Greenberg Traurig’s Pro Bono Head Speaks at American Bar Association’s Equal Justice Conference
NEW YORK (PRWEB) May 02, 2014 -- William C. Silverman, a litigation shareholder with the international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, is speaking on Friday, May 2, 2014 at the Equal Justice Conference in Portland, Oregon. The conference is being organized by the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the National Legal Aid & Public Defender Association (NLADA). Silverman serves as head of Greenberg Traurig’s pro bono program.
According to the ABA website, the Equal Justice Conference brings together all components of the legal community to discuss equal justice issues as they relate to the delivery of legal services to the poor and low-income individuals in need of legal assistance. The emphasis of this conference is on strengthening partnerships among the key players in the civil justice system. Through plenary sessions, workshops, networking opportunities and special programming, the conference provides a wide range of learning and sharing experiences for all attendees.
Silverman is speaking on a panel that will address “Forging Equal Access Partnerships: Judges, Legal Aid, and the Private Bar.” Specifically, he will discuss the New York Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program, which he helped spearhead in 2006. The project provides advice and counsel to unrepresented litigants through 30-minute one-on-one sessions on various family law topics, such as child support, visitation and custody. At the project’s inception, five firms participated at a single location in Brooklyn. Today 38 major firms and corporations -- over 200 individual attorneys – are involved at every Family Court in New York City. In partnership with Pro Bono Net and the Fund for Modern Courts, Silverman is now spearheading the project’s expansion beyond New York City through the use of computer technology. Volunteer attorneys in New York City have begun counseling unrepresented litigants in Onondaga County -- with plans for further expansion later in the year -- through video conferencing. Silverman also is helping to spearhead an effort to increase the number of Family Court judges in New York State. To support this effort Greenberg Traurig funded the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh8IfjDBoGw.
Greenberg Traurig’s Pro Bono Program
Greenberg Traurig lawyers across the firm’s offices provide pro bono legal services to the indigent and working poor, as well as to numerous civic and charitable organizations dedicated to assisting them. The firm focuses its resources on specialized and interrelated issues including civil rights and affirmative action, anti-human trafficking, family law matters, criminal appeals, immigration and political asylum, housing and homelessness.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 1750 attorneys serving clients from 36 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Greenberg Traurig is among the Top 10 law firms on The National Law Journal's 2013 NLJ 350, an annual ranking of the largest firms in the U.S. For additional information, please visit http://www.gtlaw.com.
Lourdes Brezo Martinez, Greenberg Traurig LLP, +1 (212) 801-2131, [email protected]
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