Volunteer Lawyers for Justice Names White & Case Pro Bono Law Firm of the Month
New York,
April 18, 2007 ... Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) recognized the pro bono work of White & Case lawyers this week by naming the Firm VLJ's April 2007 pro bono law firm of the month.
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Honorable James R. Zazzali (right), recently
retired Chief Justice of the NJ Supreme Court,
presents award to John D. Rue (left) |
VLJ provides legal services to underprivileged persons solely through the efforts of volunteer lawyers. White & Case lawyers worked on one of the group's initiatives — the Special Education Law Project, which provides legal services to indigent children with disabilities when they are denied appropriate special education services. So far, White & Case lawyers have successfully handled two such cases.
"We are grateful for the recognition VLJ has given us," said pro bono director Jim Stillwaggon. "Not only do these victories make a tremendous impact on the lives of these teenagers — a cause to which we are dedicated — but through such programs, our associates gain experience in negotiations with an adverse party as the senior attorney present, which is something that will help them in client negotiations as well."
The Firm's lawyers helped an emotionally disturbed high school senior, whose educational future was at stake when the school district decided to stop paying for her to attend the alternative school that specialized in dealing with students with similar issues. New York-based associate John Rue took the lead on the girl's case with less than a week before the hearing.
After a full day of negotiations at the courthouse, actively mediated by the Administrative Law Judge, the school board settled, and the girl was able to return to school for the remainder of the year, where she received the specialized counseling that she requires. Assisting John Rue on this case were associates Hunter Murdock, Heather Burke, Megan DePasquale, Melissa Laferriere and legal assistant Kelly Bonner. Partners Rob Milne and Jack Pace supervised.
In another case, New York-based associate Hunter Murdock represented a teenager with learning disabilities who, after moving to a different location, was taken out of a special needs school and put into a general education high school. Murdock, who was supervised by Pace and worked together with legal assistant Patricia Stahl, reached a settlement which allowed the teenager to stay at the school for children with special needs.
About Volunteer Lawyers for Justice
VLJ was founded in 2001 by a group of attorneys in New Jersey concerned about the limited availability of free legal resources to the poor. VLJ is a comprehensive pro bono program meeting the needs of the poor solely through the efforts of volunteer attorneys throughout New Jersey. To date, VLJ volunteers have assisted thousands of indigent persons in the community with critical legal matters such as divorce, domestic violence, special education issues, bankruptcy, evictions and more.
About White & Case White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with more than 2,000 lawyers in 35 offices in 23 countries. Our clients value the breadth and depth of our US, English and local law capabilities and rely on us for their complex cross-border commercial and financial transactions and for international arbitration and litigation. Whether in established or emerging markets, the hallmark of White & Case is our complete dedication to the business priorities and legal needs of our clients.
Contact: Reilly Starr (New York) Media Relations Manager 1 212 819 8315 rstarr@whitecase.com
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