News
Legal Aid of North Carolina Honors Womble Carlyle for Commitment to Pro Bono Service
Nov 01 2016
GREENSBORO, N.C.—Womble Carlyle has been a long-time supporter of Legal Aid of North Carolina. LANC recognized that support at an Oct. 26thceremony honoring the firm’s commitment to pro bono service.
The recognition came, in part, through Womble Carlyle’s continued participation in the North Carolina Bar Association’s Lawyer on the Line program. Through this program, volunteer attorneys provide brief legal advice to Legal Aid-eligible clients. Collectively, LANC, the NCBA and attorney volunteers have served more than 15,000 impoverished clients in the past five years through Lawyer on the Line.
In addition, Womble Carlyle attorneys have taken an active leadership role in LANC. Georgi Yonuschot currently serves as LANC’s Board Chair. She succeeded Charles Holton, who served in the post from 2013-15. In addition, Cal Adams serves on the organization’s Board of Directors and is a previous Board Chair.
LANC Executive Director George Hausen, said, “The breadth and depth of Womble Carlyle’s support for Legal Aid of North Carolina sets the gold standard of law firm pro bono partnership. The firm has played an integral role in our governance since our founding, it provides significant annual financial support to our organization, and its attorneys render invaluable pro bono service to our clients. We are truly grateful to count Womble Carlyle among our supporters.”
“Our firm is honored and humbled to accept this award from LANC. It is a tribute to the firm’s commitments to our community and those who are often left behind in our society. More particularly, it is recognition of the dedication our lawyers, including Georgi, Charles, and Cal, who devote hundreds of their own hours every year to pro bono matters,” said Mark Desgrosseilliers, Chair of Womble Carlyle’s Pro Bono Committee.
Yonuschot said, “As Board Chair, the belief in Legal Aid’s mission and the extraordinary generosity of firms like Womble Carlyle make it possible for Legal Aid of North Carolina to continue the fight for families and protect victims of domestic violence; save homes and prevent homelessness; protect income and ensure economic equality; and defend workers and maintain employment. As a Womble Carlyle attorney, I would just tell you that I am proud to be part of a firm that values and supports pro bono work.”
The awards presentation took place at Legal Aid of NC’s 2016 North Carolina Legal Services Conference—Looking Ahead: Path to Justice and coincides with Celebrate Pro Bono Week. The International Civil Rights Center & Museum, located in the former Woolworth’s building where the sit-in movement began in 1960, hosted the event.
