Katie Morales’ DisceRNment: Making the Legal Industry Proud

July 23rd, 2010. By Kristine B

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series we hope to present to celebrate and commend the behind-the-scenes volunteer work (including pro-bono cases), donated funds and/or time, and the overall commitment those in the legal industry generously give—most often quietly, without fanfare or cameras rolling—to those in need. We thank Katie Morales for all that she and her team at DisceRNment do, and for taking the time to speak with us.

Sometimes, when you focus on lawsuits and drug side effects, it can be easy to forget how much good there is in the world. Katie Morales, who we profiled previously in a Pleading Ignorance blog post, is one of the people doing a lot of good. So much good, that we had to talk about her. 

Katie is a legal nurse consultant and runs a company called DisceRNment (online at discernment.biz). Both privately and through her company, Katie works to make the world a better place. 

“Just this weekend, we adopted a mile as part of ‘Keep Cobb Beautiful,” Katie says. “You adopt the mile and are responsible for cleaning it. We participate in Service Juris, an event in Atlanta where attorneys help an inner city area; we helped to convert an abandoned area into a green space.” 

Katie, her husband and DiseRNment are involved in donating water, sponsoring a swim team and sponsoring six children through World Vision.

“We sponsor older boys because we’ve been told it’s hard to get people to sponsor older boys,” Katie says. “Initially, we did three in honor of our three boys and then we sponsored more. We’re also involved in Operation Christmas Child, where we donate toys for children in other countries. Again, we get things for older kids because it’s more difficult to get donations for them.” 

In addition, Katie and her husband have both donated more than a gallon of blood. 

“I want to help the world be a better place,” Katie says. “Also, I can’t help but imagine that those [children who rely on donations] could be my children. It’s a good move to help out. It doesn’t take a lot to help out. We’re part of Operation Roundup, where you round up money you’re being charged [on your electric bill] to the nearest dollar and that extra money goes to help people in the area who are struggling to pay their bills. 

“You can make a big difference with a small amount. I choose organizations that are near and dear to our heart most of the time. Everyone in my family wears glasses, so we send our old glasses to Eyes for the Needy, where the old glasses go to another country to help people who can use them. I know without our glasses, we’d be blind so if we were in a country with no glasses, we’d need help. 

“I think there are so many little things you can do that make a big difference. You can go to International Justice Ministry and purchase coffee and the proceeds go to provide legal representation to help people get out of slavery around the world. If you don’t have time, give money; if you don’t have money, give something else, like eyeglasses. Everybody has something that can help. 

“There are organizations to help you find what your passion is. You tell them about yourself and they send you suggestions about where to volunteer, locally and globally.”

Tags: DisceRNment, Katie Morales, Volunteer

This was posted on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 10:20 am and is filed under Lawyers Giving Back . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.