Pro Bono Partnership Recognizes Its 1999 Volunteers Of The Year The Pro Bono Partnership presented its 1999 Volunteer of the Year Awards on December 10 at a dinner sponsored by The Corporate Bar Association of Westchester and Fairfield Counties. These awards are given each year to three individuals, a law firm, and a corporation in recognition of their exemplary pro bono efforts. This year the individual awards went to Jane Alpert of General Electric, Michael Rudy of Texaco, Inc. and Patricia Squires of Robinson & Cole, LLP. The organizational awards recipients were Pitney Bowes Inc. and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. "We are very proud to have created a vehicle for our volunteers to provide much needed legal services to the non-profit community," said Robert Healing, Corporate Counsel at General Electric and President of the Pro Bono Partnership. "It is our hope and strong belief that such work has proven to be personally and professionally enriching to our volunteers, has helped our communities and generated much good will for many of the corporations and law firms in the two-county area." This year's award recipients are notable for the work they conducted over the course of the year. Jane Alpert organized and coordinated a team of eight volunteers from General Electric, Paul Hastings, Roemer, Wallens & Mineaux and Reznick, Fedder and Silverman in connection with a low income tax credit financing of 48 single residency occupancy units at the YMCA in Tarrytown, NY. "There were few projects that I worked on in my twenty-nine year professional career that were as difficult and as intellectually challenging," said Len Andrew, retired IBM lawyer and President of the YMCA. "Jane Alpert spent many hours of her personal and work time, many more hours than she ever expected, guiding the YMCA through the complicated low-income housing tax credit process. The value of the pro bono and accounting services for this project approached $250,000 a tremendous contribution which made this project a reality." Steve McGeeney, the Chairman of Paul Hastings, accepted the Outstanding Volunteer Law Firm award on behalf of the firm. Paul Hastings, primarily through the efforts of Phil Marzetti and Michael Haun of the Atlanta office, worked closely with Ms. Alpert on the Tarrytown project and were integral to the project's success. "Mike and Phil contributed countless hours to help guide this project through the maze of agreements, certifications and guarantees that were required by the many lenders involved in this deal," Ms. Alpert said. "It proved to be a wonderful partnership in which we all derived much pleasure and satisfaction from working together to help address a well-documented problem in Westchester, the shortage of affordable housing." "Employment law is a huge concern in the non-profit sector," said Rick Hobish, Executive Director of the Partnership. "The ability to tap the energy and expertise of attorneys from Paul Hastings has done much to address the concerns of many of our clients and provided them with the tools necessary to reduce their exposure to liability. Our relationship with Paul Hastings represents the leveraging of resources that underlies the success of this organization. We are proud to recognize and congratulate the firm for the resources it has devoted to the non-profit community." The Pitney Bowes Legal Department was the recipient of this year's Outstanding Corporate Volunteer Award. Pitney Bowes, under the leadership of Sara Moss, General Counsel, and Amy Corn, Corporate Secretary and Senior Associate General Counsel, was one of the Partnership’s earliest and strongest supporters and has several attorneys working on matters for a wide' variety of the Partnership's clients, including a social service agency, a women's learning center, a non-profit day care provider, a sexual assault crisis center, and a substance abuse and rehabilitation center. "Pitney Bowes and its attorneys have played a pivotal role in the Partnership's ongoing success," Mr. Hobish said. "They are all enthusiastic volunteers willing to step up to the plate whenever we are in need of their services and, without exception, the services they provide are of the highest quality and professionalism. Pitney Bowes is a pleasure to work with and is a wonderful model for other corporations interested in getting more involved with the Partnership's programs." Michael Rudy, Senior Corporate Attorney with Texaco, Inc. is another individual award recipient. Mike has been an active volunteer and supporter since the Partnership started providing pro bono services in 1997. In addition to helping the Partnership's staff recruit other Texaco attorneys to work with the Partnership, Mike has worked on a variety of pro bono corporate matters for organizations involved in child care and health-related issues. "Mike has accepted and handled his work quickly and enthusiastically," said Maurice Segall, Deputy Director of the Partnership. "His work on by-laws and other corporate governance issues for our client has been instrumental in helping them to operate more efficiently. He is the ideal volunteer and we are extremely grateful for his contributions." Patricia Squires, of the law firm of Robinson & Cole, LLP was the third individual award recipient. Ms. Squires was recognized for her work with the formation of the Stamford Dental Center, whose mission is to provide high quality, cost effective dental care and services to people in the Stamford, CT area who would not otherwise be able to afford such assistance. This project involved a multitude of legal services including forming the corporate structure, obtaining tax exempt status, applying for state licenses and approvals, and reviewing a lease covering the premises, among others. Ms. Squires, along with her colleague, David Burke, supervised and coordinated the firm's efforts on behalf of the Dental Center, and embraced the entire project from the beginning. As a result of these efforts, the Dental Center hopes to open its doors by early next year. In further recognition of her work, Ms. Squires was invited to join the board of the Dental Center. To learn more about the Partnership, call (914) 328-0674 or visit its website at probonopartnership.org. Joining the presentation ceremonies for the Pro Bono Partnership 1999 Volunteers of the Year Awards are, from left, Richard Hobish, Executive Director, Pro Bono Partnership; Johna Torsene, Vice President and Chief Personnel Officer, Pitney Bowes; Maurice Segall, Deputy Director, Pro Bono Partnership; Jane Alpert, General Electric; Michael Rudy, Texaco, Inc.; Patricia Squires, Robinson & Cole, and Steve McGeeney, Chairman, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.