Letter from the Executive Director

The start of the year is a special time at Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, as we take the time to honor and thank the hundreds of legal volunteers and donors who make our work possible.  Earlier this month, we gathered 150 of our supporters at Troutman Pepper to celebrate the impact PBPA had in 2023. We were honored to present several awards to individuals, corporations and law firms whose contributions and dedication went above and beyond in their support of PBPA. Awardees included: 

• Legal Department of the Year Award: Cox Enterprises Law & Policy ​​​​​
• Law Firm of the Year Award: Troutman Pepper 
• Volunteers of the Year Award: 
  • Sarah E. Parker of Holland & Knight
  •  Garland Reid of Delta Air Lines
  •  Karen Bain of Knowles Gallant Timmons
  •  Todd Williams of Stripe
  • Art Gambill of McGuire Woods
  •  Anne Kamosso of Ohmium
• Pro Bono Pro: Joe Freeman
• Rising Star Award: Regine Lewis of DLA Piper
• Happy Perkins Award: Tom Rawls   
• Legal Check Up Challenge Cup: AT&T, Delta Air Lines, and Kilpatrick Townsend

A huge thank you to our presenting sponsor, BridgeBank, and event sponsors Consilio, Exterro, Latitude Legal, LegalPartners Group, LegalPeople, Toppan Merrill, and TrustPoint International for supporting this event, and to everyone that came out to celebrate! 

Rachel Spears
Executive Director

Staff Spotlight

We would like to congratulate Lori Shapiro on her 10-year anniversary as PBPA’s Senior Employment Counsel. In addition to acting as outside counsel to about 150 of her own PBPA clients, Lori provides employment advice to all of PBPA’s clients.  She jumps in when a nonprofit needs to make a quick employment decision, and also takes on overflow employment projects because we can never seem to keep up with demand. 

Our annual client survey was full of praise for Lori, but here is a quote that best represents her and the heart she puts into PBPA: “Lori Shapiro is such a pleasure to work with! Her work has impacted our ability to perform well as an organization tremendously. She, and Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, are truly an extension of our team and help us to focus on the good work towards our mission.” 

Shoutouts to our Volunteers

Thank you to the more than 200 volunteers who have signed up for a pro bono project in 2024! We could not do this work without you. Click here for a list of individuals who have volunteered so far this year.

From: Park Pride
To: Steven Hauser (Hauser Legal Services LLC)
Just wanted to share that Steve Hauser has been Amazing!!!  Steve has engaged with me and two board members in a comprehensive review of our bylaws.  I feel he has gone above and beyond on a volunteer project and cannot say enough good things about his work, attention to detail and his willingness to work collaboratively with me and our two board members.

From: Moyo Missions
To: Stan Bell, Valentin Arenas and Chase Wathen (Greenburg Traurig)
THANK YOU for all your help in our name change.  It was a smooth and easy process. We certainly could not have done it without you! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

From: STE(A)M Truck
To: Tim Covington (Koch Industries) and Alex Milios (Ogletree Deakins)
A big thank you to both of you for reviewing our liability waivers. Even though this was a small project the impact was large. The team here at STE(A)MTruck is ever so grateful for the time and expertise that you provided on this project.   

Donor Spotlight

PBPA would like to thank one of our biggest supporters: the UPS Foundation. In 2023 alone, they contributed $100,000 to our mission, funding vital programming that promotes and supports the nonprofit community of Greater Atlanta. UPS lawyers also donated over 200 volunteer hours and participated in our Legal Check Up event. Without their critical funding and support, PBPA could not fulfill our mission of providing legal assistance to hundreds of nonprofits every year. Thank you, UPS and UPS Foundation, for all you do!

Client Profile:
The Music Education Group

Veteran music industry executive Rickey Ross founded The Music Education Group (MEG) in 2004, fueled by a desire to use his knowledge of the music industry to help others find opportunities. The organization provides access to music, film, and digital media-based education to youth in underserved communities and prepares them for success in the content creation business. MEG has helped to set up free music studios in low-income neighborhoods, including at the City of Atlanta Dunbar Recreation Center and the Atlanta Public Schools B.E.S.T. Academy. MEG became a client of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta (PBPA) in 2023 and participated in a Legal Check Up to help identify potential legal needs of the organization. 

According to James Caldwell, MEG Executive Director, “We did not have prior legal support as an organization. PBPA has helped us understand our areas of deficiency and provided us with a means to address them.”

Click here to read more about The Music Education Group

New Clients

Zion Hill Community Development Corporation
Dunwoody Nature Center
Our House, Inc.
North Georgia Works, Inc.
Lookout Mountain CASA, Inc.
Chosewood Park CDC INC.
Cumberland Counseling Centers
Youth Life Center of The Arts Inc.