Publico Fall 2002 Welcome New A ssociates! A s fall arrives with - PDF document

Pro Bono Publico Fall 2002 Welcome New A ssociates! A s fall arrives with its promise of respite from the summer’s heat and humidity, I am pleased to report that the Pro Bono Program at V enable continues to expand, both in number of participants and in the variety of projects. A s you will see in the accompanying articles, the good work performed by our colleagues continues to be a source of pride for the entire firm. V enable’s long tradition of serving the less-fortunate in our communities continues. A s our newly arrived associates find their way around, I am confident their contributions will add to our legacy. They and you are the pillars of this tradition— the women and men who hold the key to unlocking some of the unfairness of life. The Pro Bono Committee strives to have projects of all different stripes, for different client groups and in nearly all areas of law , from transactional to intellectual property to litigation. There is something for everyone. We can provide training in an area that is new to you, or give you an opportunity to use your existing skills. I urge each of you to consider taking on one of the pro bono opportunities we periodically announce. The work, whether for an individual or for a nonprofit Contents organization, will provide a number of intangible benefits: • A welcome respite from the course of regular business and a Welcome 1 refreshing change of pace. Venable To Fight Slave • Perspective on the real problems facing our communities— Labor in India 2 getting a glimpse at grinding poverty and abject hopelessness can restore appreciation for what we often take for granted. Learning Matters 2 • A n opportunity to use legal skills to truly change a person’s life; our Venable Helps Nigerian-Born daily legal work rarely produces such immediate, satisfying results. Asylum Seeker 3 • A feeling of giving back and making our communities better Venable Aids Foundation for places to live. At-Risk Adolescents 3 I urge you to contact me with your suggestions of appropriate pro bono projects and Venable in the Community – of ways to improve our program. Building a “ Green” Home for a New Homeowner 4 Gerry Treanor Pro Bon o Coordin a tor

Pro Bono Publico 2 Learning Matters Venable To Fight Slave Labor in India Learning Matters, Inc. has been a pro India has the largest number of working children in the world, estimated at 60 to 115 bono client of Joshua Kaufman million. Many of these children work as virtual slaves, trapped in India’s bonded labor since its inception over twenty years ago. Learning Matters is a system. Human Rights Watch describes the phenomena of bonded labor as follows: nonprofit producer of television (under the title The Merrow “Bonded child labor” refers to the phenomenon of children working in conditions Report ) and radio programs on of servitude in order to pay off a debt. The debt that binds them to their employer educational issues. It also is incurred not by the children themselves, but by their relatives or guardians— sponsors a program called usually by a parent… ..The creditors-cum-employers offer these “loans” to Listen Up! , where kids destitute parents in an effort to secure the labor of a child, which is always cheap, produce public service announcements aimed but even cheaper under a situation of bondage. The parents, for their part, accept at kids. (The theory being that PSAs written the loans. Bondage is a traditional worker-employer relationship in India, and the and produced by adults that are aimed at parents need the money— perhaps to pay for the costs of an illness, perhaps to kids often miss their target audience.) Joshua provide a dowry to a marrying child, or perhaps— as is often the case— to help advises Learning Matters on a host of legal put food on the table. issues, including negotiating television and video production deals and television contracts, and distribution matters and rights While indentured servitude has been illegal in India for decades, the practice is clearances. still prevalent. Learning Matters’ programs regularly appear The International Justice Mission ( IJM) , an international human rights organization on PBS stations around the country and on based in Washington, D.C. with field offices in four other countries including India, has Front Line . The radio programs are carried secured the release of hundreds of these children through legal interventions since 1998. on NPR stations nationwide. Its programs However, without the implementation of an effective long-term remedy, including have won awards, including the coveted providing families with access to alternative forms of credit, there is a significant risk Peabody Award last year. Learning Matters is that many of these children will fall prey to the bonded labor system in the future. funded by the leading foundations in Jeff Pankratz is providing pro bono legal assistance to assist IJM in developing a pilot American philanthropy. Anyone with school- micro-finance program to offer such an alternative. Micro-finance programs provide age children or who is interested in serious small, collateral-free loans to the poor on reasonable terms to enable them to access but engaging discussions on educational capital when an emergency arises and build small businesses and other economic assets. issues and our schools is encouraged to visit the organization’s Web site www.merrow.org Millions of poor around the world have improved their lives through micro-finance and watch or listen to Learning Matters’ programs. Jeff, a member of V enable’s real estate group, practices in the area of programs. The programs, which are affordable housing and community development law . Prior to joining the firm, Jeff distributed by PBS, are available in VHS and worked with several nonprofit organizations connected with micro-finance institutions DVD format in the PBS catalogue. in the United States. Therefore, this project has given him a chance to provide pro bono services in an area consistent with his legal expertise and interest. His work for IJM to- date has involved preparing a memorandum regarding legal and business issues/ options Members of Venable’s Pro Bono Committee: in designing the pilot micro-lending program. In the future, he may provide further legal Gerard Treanor, Lars Anderson, Jennifer Blackwell, assistance to IJM in the implementation of its pilot micro-finance program. Shannon Bloodworth, Jacqueline Bottash, Mary Brown, Rosemary Dailey, Kathleen Dolan, Jana Gibson, Sarah Gudsnuk, Elaine Clark Jones, Julia Kiraly, Mitchell Mirviss, Kali Murray, David Richardson, Otho Thompson, Meg Watkins, Brian Zemil, and Gilda Zimmet.