Pro Bono
In naming Pierce Atwood to its "Midsize Hot List" in 2011, the National Law Journal singled out the firm's pro bono efforts for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD). For the past five years, in partnership with GLAD, many lawyers from multiple Pierce Atwood offices have worked to establish equal justice under law for the LGBT community. Recently, on GLAD's behalf, Pierce Atwood has filed two amicus curiae briefs in the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Learn more about GLAD.
Pierce Atwood's work for GLAD, however, is only one aspect of the firm's many pro bono activities. Other comprehensive firm-wide projects to serve the underserved and disadvantaged are described below.
While Pierce Atwood's far ranging pro bono activities provide unique training opportunities and other benefits to the firm, they all stem from a public-service ethic deeply rooted in the firm's history and culture.
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CASA
Pierce Atwood first partnered with the
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program in the late 1980's. In 2002, the firm formally unveiled its lawyer referral partnership with the Maine CASA program, and in 2004, Pierce Atwood's Portsmouth office launched a similar program. Through its partnership with CASA, Pierce Atwood lawyers represent guardians in contested court proceedings and difficult negotiations.
Learn more about the Maine CASA program.
ILAP
Our attorneys and staff provide pro bono legal assistance in immigration and asylum cases referred by the
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project. Under our partnership with ILAP, Pierce Atwood has represented clients from Somalia, Rwanda, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Haiti, and other countries where war, political instability, and violence have created extraordinary hardship for people.
Learn more about ILAP.
VLP
We have long been the leading provider of volunteer services to the
Volunteer Lawyers Project's (VLP) Lawyer of the Day program. Our lawyers also represent clients in cases referred by VLP and through VLP initiatives like its Courthouse Assistance Project for family law litigants.
Learn more about VLP.
Portland Veterans Network
Pierce Atwood has partnered with the Portland Regional Chamber on its Portland Veterans Network program, which provides free programs for unemployed veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The program focuses on providing veterans with jobs, wellness, educational and networking opportunities. Pierce Atwood is assisting on the jobs front by providing resume workshops, resume critique and mock interviews.
The program was recently featured in an article in MaineBiz. To learn more about the program, click here.
Day of Community Service
The firm's pro bono efforts are not limited to its lawyers; every year, we host an annual firm-wide
Day of Community Service during which both attorneys and staff leave the office for a day to serve deserving charitable organizations. Previous partners include: Rippleffect, Youth Alternatives, Goodwill Industries, Camp Ketcha, Long Creek Youth Development Center, Camp Sunshine, Volunteers of America and Crossroads for Women.
From Maine
Pierce Atwood was a founding member and is a continuing supporter of the Frank M. Coffin Family Law Fellowship, which funds three full-time attorneys who provide a full range of family law services for low-income individuals. Our attorneys also serve on or advise numerous non-profit, civic, and school boards, such as the
Maine Bar Foundation and
Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and provide services to a host of non-profit and charitable organizations, such as the
Animal Welfare Society.
From New Hampshire
Pierce Atwood attorneys have been honored for their long-term commitment to the delivery of legal services to low-income individuals, including work on a broad range of problems through the New Hampshire Bar Association's Pro Bono Referral Program, the New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) and the Legal Advice and Referral Center (LARC). Our attorneys also serve on the governing boards of each program and volunteer for many public service, non-profit and charitable organizations.
From Massachusetts
The firm is a corporate member of
WalkBoston, a Boston-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting walking and pedestrian safety throughout Massachusetts, and one of our attorneys successfully ran the 2011 Boston Marathon as a charitable fundraiser. Pierce Atwood is a corporate sponsor of the
Greater Lawrence Kiwanis for Kids Golf Tournament, and attorneys have assumed leadership positions in the
Boston Bar Association, including the immediate past president of the Association.
From Rhode Island
In addition to assisting GLAD in defending Rhode Island's campaign disclosure statute, activities include work with the Institute to Educate Afghan Women; leading the women of color subcommittee of the
Rhode Island Women's Bar Association; and serving on the Board of
Families First, a non-profit organization that pairs new mothers with volunteer mothers and conducts clinical assessments for post-partum depression.
From Washington, DC
Our attorneys are active in the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs; volunteer, through the Energy Bar Association, at Habitat for Humanity build sites in the DC and Northern Virginia areas; volunteer for political asylum cases through programs sponsored by the DC Bar; and are members of the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment.