Lawyers Giving Back Archive
Philadelphia Attorney Recognized for Work with Transgender Community
May 3rd, 2011. By BrendaC
Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Philadelphia attorney Natalie Hrubos of Greenberg Traurig…
Attorney Natalie Hrubos: “You can imagine how difficult life is when you are carrying around a piece of identification…that doesn’t match how you look to the world.”
- Attorney Natalie Hrubos
Attorney Natalie Hrubos may be young, but her compassion and understanding of an often marginalized and ostracized group makes her seem wise beyond her years. And her many hours of pro bono work with low-income members of the transgender community, combined with her efforts to educate other lawyers about the legal issues affecting this community, was recently recognized with a Young Lawyers Division community service award from the Philadelphia Bar Association.
“Lawyers don’t necessarily express an interest in working with transgender clients because they don’t understand the community in general or the type of legal issues that are unique to transgender people,” she says. “The result is a lack of legal services available to trans folks,” says Hrubos who is an associate in the Philadelphia office of the international firm of Greenberg Traurig.
“In fact, the community in general doesn’t understand this community,” adds Hrubos, “it is not just the legal community.”
At Temple University Law School in Philadelphia, Hrubos was a law student volunteer at the only lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender free legal clinic in the state. Answering phones, taking messages she learned a lot.
“Many of the calls came from transgender individuals who needed to change their names to better match their identity and their everyday presentation. They were trying to get help with correcting their documents to match their new legal name and correct their gender marker,” says Hrubos.
By gender marker, she means that little box on your driver’s license or credit card application that asks if you are male or female.
“You can imagine how difficult life is when you are carrying around a piece of identification, you have to keep showing it and it says a name and gender that doesn’t match how you look to the world.”
And when that information doesn’t match what people see, it is more than inconvenient—it can be downright dangerous.
“I have one client who was presenting ID with his credit card in line at the grocery store and two people behind him followed him out and hit him in the face several times and he came to our meeting with a black eye,” says Hrubos.
Hrubos is currently working on document changes for a teen that was so badly harassed he had to move to a new high school. “People in his new school don’t know he is transgender. He can’t really present identity documentation so he is always worried, for example, that his car might be pulled over and he’ll be ‘outted’ in front of new his friends.”
At Greenberg Traurig, Hrubos represents employers in all in aspects of employment and labor law. Gender identity issues, particularly in the workplace are a burgeoning area of law. Aware of that, many employers want to be proactive. “I am in a good position to help and counsel employers on how to address some of the employee relations issues that come within the context of a gender transition at work and to proactively eliminate bias against transgender workers,” says Hrubos.
In June, Hrubos is doing a continuing legal education workshop for lawyers at the 10th annual Trans-Health Conference in Philadelphia.
“It will provide an issues overview and some information on how to become more ‘culturally competent’,” says Hrubos.
“There are lot of people who can represent people doing a name change, it is more difficult to find someone who is culturally competent,” Hrubos says. “I had to learn to be ‘cultural competent’ and that’s why it’s important for me to continue doing it, because there aren’t a lot of other lawyers that can do it.”
Natalie Hrubos is an associate with the large international law firm of Greenberg Traurig. She represents and counsels management clients in all aspects of labor and employment law. She is also a member of the Legal Advisory Board for the Legal Services Department at the Mazzoni Center, the only agency in Philadelphia that provides direct legal services to low-income LGBT individuals facing legal obstacles related to sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Attorney Andrew Strenio Discusses Team Effort to Release Cuban Doctor from Prison
April 26th, 2011. By BrendaC
Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Washington DC attorney Andrew Strenio of Sidley Austin…
Attorney Andrew Strenio: “When you…work with this kind of an individual you don’t begrudge a second that you spend on it”
Had it not been for the efforts of a group of American lawyers, Cuban human rights activist, Dr. Oscar Biscet might have continued to languish in a jail on the outskirts of Havana. But in March 2011, after eight years in prison, Biscet was released. It had taken six years and likely thousands of pro bono hours involving delicate negotiations by a determined and skilled group of lawyers to achieve freedom for Biscet.
