Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 6244 45 ula, web-based animations, and in-class and laboratory activities. These modules increase student interest, engagement, and under- standing of science and engineering. Much of BioBuilder’s original curriculum was developed by founder Natalie Kuldell, a professor at MIT. Mintz Levin attor- ney John Dellapa assisted BioBuilder in securing clear rights to its curriculum from MIT, and he and fellow attorney Rachel Weisblatt have since further assisted BioBuilder as it establishes contractual arrangements with collaborators, manufacturers, and others during a period of rapid growth. Center for Collaborative Leadership The Center for Collaborative Leadership is a Boston- based organization focused on boosting the leadership and collaboration skills of mid-level professionals. The organization’s Emerging Leaders Program helps these future leaders join together in pursuit of civic goals. The Center is based at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s College of Management, and has reached over 500 participants to date. This past year, Mintz Levin attorneys Anthony Hubbard and Kathryn Dahlen drafted bylaws for the organization, providing it with its first corporate governance documents. Chelsea’s Light Foundation In 2010, San Diego high school senior Chelsea King went for a run in broad daylight and didn’t return. Five days later, her remains were discovered in a shallow grave. Chelsea had been raped and strangled by a known sexual predator. Following Chelsea’s death, her parents, Brent and Kelly King, established a nonprofit charitable foundation in her name and helped pass a California law that increases penalties, parole provisions, and oversight for violent sexual predators convicted of attacking children. Since Additional Pro Bono Highlights from 2015 Civil Appellate Pro Bono Program The right to appeal is fundamental to our judicial system, but exercising that right can be a daunting task for those who can’t afford a lawyer or don’t know how to appeal on their own. In Massachusetts, a new pro bono program is working to balance the scales of justice by helping low-income, self-represented individuals navigate the state appellate court system. The push to establish the new program began in 2013 when then-Associate Justice Ralph D. Gants, now Chief Justice, tasked a committee of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission with assessing the state’s need for pro bono services in the appellate courts. Attorney Sue Finegan, chair of Mintz Levin’s Pro Bono Committee and now the co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, led the new initiative with SJC clerk Fran Kenneally, and they were joined on the committee by former Mintz Levin attorney Kim Parr. Through its research, the committee learned that 14 other states around the country were already running various types of pro bono programs to help close the gap for unrepresented litigants involved in appeals. Closer to home, the committee learned that the Appeals Court in Massachusetts was fielding questions from at least 40 to 50 self-represented litigants each day, and that, as of January 2014, its docket was loaded with pending appeals involving at least one self-represented litigant. To address the pressing needs of those trying to exercise their right to appeal and help alleviate the burden on the court system, the committee developed the Civil Appellate Pro Bono Program. A first of its kind in the Commonwealth, the program provides a weekly clinic and individual appellate representation, where warranted. The Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association (VLP) and Mintz Levin took on the management of the program, opening the clinic’s doors for an initial pilot phase at Boston’s Edward W. Brooke Court Service Center. “Thanks to its knowledgeable staff and existing volunteer base, the center was the perfect partner to help us get the clinic off the ground,” said Kim, who managed the program with Sue. In December 2015, at the urging of Chief Justice Scott Kafker of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and with great assistance from the Clerk of the Massachusetts Appeals Court Joseph Stanton, the clinic went statewide, moving to a dedicated space in the Appeals Court. At the free clinic, held every Wednesday, trained volunteer attorneys are available for on-the-spot consultations with qualifying litigants, whose cases involve a broad range of civil matters. During these consultations, the attorneys answer questions and offer guidance on next steps. They may help litigants decide whether it makes sense to appeal a decision, provide guidance on appellate issues and procedures, and review appellate briefs or other filings. In addition, volunteer attorneys in a merits review panel assess whether the clinic cases should be referred to participating law firms for individual appellate representation. (For details on a case referred to Mintz Levin, see our feature story on page 37.) The program is steadily building momentum, and many of the top law firms in Boston, along with legal services organizations from across the state, have stepped forward to provide support. Recently, Mintz Levin attorney Brian Dunphy and attorneys from Goodwin Proctor and Foley Hoag have joined Sue to administer the program. Additional members of the Mintz Levin team have included former project analysts Conlan Orino and Emma Nitzberg, current project analysts Warren Crandall and Parnia Zahedi, and former legal assistant Dan Goodrich, along with numerous attorney and summer associate volunteers. the passage of that legislation, Chelsea’s Law, the Kings have pushed for similar legal reforms across the nation. Chelsea’s Light Foundation empowers individuals to help safeguard children, sponsors youth programs, and provides scholarships to high-school seniors who share Chelsea’s commitment to positive change. Attorney Andrew Skale started working with Chelsea’s Light shortly after it was founded, and is now a board member. Along with attorneys Jacqulyn Lewis, Bardia Moayedi, Lance Kurata, and Tali Tuchin, and legal specialist Jacobo Dib, Andrew worked on a variety of matters for the organization. In 2015, Mintz Levin helped register the foundation’s trademarks, handled agreements related to the annual Finish Chelsea’s Run 5k, and reviewed employment agreements. The firm’s team also reviewed agreements related to a documentary created by Chelsea’s brother, Tyler King. “Chelsea’s Light: A Brother’s Journey” tells Chelsea’s story from Tyler’s perspective while raising awareness about sexual violence against children and looking at how the criminal justice system often fails to protect them. Clinic in a Box® Mintz Levin has hosted several Clinic in a Box® workshops for in-house legal departments over the past several years, working with a number of collaborators. At the 2016 program, hosted at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s national conference in Boston, nine Greater Boston nonprofits worked individually with in-house counsel volunteers on three critical areas—Equal Employment Opportunity, Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination policies, and Paid Sick Leave and Parental Leave—to ensure that they were meeting their organizations’ continued