PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 15)

NATIoNAL NEWS DLA Piper’s Representation of Afghanistan ince March 2002, DLA Piper has provided comprehensive government affairs representation to the Embassy of Afghanistan, primarily on a pro bono basis, under the leadership of firm partners Brenda Meister and Lawrence Levinson (both Washington, DC). The firm has worked closely with Ambassador Jawad and the embassy staff on legislative and appropriations matters on Capitol Hill, a wide range of bilateral issues with the current administration and a variety of other issues with the business sector, think tanks, universities, and the media. In visits to the US by President Karzai and other senior Afghan officials, the firm and the embassy have worked hand-in-hand to ensure successful interactions with the White House, Cabinet-level offi- S cials, Congress and opinion leaders. DLA Piper also provides ongoing monitoring, research and analysis of the issues that shape and drive US policies on Afghanistan, advises the embassy on new opportunities and challenges, assists the embassy in maintaining effective contact and communications with members of Congress and their staff, administration officials at every level and, in this election year, with the campaigns of presidential candidates. In addition, Renee Schoenberg (Chicago) assisted with the creation of the Ayenda Foundation, an ambitious new foundation that will promote stronger US-Afghanistan ties. Renee serves on the Ayenda Board of Directors. Promoting Gender Equality in Business Across the Globe ince 2004, the World Bank has annually published Doing Business, a report designed to evaluate countries on the legal environment they create for domestic and foreign businesses. Until now, the World Bank has never included an evaluation of the business climate for women in any given country, which means that some countries have historically rated very high in the Doing Business report, even if they do not give women the right to own or manage businesses. This summer, DLA Piper lawyers from around the world assisted the World Bank in adding this important information to their Doing Business equation, assembleing 25 US-based teams to conduct research into various countries’ laws with respect to women in business. Where necessary, the US-based lawyers reached out to their colleagues overseas, who provided invaluable research and language assistance. “This project has been of great value to all the participants and will hopefully serve the needs of the World Bank and its constituency,” says Bob Pratte (Minneapolis), who led three of the research teams. Real Estate Assistance for Spanish Education Development LA Piper has partnered with client and Washington, DC, office landlord, Boston Properties, to help The Spanish Education Development Center (SED) move to a new educational facility. The SED Center is a nonprofit established in 1971, and was the first bilingual, multicultural preschool in the city. Since its inception, the Center has provided high-quality education to its students, earning high enrollment, attendance and proficiency results. Bryant Richardson (Washington, DC) provided the real estate representation that SED needed to complete this project. The new SED Center, which will nearly triple the school’s capacity, will be a state-of- Richardson the-art education facility providing quality childcare, preschool and adult continued learning to needy families. The SED Center is a vital resource for the Latino immigrant community in the Washington, DC, area. “This is a great example of collaborating with a client in an initiative to contribute to the community,” says Washington, DC, Office Managing Partner, Rusty Conner. S D WINTER 2008 | 15

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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