PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 14)

NATIoNAL NEWS A Lasting Partnership with Umoja Student Development Corporation Partnering with CARE ince 2007, DLA Piper has provided representation to CARE, an international nonprofit federation working to fight global poverty. Stacy Taylor (San Diego) has worked extensively with CARE on intellectual property issues. “A critical component of CARE’s platform is its reputation among financing sources and governments, which is symbolized by trademarks, including its decades-old brand,” says Stacy. “We assist CARE in protecting its brand and, by extension, its reputation, through registration, licensing and enforcement of its trademarks throughout the world.” Through New Perimeter, we also are assisting CARE USA with the evolution of its current Peruvian operations into a new, independent Peruvian entity. “DLA Piper has been a fantastic resource for us on matters ranging from trademarks to US Congressional ethics, to helping find legal counsel in Georgia (Caucasus), engaging smart and attentive people from partners to paralegals. We are extremely grateful for your generous support, ready response, and spot-on advice,” says Leslie Shad, Acting General Counsel of CARE USA. W hen Umoja Student Development Corporation’s Executive Director Lila Leff founded the organization in 1997, she was its sole employee and had just a small amount of seed money at her disposal. At the time, about ten percent of the graduates of Manley High School, in which Umoja would operate, went on to attend college. Under Lila’s leadership, Umoja began providing academic, leadership, life-skills and other mentoring and programming to Manley students. The results were extraordinary: today, roughly 70 percent of Manley graduates enroll in college. College graduates who participated in the early years of Umoja’s program are now returning to their communities to mentor younger students. Since 2001, DLA Piper lawyers and staff have volunteered proudly with this extraordinary organization, which now serves over 2,000 Chicago area high school students at Manley and beyond. We serve as the organization’s general counsel and have assisted it with corporate, employment, investment policy, contract, real estate and litigation matters. Our lawyers also have represented children served by Umoja, as well as their family members, in matters such as landlord-tenant and guardianship disputes. Finally, our lawyers and staff have supported Umoja’s programming efforts in a range of ways: working with students to develop their resumes, putting them through mock interviews, guiding them on job shadowing programs, tutoring them on college preparation tests and helping to prepare care packages for students in college. Ken Schmetterer (Chicago) has been at the forefront of the firm’s relationship with Umoja, coordinating our volunteer and legal work on their behalf and serving as Vice President of the organization’s Board of Directors. “I am constantly inspired by Umoja’s efforts, by the skill and dedication of its staff and by the incredible example and accomplishments of its students,” says Ken. S Active Umoja partners Ken Schmetterer, Peter Ellis, and Rich Klawiter 14 | PRO BONO BULLETIN

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008

PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008 Contents Cover Story: Digging Deep: DLA Piper’s Signature Project Model CSR Report Feature Story: DLA Piper Assists with German Ghetto Work Payment Program Clinics National News Mapping Impact An Interview With Jeff Coopersmith FourThought New Perimeter Update Awards and Recognition

PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008

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