Commitment to Pro Bono
The ABA Pro Bono Publico AwardIn August 2010, Mintz Levin received the American Bar Association's (ABA) prestigious Pro Bono Publico Award in recognition of the firm's "outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services" in connection with work leading to the passage of a landmark sexual assault, stalking and harassment law in Massachusetts. To read the full press release, click here.
 Click here to watch a video on Mintz Levin’s pro bono program that was shown at the ABA awards ceremony. |
Mintz Levin Finalizes $132 Million Settlement For Hurricane Katrina Victims
Two years after filing suit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), attorneys from Mintz Levin and Mississippi housing advocates are praising the three-way resolution reached today between the plaintiffs, HUD, and the State of Mississippi. The plan calls for the state to direct $132 million in federal disaster housing recovery money to lower-income households in southern Mississippi whose needs were not served by the state’s previous programs — in particular, those whose homes were damaged by wind as opposed to flooding.
To read the full case study, click here.
To read the full press release, click here.
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On May 4, 2010, Mintz Levin hosted a training session for pro bono/legal services attorneys, detailing the recently passed harassment order statute. Please click here to view the three-part training session, “Representing Clients Under the New Harassment Order Statute, G.L. c. 258E.”
Make a difference
Mintz Levin strongly encourages its lawyers to provide service to the community as a part of their professional responsibility as members of the bar. We also believe that an organized, firm-sponsored pro bono program is critical in enabling its lawyers to undertake such efforts. The firm’s resources are fully committed to ensuring that every approved pro bono matter is handled in the same manner as matters for paying clients. Mintz Levin is a signatory to the Pro Bono Institute’s Pro Bono Challenge, committing to perform 3% of billable hours for pro bono matters. It has recently hired a pro bono partner to oversee the firm’s pro bono efforts, chair the Pro Bono Committee, and to provide expanded training and supervision of associates on all pro bono matters.
Today, Mintz Levin’s pro bono work addresses an array of important issues, including but not limited to domestic violence and sexual assault, political asylum and immigration, affordable housing and homelessness, human rights, non-profit incorporation assistance, post-Hurricane Katrina legal assistance, children’s health, environmental protection, and civil rights.
Making Women and Children Safe
Our signature pro bono effort centers on eradicating domestic violence by assisting women and their children in a variety of ways. Since the early 1990s, with the establishment of the Domestic Violence Project (DVP) by two first-year associates, over 600 attorneys, paraprofessionals, and other Mintz Levin staff have represented individual victims of domestic violence and sexual assault who sought protective orders and other legal remedies. Additionally, Mintz Levin attorneys have represented over 25 non-profits devoted to combating domestic violence—such as domestic violence shelters, counseling agencies, and entities providing other support services—in corporate, employment, real estate, immigration, tax, and governance matters. Our attorneys have also frequently represented battered women in appellate and amicus curiae briefs on cutting-edge legal issues in both federal and state courts on behalf of nonprofit organizations and coalitions.
In addition to client representation, the DVP has lobbied for legislation at the state and federal levels that will afford greater protection for domestic violence survivors. It also helped to incorporate the National Network to End Domestic Violence in 1994, and continues to serve as its general counsel. Since 1994, over 200 attorneys, paraprofessionals, and other Mintz Levin staff have performed pro bono legal work for this client alone.
Complementing their pro bono efforts, Mintz Levin employees have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities like the Elizabeth Stone House and Women Empowered Against Violence, provided school supplies for children and clothes for families, and dedicated countless hours of volunteer time to these efforts.
Mintz Levin is also committed to ensuring that every summer associate has the opportunity to engage in meaningful pro bono work, To this end, we offer a formal pro bono component to our summer associate program overseen by the pro bono partner. In 2007, summer associates worked an average of 55 hours on pro bono matters over the course of the summer, including representing political asylum seekers, assisting homeless clients with public benefit and housing issues, contributing to prisoners’ rights litigation, and researching cutting-edge legal issues for numerous human and civil rights organizations.
Over the years the Mintz Levin pro bono program has received numerous awards for its efforts, some of which include: the 1997 Massachusetts Bar Association Pro Bono Award, 1998 Proud Partners Award, 1999 Political Asylum and Immigration Relief Award, 2000 Human Rights Campaign National Ally of Justice Award, 2002 Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Child Advocate of the Year, 2005 Adams Pro Bono Publico Award, 2006 and 2007 Mississippi Center for Justice Champions of Justice Award, the 2006 Shining Star Award from the Victim Rights Law Center, and the 2008 Excellence in Pro Bono Award from the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children. Additionally, our pro bono program and participating attorneys have been featured in several publications including American Lawyer Magazine, Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Board Member Magazine, the Boston Bar Journal, and the Boston Business Journal.
For more information please contact Susan Finegan, chair, Pro Bono Committee, at sfinegan@mintz.com.
