37 purchase and sale negotiation and the acquisition due diligence and providing strategic counseling on local zoning and permitting issues. Mintz will also represent the organization as borrower in its purchase financing upon closing. Mintz attorneys Eric Freeman, Rebecca Lee, and Phillip Field, as well as legal specialist Diana Crockett, have been critical to this endeavor. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT The Mintz Domestic Violence Project was founded in Boston in 1989 and is now active in several Mintz offices. In the years since, hundreds of the firm’s attorneys, paraprofessionals, and staff members have worked on behalf of individual survivors. Beyond helping victims directly, attorneys have served as legal counsel for more than 25 nonprofits dedicated to combating domestic violence and sexual assault, and the firm has partnered with these organizations to advocate for legislative reform and to write amicus and appellate briefs at the state and federal levels. This past year, one of the many domestic violence cases that Mintz worked on involved “Ashley,” a young woman who had recently moved out of the apartment she shared with her boyfriend in fear for her safety. Since 2015, Ashley’s boyfriend had abused her verbally, physically, and sexually, and threatened her with a gun, which he carries as a security officer. Despite moving out of their apartment, Ashley remained fearful of running into her ex-boyfriend, as they still lived in the same town, and she did not feel safe going out on her own. Once Ashley disclosed the abuse she suffered and took steps toward getting a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, she also lived in fear of retaliation. Complicating matters, she had seen her ex-boyfriend in passing while he was on duty and armed, reminding her not only of the prior abuse but that she was still at risk. In February 2018, at the initial 209A hearing, attorney Clancy Galgay argued that Ashley should be granted a year-long restraining order and that her ex-boyfriend should be restricted from possessing firearms. Despite the court’s reluctance to grant the restraining order for a full year or to inhibit the ex-boyfriend’s livelihood, Clancy successfully argued that the nature and extent of the abuse suffered by Ashley warranted partial restrictions. Thanks to the efforts of Clancy, with assistance from former project analyst Rachael Hanna, Mintz not only secured a 209A abuse prevention order for a period of six months for Ashley against her abuser, but also ensured that he would not be allowed to possess his service weapon or any other firearm except when on duty. ELIZABETH STONE HOUSE The Elizabeth Stone House (ESH), located in Roxbury, is a nonprofit organization that works with women and children who are the victims of domestic violence and who are often homeless. The goal of ESH is to help these families obtain permanent housing, personal safety, and economic stability. Mintz has worked with ESH since 1987, when attorneys at Mintz helped ESH build its current facility. Both Susan Phillips and former Mintz attorney Maryann Civitello have served on the board of ESH for many years, with Maryann serving as board president and overseeing ESH’s growth and planning for expansion. In 2017 and 2018, attorneys and paralegals in the firm’s Real Estate, Environmental Law, and Litigation practices have worked with ESH to achieve its goal of constructing a new building in Roxbury that will double the number of apartments available to serve its residents and, for the first time, provide them with a certified day care center and a gym. The Mintz team working on this project with Maryann and Susan includes attorneys Rebecca Lee and Daniel Johnston as well as legal specialists Michelle McDonough and Diana Crockett in the Real Estate Practice, legal specialist Katie Durham in the Environmental Law Practice, and attorney Tony Starr, who drafted the construction contract for the new building. ESH will be selling its existing building to another nonprofit doing similar work. ESH hopes to break ground for its new building in the fall of 2018. (continued)