SeniorLAW Center Celebrates 6 Outstanding Volunteers for National Pro Bono Week
Held the last week of October, National Pro Bono Week draws attention to the need for pro bono service and celebrates those who give their time and service throughout the year.
This year, SeniorLAW Center celebrated National Pro Bono Week during October 21 – October 25, 2024 by spotlighting six outstanding pro bono volunteers on our social media channels.
Tyler Mullen, Esq., Blank Rome
Tyler volunteers at SeniorLAW Center’s life planning clinics, empowering older adults to make important planning decisions for themselves and their estate. Thanks to his service, our clients can get the legal documents they need to ensure that their wishes are met. “I believe everyone, regardless of age or financial circumstances, should feel a sense of agency in managing their life-planning affairs,” says Tyler. “By providing pro bono legal services through Blank Rome and the SeniorLAW Center, I can help deserving seniors within our community find that sense of calm and control over their life-planning matters. It is deeply rewarding, and humbling, to hear the clients’ stories and support them in making informed decisions about their lives.”
Julie Currie, Esq., Retired
Julie volunteers for our Grandparents Raising Grandchildren project, providing invaluable pro bono representation for grandparents in Philadelphia. She wrote about her pro bono experience with SeniorLAW Center in the Philadelphia Bar Reporter, reflecting that “As a former child abuse prosecutor… I knew the importance of kinship care. Children who can remain with family, when their birth parents are unable to care for them, have better outcomes.”
Teresa Cavenagh, Esq., Duane Morris
A former SeniorLAW Center Board Chair, Teresa continues to serve older Pennsylvanians as a volunteer for the SeniorLAW Center Helpline, providing free, confidential legal advice, brief services, and information and/or referrals to older adults statewide. About her pro bono work, she says that “Answering the SeniorLAW Center Helpline is extremely rewarding work. To be able to help vulnerable senior citizens with their legal issues, problems, and concerns provides a new learning opportunity in every call I do…”
Elliot Griffin, Esq., Ballard Spahr
Elliot advises SeniorLAW Center leadership on strategic organizational planning, including our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. She says, “I had the unique opportunity to collaborate with the SeniorLAW Center team to review their DEI goals and support their efforts to foster a more inclusive workplace. SeniorLAW Center understands that creating an environment where employees feel safe and heard empowers them to better serve their clients.”
Jesse Krohn, Esq., Saul Ewing
In addition to serving as a SeniorLAW Center Board Member, Jesse also volunteers for our Grandparents Raising Grandchildren project, saying, “I respond to callers who reach out to the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren project for assistance. Most clients do not expect to find themselves raising children into their 60s, 70s, and even 80s, and have been called to do so because a parent is deceased, incarcerated, or unwell. Keeping families together and supporting stability in the home benefits children, caregivers, and communities.”
Stephen A. Feldman, Esq., Feldman and Feldman
Steve served as Executive Director (back when SeniorLAW Center was Senior Citizen Judicare Project!), and later as a Board Member and as Board Chair. He continues to serve, providing invaluable counsel, mentorship, and leadership to the Access to Justice in Guardianship project and to SeniorLAW Center.
“It is a great honor to be featured by SeniorLAW Center during its celebration of National Pro Bono Week for my work with its Access to Justice in Guardianship program, ” Steve says. “During my career, I have participated in many programs in a pro bono capacity… None [have] been more rewarding than working with the Center’s Access to Justice in Guardianship program and its staff to protect and promote the rights of those who are, or perceived to be, incapacitated. Much more work must be done to make Justice a reality in these communities. I encourage attorneys of all ages to become similarly involved.”
We deeply thank all of our pro bono volunteers for joining with us to seek justice for older people. We are so grateful for your time and commitment to making justice a reality for older adults in Pennsylvania.