Driving Innovative Programs and Solutions
Mintz has been instrumental in creating and promoting new collaborative partnerships to expand access to justice in our communities. These efforts are made possible through the firm’s long-standing pro bono partnerships.
Partnering with Our Clients
Mintz has partnered with our clients on pro bono projects for over a decade. In one such initiative, Mintz has collaborated with a number of partners to host the Clinic in a Box® pro bono workshops — training in-house lawyers to provide day-of pro bono service to nonprofits. Our partners have included Corporate Pro Bono, the Association of Corporate Counsel-Northeast Chapter, and Lawyers Clearinghouse. Over the course of eight years, Mintz has hosted almost 300 in-house lawyers during the annual clinic.
Access to Justice Commission and Fellows Program
Mintz has been at the forefront of promoting access to justice in Massachusetts. For several years, Pro Bono Committee Chair Sue Finegan has served as the Co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission with the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Commission provides leadership and vision on efforts to remove barriers to civil justice for low-income and disadvantaged people. As a notable example, the firm played a key role in launching the Access to Justice Fellows Program. Primarily the brainchild of Mintz’s Martha Koster and Finegan, this innovative program pairs retired lawyers and judges with legal services organizations, nonprofits, and the courts. To date, 94 retired and retiring lawyers have devoted over 75,000 pro bono hours as part of the Fellows Program.
Appellate Assistance & Representation
In 2013, Mintz’s Sue Finegan co-chaired a Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission committee that eventually developed the Civil Appellate Pro Bono Program. Mintz has worked closely with the Volunteer Lawyers Project to manage a weekly clinic for self-represented litigants at the Massachusetts Appeals Court, staffed by Mintz and other law firms. As of February 2018, over 200 attorneys from 20 different law firms have helped over 400 low-income litigants navigate the civil appellate process.