- Attorney Andrew Strenio of Sidley Austin
“It was just phenomenal news,” says Andrew Strenio from the Sidley Austin firm in Washington DC.
“We were a proud partner in the effort, but it was really a collaborative effort,” says Strenio. “There really were so many people involved including Jeremy Zucker from Hogan Lovells here in DC.”
Since the 1980s, Biscet, a medical doctor, has been a fearless advocate for basic civil liberties in Cuba. His pro democracy position came with considerable risk to his safety and well-being.
In 2002, Biscet was arrested, charged and sentenced to 25 years in prison as an enemy of the state. Known and respected internationally for his opposition to the Cuban government, Biscet has been likened to Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel and others who have risked their lives in David and Goliath human rights struggles.
In fact, Biscet was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in February, just weeks before his release from prison.
If Biscet had been willing to accept exile as the price for freedom he might have been released sooner according to Strenio. “Oscar made it clear he would stay in prison no matter how long it took in order to be able to remain in Cuba, which shows his love of his country,” says Strenio.
“He was also subjected to horrific conditions during his imprisonment which were certainly barbaric,” says Strenio. “Despite all that, he had this immense personal and moral courage in refusing to accept exile to another country as the price of release.”
Strenio won’t discuss how the group managed to negotiate Biscet’s release, but it is fair to say they talked to anyone that they believed might have influence with the Cubans.
“Any attorney knows it is a challenge to achieve a result in your home district and the farther away you go from home the more complicated it becomes,” says Strenio.
“Dealing with the situation in Cuba is extraordinarily complicated both because of the dictatorial nature of the regime and because of the distance and because of Dr. Biscet’s plight of being imprisoned unjustly for such a long period of time,” he adds.
How many hours he and other lawyers involved spent working on the Biscet case is impossible to know.
“It added up to a considerable amount,” says Strenio. “But I don’t think any of us involved in the process stopped to count. When you do this kind of work with this kind of an individual you don’t begrudge a second that you spend working on it. In fact you feel quite honored to be able to help to such a person.”
Andrew Strenio is a partner in the firm of Sidley Austin. Considered a top-flight full-service international firm, Sidley Austin has 1,600 lawyers working in 17 cities in the US and around the world. Strenio’s practice focuses on domestic and international anti-trust law. He is also a former Federal Trade Commissioner.
Attorney Douglas Fox: Helping US Servicemen a “Humbling Responsibility”
April 19th, 2011. By BrendaC
Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with attorney Douglas Fox of Cozen O’Connor law firm…
Attorney Douglas Fox: “If you are going to be deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, the last thing you need is a legal problem on your mind.”
- Attorney Douglas Fox
US military personnel have legal issues just like everybody else. And last year, the American Bar Association (ABA) saw a need to reach out to US servicemen and servicewomen and connect them with lawyers who were willing help on a pro bono basis.
“We jumped at the chance,” says attorney Douglas Fox, whose firm, Cozen O’Connor, was asked to become one of the founding members of the ABA Pro Bono Military Project.
“We thought it was an incredibly exciting and humbling responsibility and opportunity to help active servicemen and women. If you are going to be deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, the last thing you need is a legal problem on your mind and we felt this was a way for lawyers to give back.“
Even before volunteering to be a founding member of the Pro Bono US Military Project, Cozen O’Connor had an impressive pro bono track record. Last year alone according to Fox, who heads the firm’s pro bono committee, Cozen O’Connor attorneys did more than 16,000 pro bono hours—with a total time value of some $6 million.
“These were hours given to those who otherwise would not have been able to access legal services,” says Fox. “We handle all kinds of pro bono cases, from very high visibility cases to cases that don’t make the headlines, like the pro bono military project cases, but they are equally important to us and they are, of course, important to our clients.”
