PHILADELPHIA – Sept. 23, 2019 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was recognized as a finalist for the 2019 Trailblazing Partner Award from Philadelphia VIP, a leading citywide legal pro bono services organization.
The award recognizes a law firm or corporation that provides deeper engagement with Philadelphia VIP and its mission to deliver pro bono civil-related legal services to city residents, nonprofits, and small businesses that otherwise could not afford them.
“We are humbled to be considered and the recognition is another reflection of our commitment to provide meaningful contributions where we live and work,” said Curtis B. Toll, managing shareholder for the Philadelphia office. “Our firm has a longstanding and widely recognized commitment to pro bono work. Just as big Constitutional matters are important, so, too, are issues like helping struggling families avoid debt-driven bankruptcy or eviction due to a dispute over a tangled title or forged property papers. In a city where approximately 1 in 4 residents are at or below the poverty line, this work takes on even greater meaning.”
Attorneys in the Philadelphia office have engaged in and closed discrete pro bono matters for Philadelphia VIP clients and the office is partnering with the organization to present community clinics designed to aid small businesses.
“Each of our 31 U.S. offices strive to provide legal support to those most in need in their area,” said Caroline J. Heller, who leads the firm’s Pro Bono Program. “Every matter we handle is chosen with the express purpose to positively impact the lives of our neighbors. It is a leading value for our firm, and executed in every community we serve.”
Founded in 1981 and renamed in 1986, Philadelphia VIP arose from the Philadelphia Bar Association’s pro bono program. It serves as a nonprofit hub to recruit, train, support, and match volunteer attorneys with low-income residents embroiled in civil legal problems that impact their housing, education, health, employment, or financial stability.
Qualifying clients must be at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines, meaning a typical client may earn less than $23,000 for a family of four. Annually, Philadelphia VIP serves more than 3,500 individuals and families, including those who speak a range of non-English languages.
Since its founding, Greenberg Traurig’s Philadelphia office has cultivated relationships with local legal organizations that support vulnerable and marginalized people, including the Philadelphia Public Interest Law Center, Pennsylvania Innocence Project, Women’s Law Project, Women Against Abuse and many others.
About Greenberg Traurig Philadelphia: Founded in 1997, Greenberg Traurig’s Philadelphia office is home to some 50 attorneys whose practices include Real Estate, Public Finance, Litigation, Labor & Employment, Environmental, Government Law & Policy, Restructuring & Bankruptcy, White Collar Defense & Special Investigations, Corporate & Securities, Intellectual Property, Immigration & Compliance, Investment Regulation, and Tax. The Philadelphia office represents clients in the manufacturing, health care, real estate, energy, financial, and insurance industries, state and local governments, professional service, and energy firms and individuals.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Pro Bono Program: Greenberg Traurig lawyers across the firm provide pro bono legal services to the indigent and working poor, as well as to numerous civic and charitable organizations dedicated to assisting them. The firm focuses its resources on specialized and interrelated issues including civil rights and affirmative action, anti-human trafficking, family law matters, criminal appeals, immigration and political asylum, housing, and homelessness.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2,100 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.