. Adams, LLC, and Mark Ventola, Esq., Sheehan, Phinny, Bass + Green PA for dedicating their time and expertise to leading the legal workshops for nonprofits; to Goodwin Procter LLP for their generous and consistent support of Nonprofit Incorporation Workshops; to Boston Private Bank & Trust Company for their timely support of workshops on foreclosure and employment law & risk management for nonprofits; to Jericho Road Lawrence and Cambrdge College Lawrence for their help to bring our nonprofit legal workshop out to the nonprofits in the Merrimack Valley area; to the Boston Public Library Kirstein Business Branch for their help to further reach out to nonprofits in Boston; and to MACDC and CHAPA to help the Clearinghouse reach out to their members for their legal needs.