In the high-profile category you can include Lozano v. Hazelton, a civil rights case that is now before the Supreme Court. For the last four years, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others, Cozen O’Connor has being fighting a Hazelton, Pennsylvania city bylaw that would punish landlords and employers who rent to or hire so-called illegal aliens.
Cozen O’Connor has several hundred lawyers with 20 offices across the US and is also represented in London and Toronto. Although it is a general practice firm, its lawyers don’t do a lot of family law. With the Pro Bono US Military Project, Fox says, “This is an opportunity for our lawyers who don’t practice family law to go outside their comfort zone. It is something that lawyers who take on these cases are anxious to do because they know the need is so great.”
“Many of the cases are family law cases. They are adoptions, child support, divorces—cases of that nature. They are issues that need to be dealt with in order to put the minds of the servicemen and women at ease,” Fox adds.
“There is no question, even today with this program, not all of the legal needs of military personnel are being met,” says Fox. “Even with the great work of the ABA Pro Bono Military Project we know there are needs that are not being met, however, we have been very excited to do what we can do.”
Douglas Fox concentrates his practice in subrogation and recovery, property insurance, commercial and civil litigation. Before joining Cozen O’Connor in 1985, Fox served as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia. Fox has also previously served on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness.
Simmons Firm Lawyers Give Millions to Mesothelioma Research
April 5th, 2011. By BrendaC
Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Illinois attorney Mike Angelides of Simmons, Browder, Gianaris, Angelides & Barnerd…
Attorney Mike Angelides: “Our lawyers see how this affects families…that is what has led to a culture…of giving back to this community.”
- Holding the plaque The Simmons Law Firm received from the Mesothelioma Foundation are, from left to right: Gregg Kirkland, COO; John Simmons, Chairman & CEO; Michael Angelides, Managing Partner
The Simmons firm in Illinois is well-known for litigating on behalf of people whose lives have been affected by exposure to asbestos. The firm, you might say, has also been very willing to put its money where its mouth is, and over the last several years has pledged some $20 million to mesothelioma and cancer research.
“I think all of us here would be very happy if we never had to see one of these cases again,” says the firm’s managing partner Mike Angelides. “I wish I never had to see a family go through the heartache and agony of having to deal with this disease. It would be great to find a cure and put this disease to rest.”
Compared to other types of cancer, mesothelioma affects relatively few people and as a result attracts fewer research dollars.
“It is an ‘orphan cancer’,” says Angelides. “Although it affects about 2,500 Americans every year, it only receives about 1/10 of one percent of all cancer research funding. We really see it as our moral obligation to help this community, because quite frankly, if we don’t help them, no one will,” says Angelides.
Although it can be decades before the signs and symptoms of mesothelioma appear, even the slightest exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma or another asbestos-related cancer. Those affected are usually people who have been exposed to asbestos at their place of work at some point during their lives. They can be pipefitters, or construction workers or factory workers—any worker whose job entailed working with either asbestos itself, or components or parts which contained the deadly asbestos fibers.
There are few treatments and no cure for asbestos mesothelioma. The lungs fill with cancerous tumors and mesothelioma patients literally suffocate to death.
“This is such a terribly aggressive cancer, fast moving, always terminal, very painful,” says Angelides whose firm has battled dozens of companies over the last 11 years to challenge their careless exposure of workers to asbestos fibers.
“Our lawyers see how this affects families and what people suffer and what they go through. That is what has led to a culture at the Simmons firm of giving back to this community,” he adds.
The Simmons firm recently donated $250,000 to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, a non-profit foundation that funds research and provides education and support for patients and their families. The Simmons firm is the Foundation’s largest aggregate donor and has given the Foundation a total of $2 million over the last decade.
Through its own charitable organization, the Simmons Mesothelioma Research Organization, the firm has pledged or given millions of dollars worth of grants to US universities that do mesothelioma research including the University of Chicago, Columbia University in New York and the University of California at San Francisco.
And in Springfield, Illinois, the firm donated $11 million to build the Simmons Cancer Institute currently operating at the Southern Illinois University to address and serve the needs of people with all types of cancer.
