Pro Bono Partnership Names Its 2000 Volunteers of the Year

The Pro Bono Partnership has announced its 2000 Volunteer of the Year Awards. These awards are given each year to three individuals, a corporation and a law firm in recognition of their exemplary pro bono efforts. The 2000 individual awards are being given to Sandra G. Emerling of General Electric Capital Corporation, Richard C. Stewart, III of International Paper, and Randy Kamen of Sony Electronics, Inc. The corporate award winner is PepsiCo, Inc., and the law firm winner is Jackson, Lewis, Schnitzler & Krupman.

"We are so pleased and thankful for the contributions of our award winners, and for the contributions of all of our volunteers," noted Robert Healing, Corporate Counsel at General Electric and President of the Pro Bono Partnership. Mr. Healing noted that since its inception in November 1997, almost 450 in-house and private attorneys have volunteered to provide pro bono legal services to more than 250 different nonprofit organizations on over 550 different legal matters. This includes work in northern New Jersey, the Partnership's newest service area. The Partnership expanded into New Jersey in May of 2000 at the request of several leading NJ Fortune 1000 corporations, who asked the Partnership to replicate its successful programs for their New Jersey-based in-house attorneys.

"The Partnership's success is due to our staying focused on our two-pronged mission: serving the business legal needs of the nonprofit community, while providing meaningful pro bono opportunities to the corporate bar," said Richard S. Hobish, Executive Director of the Partnership. "This provides invaluable assistance to our communities, professional and personal enrichment for our volunteers, and generates goodwill for the corporations and law firms in the suburban tri-state area."

Randy Kamen, Chief Counsel for Labor and Employment with Sony Electronics in Sony's Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey office, is one of the Partnership's individual award recipients. "Randy has been an active volunteer from the moment the Partnership started in New Jersey," reports Jennifer Chandler Hauge, the Partnership's Deputy Director overseeing its New Jersey programs. Randy has provided services for a variety of employment-related pro bono legal matters for Partnership clients that work in the areas of child care, affordable housing, home health care, and the provision of social services. "Randy has enthusiastically accepted matters, and her work has been vital in helping our nonprofit clients operate more effectively," Ms. Hauge added. "With Randy's help and 'leadership by example,' we've gotten off to a fantastic start in New Jersey."

Richard Stewart, Chief intellectual property counsel for International Paper, is another individual award recipient. Rich began volunteering with the Partnership when he was with Champion International in Stamford, and he's continued to work with the Partnership when International Paper acquired Champion last year. "Rich was pleasantly surprised to see that nonprofits have intellectual property issues, just like for-profits," said Maurice K. Segall, the Partnership's Deputy Director in charge of its s New York and Connecticut programs, "providing him the opportunity to work on discrete and manageable pro bono matters in his area of expertise." Mr. Segall added that Rich has been incredibly proactive, expressing an interest in almost every intellectual property matter that becomes available for one of the Partnership's clients.

"The Pro Bono Partnership has made it very easy for lawyers such as myself to do pro bono work," Mr. Stewart said. "They mail documents out to us, listing possible ways we can help. We then identify opportunities we'd like to work on. If our work schedule becomes involved, they'll help find someone to work with you. This arrangement also enables you to work for groups versus individuals; the result is that your assistance is amplified. If I can help an organization help 50,000 individuals, it makes a real difference."

Sandra G. Emerling, State Tax Counsel with GE Capital in Stamford, CT, is the third individual award recipient. Ms. Emerling is being honored for her efforts on behalf of several Bridgeport-area nonprofit groups. Her first project was working on an application for tax-exemption for Groundwork Bridgeport, a community based organization dedicated to revitalizing blighted urban areas. "It can be challenging for the Partnership to place this kind of matter with in-house attorneys, since they involve issues of tax-exempt law that corporate counsel don't deal with in their daily practice," Mr. Segall said. Further, this application involved complex issues regarding the organization's revenue streams. Nevertheless, Ms. Emerling jumped right into the matter, working closely with the client and the Partnership to successfully complete the application for tax exemption, now being used as a model for other Groundwork organizations.

Ms. Emerling is now working with the Partnership and a consortium of several Bridgeport-area nonprofits on a real property tax matter that could impact the nonprofit sector statewide. "Once again, as soon as we approached Sandra about this matter, she enthusiastically agreed to participate," Mr. Segall said. "She immediately began researching relevant law and consulting with other GE Capital colleagues. We're fortunate to have Sandra's tax expertise, along with her dedication and thoroughness, to assist with this matter."

The PepsiCo Inc. Legal Department is the recipient of this year's Outstanding Corporate Volunteer Award. Mr. Hobish said that from the beginning, the Pepsi Legal Department has strong supporter of the Partnership and its programs. Many Pepsi attorneys have provided pro bono services for the Partnership's clients, including a food bank, child care centers, an abused women's crisis and support center, a nonprofit social service and referral agency, and an organization providing short-term housing loans. "Without exception, the Pepsi attorneys have been a pleasure to work with, and the legal services they've provided have been exemplary," noted Mr. Hobish. "In fact, both Maria Renna and David Yawman of Pepsi's Legal Department were asked to join the Boards of Directors of agencies they assisted. I can think of no better testament to the quality and professionalism of their work. We are so grateful for all of the support that Pepsi and its legal department have given the Partnership."

The firm of Jackson, Lewis, Schnitzler & Krupman, one of the nation's leading employment law firms, is the Partnership's Outstanding Volunteer Law Firm Recipient. "Employment law is the one of the biggest areas of concern for nonprofit groups," said Mr. Hobish, "and the lawyers from Jackson Lewis have been an incredible resource, helping many of our clients address their employment concerns." Jackson Lewis attorneys have worked with the Partnership's clients on a variety of employment-related matters, ranging from reviewing a nonprofit's personnel policies to addressing more immediate issues involving individual employees. Lawyers from the firm's Stamford and White Plains offices have been active volunteers since the Partnership started, and the firm's Morristown office is now also actively involved with the Partnership's efforts in New Jersey.

To learn more about the Partnership, call their main office at (914) 328-0674 or visit their website at www.probonopartnership.org.