The Atlanta Lawyer October/November 2015 | Page 19

Atlanta Legal Aid Society Atlanta Legal Aid Honors Volunteers of the Year By Paula Lawton Bevington Atlanta Legal Aid [email protected] T his year it’s plural. Atlanta Legal Aid’s 2015 Volunteer of the Year is a hard-working, dauntless duo: Howard Rothbloom and Adam Herring. Howard, a “Double Dawg,” first lent his talents to Legal Aid working with Bill Brennan in the days when Bill and Home Defense were synonymous. Howard’s skill in bankruptcy law intersected with multiple housing issues. He deserves special credit for his role in securing a Cy Pres award for Legal Aid that enabled Karen Brown to join Bill at Home Defense, making it a unit unto itself that continues to grow. A longtime member of the Advisory Committee, Howard relishes untangling tangled cases and wrestling order out of confusion. When offered the opportunity to right an especially disorderly case earlier this year, he not only accepted the challenge but invited Adam, his colleague at The Rothbloom Law Firm, to join the battle. Adam earned his undergraduate degree at UNC and law degree at Emory. Howard D. Rothbloom (The Rothbloom Law Firm) A client called Legal Aid’s Senior Hotline, distraught. Bill collectors were harassing Mr. Jones*, a recent widower. His debts had mounted as medical bills for his late wife’s care accumulated. He himself was just out of the hospital and using a wheelchair. He feared losing his home. In late 2013, he had engaged a lawyer who made mistakes, compounded by repeated lack of communication with Mr. Jones. The Hotline’s Lisa Steuer took the call and then presented the issues to Steve Gottlieb, who speculated that Howard just might accept the case, but commented, “If he does, he’s a saint.” Howard did take the case, knowing just how convoluted it was. Adam joined him, eyes wide open. They both find that the so-called “messy” cases call most compellingly for clean-up and resolution. They knew that the work would demand large blocks of time. And it did. Success was far from guaranteed. Nevertheless, Howard and Adam did succeed. Diligence, along with a level of care that might be expected in a multi-million dollar suit but not in a case involving a low-income senior, made the difference. Neither Howard nor Adam will claim the title “saint”, but many would assert that they performed a miracle. The 2015 Randall L. Hughes Lifetime Commitment to Legal Services goes to Mike Nations. President of Atlanta Legal Aid in 2007, Mike earned that position through his years of steady, detail-oriented work to keep Legal Aid as efficient and effective as possible. A graduate of Duke and Harvard Law School, Mike, along Adam D. Herring with his wife, served (The Rothbloom Law Firm) in the Peace Corps in Venezuela for two years. Service is in his DNA. Steve Gottlieb stated that he especially appreciates the fact that Mike has always been on board with fundraising - understanding its importance and the demanding mechanics of making it happen, year in and year out. He is a veteran Vice