The money comes in part from community-based fund raising efforts, but most it comes from the verdicts and settlements the Simmons firm has obtained over the last decade.
The tradition of giving back comes from the firm’s founder.
“This is the philosophy that our founder and current chairman, John Simmons, has had ever since he started the firm and he has really impressed upon us the importance of contributing and giving back to this community,” says Angelides, “and it has really been an honor for us to have been successful enough to do that.”
Mike Angelides is a partner in the firm of Simmons, Browder, Gianaris, Angelides & Barnerd (known as the Simmons firm). The firm has recovered approximately $3 billion on behalf of hundreds of families affected by mesothelioma and other asbestos-related cancers. Mike Angelides is a frequent speaker at asbestos-related legal conferences.
Meet Kelly Burris: The Flying Lawyer who Gives Back
April 5th, 2011. By BrendaC
Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Michigan attorney Kelly Burris of Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione…
Attorney Kelly Burris: “It’s a ‘win-win’ really…I get to do something good for people and I get to fly.”
About once a month, attorney Kelly Burris gases up her 4-seater single engine Beechcraft airplane and does a run for the Angel Flight Central organization in the US. “Let’s see,” says the easy-going, friendly and thoughtful Burris from her office at Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione, “I’ve flown breast milk, cancer patients, kids and one time I flew a hospice patient, that was a difficult one.”
It was a flight instructor who first suggested Burris get involved with Angel Flight as a way to gather more flying hours. Angel Flight is a non-profit organization of pilots and volunteers that provides free transportation to people who need to fly for medical or legitimate charitable reasons.
It was a good fit Burris. She’d just become a partner at the patent law firm of Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione in Ann Arbor. Her hours were flexible and Burris had the time, the money and the plane—and she loves to fly.
“Yes, I pay for it all,” says Burris who has been a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight for the last seven years. She calculates that each run costs about $400 to $500 and she believes it is worth every minute.
“But it’s a ‘win-win’ really,” she says. “I have always known community service is important and I have always done it. Maybe public service should be more of a sacrifice perhaps, but it isn’t. It is just really enjoyable. I get to do something good for people and I get to fly.”
Among her first flights was a 4-year old boy who was visually impaired. He walked out onto the tarmac and wanted to touch the plane. “He said, ‘Mommy, it is chrome, I bet it’s pretty Mom’. Burris says her heart melted. “Then he said ‘Kelly Burris, pilot, 1962, Beechcraft Debonair, is it a G-Tail or a B-Tail?”
That little boy is now 11 and Burris has flown him and his mother many times since then.
Burris was an engineer before she became a patent attorney. “It is all technology to me, and I love technology,” she says. Many of her clients are outside the state and she often combines work meetings with Angel Flight. “I have several clients in St. Louis, so I will look for an Angel Flight on a day I am going down there. I will swing by Chicago and pick somebody up and then drop them in Urbana at the University there and go see my client.”
In 2009 Burris won the Air Race Classic, a 2,700-mile cross-US race, sponsored by The Ninety-Nines, a female aviators group started in 1929 by Amelia Earhart. She donated the $5,000 top prize to Angel Flight.
Through The Ninety-Nines Burris has actually raised even more money for Angel Flight over the last several years. “The first year I was in the Air Race Classic, I thought while we are flying through all these different towns why don’t I slap the Angel Flight logo on the plane and wear my Angel Flight shirt and see if we can raise some awareness and money. My co-pilot and I have done 3 races now and raised about $50,000.”
To learn more about Angel Flight Central, please visit www.angelflightcentral.org.
Kelly Burris earned her J.D. at St. Louis University. She also holds a B.S. and M.S. in engineering. Her practice focuses on international trademark law, electrical and computer law, intellectual asset management, licensing, patents, trademarks and unfair competition. Ms. Burris, a licensed pilot since 1984, is a long-time volunteer and fundraiser for Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic and Angel Flight Central, part of the Air Charity Network. She was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of Angel Flight Central.
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