Who will win the law firm challenge?

So far, 63 attorneys under the age of 40 have made contributions to the 2015 Campaign for
Justice. Last year, 176 attorneys under age 40 and another 16 in that 40-ish category, contributed in the first Law Firm Challenge.

Bill Lowe, committee chair for this year’s challenge, is confident there is enough time left (until
November 27) to exceed last year’s level of participation.

“The goal is to get younger attorneys engaged in the community’s need for civil legal services for
Rochester’s low income population,” Lowe explained. “The firms and legal organizations have been very responsive.”

Dividing the legal community into 4 categories to compare participation level, the competitors
include:

Large firms: Harter Secrest & Emery, Nixon Peabody, Harris Beach, and Woods Oviatt.
Mid-size firms: Barclay Damon, Bond Schoeneck, Boylan Code, Phillips Lytle, Underbert & Kessler, and Ward Greenberg.
Small firms: Pullano & Farrow, Littler Mendelson, and Faraci Lange.
Gov/Public law: Rochester City Law Dept, District Attorney’s Office; Public Defender’s Office, and Monroe County Law Dept.

The number of participants, so far -- 11/18/2015 – looks like this:

Law firm challenge committee members Bill Lowe, Meghan McGuire, Jack Heisman, Sanjeev
Devahakthuni, Jeremy Cooney and Anthony Orphe are counting on a lot more “under 40s” to contribute in the next few days. Don’t forget, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, next week is a short week!

​Written by Nora A. Jones

2015 Campaign for Justice is off to the races...

Frank Novak, William Lowe, and Arline Santiago want to get the word out that the 2015 Campaign for Justice is already picking up momentum. With a goal of $280,000, to be distributed to Volunteer Legal Services Project, Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc., and the Legal Aid Society of Rochester, the traditional phone-a-thon is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 18th.

The Law Firm Challenge, geared to increase the number of attorney-donors under the age of 40, and to raise awareness of the legal service agencies that coordinate civil legal relief for low income residents in Monroe County, kicked off on October 19. Last year’s inaugural Law Firm Challenge raised $11,198 contributed by 176 new donors.

“Based on the information available so far, we hope to surpass both totals this year,” stated Bill Lowe in talking about the efforts of his committee, which includes: Meghan McGuire, Jack Heisman, Sanjeev Devabakthuni, Jeremy Cooney (who headed last year’s challenge) and Anthony Orphe.

The competition, which concludes November 27, includes four categories of participants: Large firms; Medium-sized firms; Small firms; and Public Sector entities. The status, by category can be found at www.vlsprochester.org, under the donate tab, with a link to law firm challenge.

A winner from each category will be determined by the highest percentage of participation.

“We are looking at ways to strengthen our ties with the participating entities,” Bill added. “We want to ensure that the Challenge becomes a fixture within each of the firms and entities.”

The Campaign for Justice has been conducted annually since 1986 raising critical funds to ensure our community’s poor have access to the legal system. With the region’s poverty population expanding, the funding also needs to grow.

By Nora Jones