Press & News
Seyfarth Shaw Names Allegra R. Rich New Full-Time Pro Bono Partner and Director of Philanthropy
01/08/2007
Contact:
Mark S. Roy, Public Relations Manager
(212) 218-5272, mroy@seyfarth.com
Chicago, IL (January 8, 2007) - - Strengthening its commitment to public interest and community service, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America’s leading full service law firms, has named Allegra R. Rich to the new position of full-time firm-wide Pro Bono Partner and Director of Philanthropy.
As Pro Bono Partner, Rich will be responsible for directing Seyfarth Shaw’s overall pro bono program in the firm’s nine offices throughout the United States, ensuring that legal and staff support is provided to maintain pro bono commitments and identifying additional opportunities for volunteer legal representation. As Director of Philanthropy, Rich will oversee the firm's community service activities and will manage the Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation, through which attorneys and staff can suggest donations to qualified organizations on behalf of the firm. She will work closely with the firm's attorneys and staff to identify regional and national community service and charitable giving opportunities in order to provide the greatest possible benefit to the communities in which Seyfarth does business and the greatest possible support of the charitable and volunteer efforts of the firm's attorneys and staff. Previously, Rich, who started her legal career with Seyfarth Shaw, was a partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice focused on employment discrimination matters and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation. She is returning to Seyfarth Shaw after a sabbatical during which she furthered her personal interest in community service and philanthropy.
“Seyfarth Shaw has always actively supported civic and charitable causes in the communities in which we have a presence,” stated J. Stephen Poor, Managing Partner of Seyfarth Shaw. “We contribute time and resources to causes and organizations in which we feel our support can make a difference to people. Our pro bono projects and Charitable Foundation represent our commitment in these areas, and with Allegra, we are formally organizing those efforts to maximize their potential.” Poor noted, “Allegra is a superb lawyer and for many years has been a terrific mentor to firm attorneys and summer associates. She has a deep knowledge of our people and culture, a true passion and capacity for working with and training associates and other attorneys and a keen interest in philanthropy and strategic giving. Allegra’s background makes her uniquely qualified to handle these responsibilities for the firm and I’m extremely proud and pleased to welcome her back.”
“I am very happy to be re-joining the firm at this time and I look forward to supporting my colleagues in their volunteer and charitable activities,” stated Rich. “What is so exciting about the creation of this new position is that it puts Seyfarth at the forefront of law firm philanthropy by coordinating pro bono legal work, community service, and charitable giving. We believe that this holistic approach is unique among large law firms and really demonstrates our firm's dedication to playing an active and positive role in the communities in which we work and live. It also puts into practice the firm's core values of innovation and commitment, and I am very proud to be a part of it.”
Seyfarth Shaw attorneys have provided free legal services in various areas of law, including fair housing litigation; political asylum, immigration and deportation; litigation on behalf of children, the disabled, adoption rights and the elderly; domestic abuse and guardianship; corporate, tax, licensing and intellectual property advice for not-for-profit organizations; prisoners' rights; and volunteer service as mediators, arbitrators and pro tempore judges.
Firm attorneys have donated time and resources to the following organizations, among others: The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation Eviction Defense Project, The Center for the Elderly and Disabled, The Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, The Los Angeles Public Counsel Adoption Program, Metropolitan Family Services, The Midwest Immigrants Human Rights Center, The Public Interest Law Initiative, The Massachusetts Educational Surrogate Parent Program, The International Legal Assistance Consortium, Lawyers for the Creative Arts, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Justice for Children, Public Counsel Legal Clinic and the International Rescue Committee. Seyfarth Shaw's contributions have been recognized by the Public Interest Law Initiative; attorneys in the firm’s New York office received the 2006 Cornerstone Award from the Lawyers Alliance for New York which honors "volunteers and firms that strengthen nonprofits to make New York City a better place;” and the Boston Bar Association named an associate as one of only nine new members of the group's prestigious Public Interest Leadership Program.
Founded in 2004, The Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation has partnered with and distributed funds to nearly 150 charitable and civic organizations across the country, including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, various Boys & Girls Clubs, the Chicago Children’s Museum, Covenant House of Georgia, the Leukemia Research Foundation, the Morton Arboretum, Para Los Ninos, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the United Holocaust Memorial Museum, numerous local YMCAs and YWCAs, among many others. In 2006, the Foundation donated more than $750,000 to various organizations in which the firm's attorneys and staff are involved. With Rich’s involvement, the firm expects to increase its support to charitable organizations and to combine its financial support with expanded personal involvement of its attorneys and staff.
Through Rich’s efforts, the new coordinated approach to pro bono legal work, community service, and charitable giving also will complement the firm’s diversity initiatives. Seyfarth Shaw has a national Diversity Action Team which researches and formulates policies and practices aimed at facilitating diversity and further strengthening the firm’s recognition as a role model throughout the legal profession and various communities. The firm’s Lawyer Development Committee identifies training opportunities and addresses unique challenges confronting female and minority attorneys to attract, recruit, retain and advance diverse attorneys throughout its offices. In September, the firm was recognized by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) as “Law Firm of the Year” for 2006. The award honors Seyfarth Shaw for the firm’s leadership role in supporting diversity efforts in the workplace and its firm-wide commitment to attorney participation in regional and national bar associations and other organizations that promote diversity in the legal profession and in the community. As Pro Bono Partner and Director of Philanthropy, Rich will be a liaison between the Diversity Action Team and the pro bono, community service, and charitable giving programs. By enhancing the firm’s initiatives in these areas, the commitment to causes that matter to the people of Seyfarth Shaw will be further strengthened.
Rich received her B.A. (with honors) from the University of Chicago and earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia. She is admitted to practice law in Illinois, the United States Court of appeals for the Seventh, Eighth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits, U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Seyfarth Shaw has over 700 attorneys located in nine offices throughout the United States including Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento as well as Brussels, Belgium. Seyfarth Shaw provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation and business services. The firm’s practice reflects virtually every industry and segment of the country’s business community. Clients include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, newspapers and other media, hotels, health care organizations, airlines and railroads. The firm also represents a number of federal, state, and local governmental and educational entities. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.
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