Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc.
Innovations in Pro Bono Service Award Recipients
Cheryl Naja, Mary Benton, Dena Hong,
The Hotline Gang (Michelle Ashley, Dalia Selcis and Allison Madonia)
In a project spearheaded by
Mary Benton and Dena Hong,
attorneys and paralegals from
Alston + Bird and the corporate
legal department of United
Parcel Service (UPS) have
recently created an innovative
collaboration with the Cancer
Legal Initiative and the Senior
Citizens Law Project (SCLP) to
assist relatives and caregivers
in obtaining guardianship and
conservatorship over medicallyCheryl Naja
feeble incompetent adults. The
Alston + Bird
collaboration also assists adults
in obtaining guardianship over minor children due to the
incapacitation or death of a parent from illness. When
accepting these adult guardianship and conservatorship
cases, Alston + Bird and UPS absorb non-waivable fees in
the amount of $500 per case to pay for assessments on the
proposed ward. It is an amazing commitment that gives Legal
Aid access to staff and financial resources that the program
would not otherwise have. Mary and Dena are the driving
force behind this amazing commitment to Legal Aid clients.
Alston + Bird is leading the pack in offering the joy of pro
bono service for non-attorney staff - while expanding Legal
Aid’s capacity to serve clients. The Georgia Senior Legal
Hotline receives an average of 50 calls per day, despite
having no paid administrative support. When seniors call
the Hotline, they must leave a voicemail message; the
voicemail message must be retrieved and entered into the
Hotline’s on-line case management system—a 3-4 hour a
day administrative task that the Hotline’s attorneys used
to handle themselves. In 2009, Cheryl Naja approached
the Hotline staff about a non-legal pro bono project. The
Hotline felt like it hit the lottery. Cheryl worked tirelessly
to brainstorm exactly how the receptionists could relieve
the Hotline’s attorneys from the administrative burden of
retrieving and entering messages from callers. Cheryl has
continued to support the project by: sponsoring a yearly
celebratory lunch for the Hotline attorneys and the Alston
+ Bird volunteers, forwarding ideas about fundraising, and
just always being available to discuss new ideas. The
result of this partnership has been as good for the staff as
it has been for the Hotline, engaging the receptionists and
allowing them to have an enormous impact on both the
work of the staff and the lives of the clients. ■
Mary Benton
Alston + Bird
Dena Hong
Alston + Bird
The Hotline Gang (Michelle Ashley, Dalia Selcis and Allison Madonia)
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
August/September 2011
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
13