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The Pro Bono Partnership (PBP), a tax exempt public charity, puts
attorneys in touch with community based nonprofit organizations that are
in need of legal services. PBP was founded in November 1997 by members of
The Corporate Bar Association. Today, more than 200 lawyers volunteer
their time to over 150 nonprofit organizations. Each year PBP recognizes
three individuals, a law firm and a corporation as outstanding volunteers.
This year PepsiCo, Inc.’s Law Department received PBP’s Outstanding
Corporate Volunteer Award.
2000 Volunteer Award
The PepsiCo, Inc. Law Department has been a strong supporter of PBP
since the organization’s inception. Robert F. Sharpe, Jr., then PepsiCo’s
senior vice president of public affairs, general counsel and secretary,
received a call from the PBP office in White Plains. The organization
solicits support from individual lawyers and corporate law departments to
assist their not-for-profit clients who need legal services. Rob Sharpe
encouraged his staff to offer meaningful pro bono services.
"This is a true matchmaker situation, we’re giving to the community and
pleased about it," says Dave Yawman, senior counsel, employment and
benefits. Dave and three other PepsiCo attorneys, Maria Renna, vice
president, compensation and former member of the Law Department, Tim
Heaviside, vice president and assistant general counsel and Xan Raskin,
employment attorney, have volunteered their time.
Pro Bono brings people together. PBP typically mails documents to
individuals or corporate law departments listing possible ways they can
help. Projects typically require about 20 to 25 hours over a three-month
period. "Each project triggers a relationship," says Dave. "These places
are thirsting for help. It’s Rob’s willingness to allow the attorneys in
his department to spend some portion of their time on Pro Bono matters
that has spurred our willingness to give something back."
Rewards of Lending a Hand
Dave has been involved with FIRST, an information referral service that
assists individuals who literally don’t know where to turn for help – from
drug counseling to home shelters to pregnancy prevention information. The
organization is a veritable ‘911’ for community services. It maintains a
data base of thousands of community service organizations.
Xan Raskin has been providing pro bono legal services to My Sisters’
Place, an organization dedicated to ending abuse and violence in the
family. It has been providing shelter and support services to battered
women and their children in Westchester County and the surrounding area
since 1978. Xan has been helping them revise their employment handbook,
employment application and other personnel documents in accordance with
the laws. She has also been counseling the organization day-to-day on
employment legal issues such as the Family & Medical Leave Act and the
Americans with Disabilities Act. Says Xan, "Lending a hand to a growing
organization that provides such valuable service to the community has been
enormously rewarding, and I’ve been able to develop some lasting
relationships as well."
Volunteer Tim Heaviside worked with an agency known as the Bridge Fund.
The Bridge Fund provides loans to people who have lost their homes or are
at risk of losing them. When the Bridge Fund needed help finding a home
for itself (commercial offices in New York City) Tim helped negotiate and
draft the lease. The parties involved on both sides were inexperienced in
commercial real estate transactions. By talking them through a tentative
deal and identifying important issues for both sides to consider and agree
on, Tim helped both sides come away with a good feeling about and clear
understanding of the deal and each other.
Maria Renna, has donated time to Food PATCH, an organization dedicated
to feeding the homeless. Both she and Dave Yawman have been invited to
join the Boards of Directors of agencies they have assisted, a testament
to the quality and professionalism of their work.
Exemplary Service
Says Richard S. Hobish, executive director of PBP, "Without exception,
the PepsiCo attorneys have been a pleasure to work with, and the legal
services they’ve provided have been exemplary. We are so grateful for all
of the support that PepsiCo and its legal department have given the
Partnership."
PepsiCo lawyers received the Pro Bono Partnership Outstanding Corporate
Volunteer Award for donating legal services. Legal department members
include, standing left-to-right: Lawrence F. Dickie, vice president,
associate general counsel and assistant secretary; Robert F. Sharpe, Jr.,
senior vice president of public affairs, general counsel and secretary;
David Yawman, senior counsel, employment and benefits. Sitting are,
left-to-right: Xan Raskin, employment attorney; Tim Heaviside, vice
president and assistant general
counsel. | 
