Pro Bono Spotlight: Campaign for Justice is halfway to $270,000 goal

With a Nov. 15 phonathon launch and the early timing of the Law Firm Challenge, the 2017 Campaign for Justice reached the halfway mark to its $270,000 goal just a couple days ago.

“Receiving another $130,000 in pledges by December 31 would indeed make for a Happy New Year at our offices,” said Volunteer Legal Services Project Deputy Director Sheila Gaddis. “I can’t not meet goal in my final campaign!” (Final refers to her planned retirement in February 2018).

CFJ Co-Chair Karen Schaefer, who has been a campaign donor for more than two decades, is grateful for her CFJ Cabinet and a network of volunteers who are making calls daily to get pledges for this year’s campaign.

“Many people cannot afford to pay for the legal help they so desperately need,” Schaefer said. “The Campaign for Justice supports civil legal representation through Volunteer Legal Services Project, the Legal Aid Society of Rochester, and Legal Assistance of Western New York. Our goal is that each lawyer in the greater Rochester community donate at least the value of one billable hour.”

VLSP Executive Director Tina Foster added, “I am honored to be joining the Campaign for Justice team for the first time this year. It is wonderful to see that the Rochester legal community is generous with its time and support.”

Law Firm Challenge

CFJ Co-Chair Jonathan Falk headed up this year’s Law Firm Challenge, a specific initiative to involve the younger attorneys.

“We recognize that the demands on a young lawyer’s paycheck are many, but we want the younger attorneys to know what these agencies do and how important the Campaign for Justice is,” Falk said. “And this year’s Law Firm Challenge truly helped spread the word — with 202 attorneys under 40 contributing.”

Twenty law firms and organizations participated in this year’s LFC, which ran Nov. 6-29. The 10 organizations listed here all achieved 100% participation (in parenthesis is number of attorneys under 40): The Zoghlin Group (3); Trevett Cristo, Salzer & Andolina PC (4); Legal Aid Society of Rochester (23); City of Rochester Law Department (5); Ward Greenberg Heller & Reidy LLP (7); Lacy Katzen LLP (6); LawNY (13); Pullano & Farrow PLLC (13); Underberg & Kessler LLP (5); and Thomas & Solomon (2).

VLSP’s Sheila Gaddis noted the importance of bringing young attorneys on board. “These young donors will become our future,” Gaddis said. “They are the solid base of future contributors who will carry the day as some of our current donors reach their well-earned retirement.

Additional team information can be found at the www.vlsprochester.org. The firms on Team One each took home a plaque this year. The total dollar amount raised by the Law Firm Challenge was $9,467.

Calling all donors

Individual donors are an important part of the CFJ every year, but at the same time numerous volunteers are phoning for individual contributions, other members of the CFJ Cabinet are following up on law firm contributions, donations from in-house counsel, business partners who are prospective donors and other potential channels that might bring dollars into the campaign.

Frank Novak (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP) leads one such initiative focused on new law firms — newly established, new to the area, or untapped prospects. Several of his peers are helping to reach out to some 77 such firms on his list.

“I’m delighted to report that Vaisey Nicholson and Nearpass PLLC has committed $1,000 to the Campaign on behalf of its three name partners,” Novak reported at a recent Cabinet meeting. “The key is getting the word out.”

Barb LaVerdi (Constellation Brands) is helping to spread Campaign for Justice news within the General Counsel offices of numerous area businesses.

“It is easy for in-house counsel to feel isolated — to be unaware of community needs outside their own circle,” LaVerdi said. “Plus it is great to catch up with colleagues we only occasionally see and tell them about the Campaign for Justice.”

Letters, email communications and phone calls are all used to get the word out. And then there is the follow-up. That’s where numerous volunteers get on the phone to their colleagues to remind them to make their pledge sooner than later.

For individuals who track charitable contributions, we know we can still make such deductions on our 2017 taxes, but may lose that perk in years to come.

