section update
Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers Section
The 2014 Associates’ Campaign - Atlanta Associates Continue
Strong Fundraising Efforts for Local Pro Bono Organizations
By Matthew Simmons
[email protected]
T
he Atlanta Bar Association’s Atlanta Council of Younger
Lawyers closed the books on its 2014 Associates’
Campaign at the end of October, 2014, and concluded
its second most successful campaign ever! This grassroots effort comprised of associates at Atlanta-area law
firms is the ACYL’s signature annual event and aims to
raise both awareness of the critical need for pro bono legal
services in our community and much-needed funds for
those organizations. Given the funding challenges faced
by charitable organizations of all stripes during the recent
years of economic downturn, all law yers should take pride
in how the youngest members of our profession stepped
up to answer this substantial need with
overwhelming generosity.
of their associates’ donations. These firms were: Bondurant,
Mixson & Elmore; Chilivis, Cochran, Larkins & Bever; Fellows
LaBriola; King & Spalding; Morris, Manning & Martin; and
Taylor English.
The co-chairs of the 2014 Associates’ Campaign were Matt
Simmons and Nora Budman. Special thanks also go to Karen
English, Brantly Watts (Atlanta Bar Association), Genie Iredale
(ACYL President), and – of course – to the associates who
served as their firm’s respective coordinators.
The ACYL looks forward to the next installation of its
“...ACYL’s signature annual event aims
to raise both awareness of the critical
need for pro bono legal services in our
community and much-needed funds for
those organizations.”
Thanks to Atlanta-area associates and
the select law firms that matched their
associates’ donations, the Associates’
Campaign raised $26,530.00 this year—
continuing the impressive results from
2013! This total came from over 200
associates and their respective law
firms. Donors directed these funds to the
following local pro-bono organizations
that provide legal services: Georgia
Innocence Project; Atlanta Volunteer
Lawyers Foundation, Inc.; Atlanta Legal
Aid Society; Georgia Legal Services
Program; Georgia Resource Center; Georgia Appleseed;
Georgia Justice Project; GreenLaw; Truancy Intervention
Project Georgia; Southern Center for Human Rights; Pro
Bono Partnership of Atlanta; and the Investor Advocacy Clinic.
The top overall three firms whose associates donated to
this year’s campaign were:
signature campaign again this fall. If you are a legal pro bono
organization that would like to be considered for inclusion in
the 2015 Associates’ Campaign or are an associate who would
like to volunteer to serve as your firm’s coordinator, please
contact Matt Simmons ([email protected]) or Nora
Budman ([email protected]). The 2015 Associates’
Campaign will run during the month of October.
1. King & Spalding ($15,250.00)
2. Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP ($4,320.00)
3. Morris, Manning & Martin ($1,550.00)
This year’s success was also made possible by the generous
support of several firms that agreed to match all or a portion
30 THE ATLANTA LAWYER
March 2015
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association