Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta
The Truancy Intervention Project
Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta provides pro bono opportunities that are specifically designed for transactional and
in-house attorneys. Our clients are nonprofit organizations
that serve the poor and disadvantaged and our volunteer
attorneys help with the organization’s business law needs,
including contracts, corporate governance, employment
counsel, trademark and copyright, real estate, and tax. Our
projects are discrete and usually require about 5-15 hours.
The Truancy Intervention's mission is to increase student
attendance and opportunities for success through legal
and family advocacy. The Truancy Intervention Project will
celebrate its 25th year of service October 2016.
Contact: Rachel Spears
(404) 407-5088 | www.pbpatl.org
Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta provides support to volunteer attorneys, including form documents, malpractice insurance, and
staff attorney assistance on nonpro fit legal issues. We do not
have the capacity to provide training or supervision and therefore all volunteers should have the necessary legal experience.
Michelle Johnson of Nelson Mullins is a standout among our
volunteer ranks. Michelle provides much needed employment
counsel to nonprofit clients on issues like worker classification, employee handbooks, hiring and firing, and the proper
use of contractors. For Michelle, her pro bono clients are
just as important as her paying clients and she calmly and
confidently guides them through difficult employee situations.
Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta has a backlog of available pro
bono projects and could use a lot more volunteers like Michelle.
Contact: Adrian Wright
(404) 613-4741 | www.truancyproject.org
More than a decade ago, I volunteered for my first Truancy Intervention
Project (TIP) case. Like many recent law school graduates,
I was idealistically searching for justice even though I could
barely find my way around the confusing maze of offices at
my own law firm. My first stand-up courtroom experiences
all involved representing TIP clients at the Fulton County
Juvenile Court back when the building was so new you could
still smell fresh paint and carpet. My first TIP client, who we
will call “T”, was 14 years old and had been an honor roll
student without a discipline record until her referral to the
Court. After skipping classes and missing too many days one
semester, she was forced to leave her magnet program at
APS and was placed in an alternative school. Although T was
placed under supervision by the Juvenile Court, she quickly
brought up her grades and attendance and was successfully
discharged from the alternative school within months. She
won TIP’s annual Hank Aaron Award in 2003 for her improvement. After the formal TIP case representation ended, I continued to mentor T and spent a lot of time working with her
on life skills like the importance of getting and retaining good
credit, honing resume skills and the like. Her case exemplified just how influential a thoughtful and caring mentoring
program can be in steering a student off the dropout path.
It has been thirteen years since T successfully graduated from
TIP and I have stayed close with T, her four siblings and the
rest of her family. I was blessed to be in the stands cheering T
as she accepted her high school diploma. I talked her through
a very long and uncertain journey from Atlanta to Montana
State University where she is currently studying business and
marketing. What started as a simple pro bono opportunity has
turned out to be an enduring family friendship. T’s story is at the
heart of why juvenile justice intervention is so important and life
giving- both for the student and for us as lawyers.
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March 2016
HONORING RICHARD DEANE
AND MARTIN ELLIN
APRIL 14, 2016 | PIEDMONT DRIVING CLUB
Registration: 11:30 am
Luncheon and Program: 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Event Fees
$50 for members ($60 at the door)
$80 for non-members
Reserved Tables
Reserved tables of 10 can be purchased in advance for $600.
Please provide attendee names for your reserved table(s) in advance.
All attendees listed will be registered for the event.
RICHARD DEANE
Rick Deane is a criminal trial lawyer, Partner-in-Charge and head
of the litigation group at Jones Day. He represents clients who are
facing all types of criminal or civil investigations by the United States
Department of Justice and other investigative agencies and has extensive experience in dealing with federal grand jury investigations,
Rick was recently chosen by the State Bar of Georgia's bench and
bar committee as recipient of the 12th Annual Chief Justice Thomas
O. Marshall Professionalism Award. He is past president of the National Association of Former United States Attorneys.
MARTIN ELLIN
Marty Ellin has served as executive director of the Atlanta Volunteer
Lawyers Foundation (AVLF) since 2001 after 20 years in private
practice. His strong commitment to service to the poor and promotion
of equal access to civil justice has guided the foundation through
years of expansion. The AVLF develops and coordinates programs
that provide legal representation, education and advocacy for at-risk,
low income individuals by tapping the enthusiasm and commitment of
volunteer legal professionals to address the unmet civil legal needs
in the Atlanta legal community.
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The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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