Justice Society Social

As in prior years, a social networking celebration is planned for individual donors who contribute $350 or more to the Campaign for Justice. The Justice Society Reception will be held March 22, 2018 at the Memorial Art Gallery.

Honor Roll

VLSP offers a wide variety of opportunities for attorneys to provide full representation to low-income clients or provide advice at monthly clinics. Practice areas include divorce, wills, unemployment, insurance, guardianship, consumer, bankruptcy, collections, child support, custody and visitation. Attorneys in our Micro-Entrepreneur Pro Bono Program render advice to low-income entrepreneurs.

Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County announced its “Honor Roll” of attorneys and paralegals who recently took cases or staffed clinics.   

November 2017 Honor Roll

Solo Practitioners: Opal C. Bailey; Eugene Clifford; John Di Santo; Gayle Elledge (Juris Doctor); Barbara Heyne; Ardeth Houde; Phillip Hurwitz; Rachael Landauer; Judge Patricia Marks; Brenna Mason (Non-attorney); John McQueen; Robert Nassau; Robert Nicolais; Gary O’Donnell; Barbara Orenstein; Marla Pilaroscia; Ernest Santoro; Michael Schnittman; John Suda; Sue Tebor; Gary Van Graafeiland.

Attorneys at Firms: Sanjeev Devabhakthuni (Barclay Damon LLP); Robert Shaddock (Barclay Damon LLP); Jerry Solomon (Barclay Damon LLP); Mark T. Whitford (Barclay Damon LLP);  Gary Cohen (Basch & Nickerson LLP); C. Bruce Lawrence (Boylan Code LLP); Jacqueline Slifkin (JD, The College at Brockport); Lesley Niebel (Faraci Lange LLP); Timothy Ingersoll (Fero & Ingersoll, LLP); George Forsyth (Forsyth & Forsyth); Deborah Schaal (Gordon & Schaal, LLP); Roberta Feldman (Gray & Feldman, LLP); George Gray (Gray & Feldman, LLP); Luis Ormaechea (Harris Beach PLLC); David Mayer (Harris, Chesworth, Johnstone, & Welch, LLP); Diana Clarkson (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); Jeffrey Donigan (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); David R. Ferris (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); Jacob Miller (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); Benjamin Mudrick (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); Jon Webster (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); Richard Curtis (Kaman, Berlove, Marafioti, Jacobstein & Goldman, LLP); Robert Yawman (Leclair Korona Vahey & Cole LLP); Pamela S.C. Reynolds (Littler Mendelson P.C.); Jodie Ryan (McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carenter, LLP); Julia A. Garver (Merzbach Law Office, P.C.); Ralph Merzbach (Merzbach Law Office, P.C.); Kelly Kenyon (Paralegal Student, Monroe Community College); Lisa Mazur (Paralegal Student, Monroe Community College); Corinne Rehl (Paralegal Student, Monroe Community College); Daniel Brennan (Nixon Peabody LLP); Mary Magee (Parrs, Perotto, & Magee, LLP); Sarah Cressman (Thomas & Solomon LLP); Michael Ognenovski (JD, Thomson Reuters); Jonathan Trotto (Trotto Law Firm); Christine Redfield (Tully Rinckey PLLC); Lindsay Hartley (Law Student, University at Buffalo Law School); Emma Molodetz (Law Student, University at Buffalo Law School); Robert D. Hooks (Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP); Ryan Woodworth (The Woodworth Law Firm).

Government: Maria Gaige (Appellate Fourth); Linda Kostin (Appellate Fourth); Adam Oshrin (Appellate Fourth); Michael G. Paul (Appellate Fourth); John T. Ryan (Appellate Fourth); Erin Sanger (Appellate Fourth); Gabriela Wolfe (Appellate Fourth); Thomas Warth (City of Rochester Law Department).

Nora A. Jones is a freelance writer. She also contributes to the VLSP blog at www.vlsprochester.org.  She can be reached at [email protected].