Eckert Seamans : About The Firm : Community Service

Eckert Seamans serves the communities where we have offices through a pro bono program that involves numerous attorneys throughout the firm. The pro bono program includes representation of indigent clients, referred through local legal service providers and bar association pro bono programs, in civil rights, consumer law/litigation defense, Protection From Abuse, landlord-tenant, unemployment compensation, public benefits, child advocacy and protection, divorce, custody, support, and bankruptcy matters. In addition, the firm serves a variety of civic and charitable, educational, religious and arts organizations, either through the provision of direct legal services, board or committee involvement, or other volunteer service.

Special Recognition and Awards

Although our lawyers are certainly not in it for the awards, we welcome the recognition we receive for our pro bono work in the communities we serve. We have been recognized by a number of important outside organizations for our pro bono work, including state and local bar associations and legal service providers, including: the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Neighborhood Legal Services, Alliance For The Mentally Ill of Massachusetts, and Community Partnership For The Homeless.

The firm has also received special awards for pro bono service, including:

Eckert Seamans received the 2006 Law Firm Pro Bono Award from the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA), in recognition of the firm’s administration of the Custody Conciliation Project. Also, in conjunction with this award, the ACBA honored the work of firm paralegal Rachel Klink, whose service to the Custody Conciliation Project earned her the 2006 Paralegal Service Award.
Attorney Sarah L. Shannon received the 2007 Pro Bono Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association for her work on the Custody Conciliation project.
Led by Philadelphia office Member-in-Charge Albert G. Bixler, the Philadelphia office was awarded the William J. Brennan Award by the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program in May 2000.
The firm was awarded with the Law Firm Achievement Award by the Allegheny County Bar Association in 1999.

Pro Bono Involvement

A partial list of pro bono activities firm attorneys are involved with includes:

Eckert Seamans is a board member of the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership, a group of law firms and corporate legal departments that collaborate to increase pro bono legal services in Southwestern Pennsylvania by developing signature pro bono projects which provide needed legal services to persons of limited means in the community. One of these signature projects, the Custody Conciliation project, provides free legal representation to parents in custody conciliations in Allegheny County;
Representation of dependent children through the Legal Aid For Children Program and the Support Center for Child Advocacy;
Representation of HIV and AIDS affected persons through local AIDS service organizations;
Involvement in homelessness, housing and hunger issues through, for example, representation of Habitat for Humanity, the Community Partnership For The Homeless, Project Home in Philadelphia and participation in a variety of community redevelopment programs;
Representation of immigrants and refugees through various programs, including those organized by the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Legal Committee for Soviet Refugees, AILA, and Catholic Charities;
Representation of individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities through the Alliance For The Mentally Ill of Massachusetts, United Mental Health, Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and local bar association programs;
Participation in the Adopt-A-Nonprofit program which pairs firm attorneys with corporate counsel to render legal services to a variety of nonprofit community organizations;
Co-sponsorship of the Philadelphia Bar Association City Year Team;
Representation of U.S.military veterans through the Veterans' Pro Bono Consortium; and
Representation of artists and arts organizations, both independently and through local Volunteer Lawyers For The Arts programs, including PROARTS and the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyer for the Arts, and service as counsel to and as Board members of a wide array of arts organizations, both large and small, including: The Dance Alloy, Chatham Baroque, Pittsburgh Dance Council, Pittsburgh Opera, Gateway to Music and the Performing Arts, City Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Public Theater, the Original Trilby String Band, Mendelssohn Choir, and Civic Light Opera of Pittsburgh.

The firm's attorneys also render pro bono legal assistance to and through a variety of community service organizations, including:

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