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Elite Underscores Support of Public Counsel with Expanded Sponsorship
Major Sponsor of Prestigious 2011 William O. Douglas Award Dinner Honoring President Bill Clinton, Irell & Manella LLP and CBS Television
LOS ANGELES, July 11, 2011 – Elite, a Thomson Reuters business, announced it was expanding support for Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro-bono law firm. This year, Elite was proud to be a major sponsor of Public Counsel’s 40th annual William O. Douglas Award dinner. The event honored President Bill Clinton, who received the Douglas Award, Irell & Manella LLP, which received the Law Firm Pro Bono Award and CBS Television for the Corporate Achievement Award.
The William O. Douglas Award is named for the late Supreme Court justice noted for his support for civil rights and freedom of speech.
Public Counsel’s board of directors comprises the who’s who of large national and global law firms. Founded in 1970, Public Counsel is the public interest law firm of the Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills Bar Associations as well as the Southern California affiliate of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The organization has a staff of 51 attorneys and 46 support staff along with 5,000 volunteer lawyers, law students and legal professionals who have assisted more than 32,000 low-income children, youth, adults and families. The value of the free legal services provided in 2010 was conservatively estimated at more than $88 million.
Thomson Reuters Legal has supported Public Counsel over the course of many years, and in 2010, Elite expanded its support to a full sponsorship. Specifically, Elite has facilitated gratis access to Westlaw Next content, products and services to help with Public Counsel’s library needs, technology support and assistance to help with Public Counsel’s technological needs, and provided ProLaw to track almost all aspects of Public Counsel’s attorney-client relationship, including client demographic data, case notes and events, and volunteer contact information.
For a video that highlights Public Counsel’s achievements and Elite’s support, please visit the website.
“For more than a decade, Elite has been a critical partner in our effort to provide desperately needed legal services to vulnerable communities throughout California,” said Hernán Vera, president and CEO of Public Counsel. “Our attorneys simply could not do the work that they do without the terrific technical support that we receive from Elite’s incredible team. We certainly appreciate Elite’s continued and expanded support.”
Public Counsel’s activities are far-ranging and impact a wide spectrum of people who live at or below the poverty level and community-based small businesses that serve them. Public Counsel and its members are dedicated to advancing equality and opportunity by delivering free legal and social services to the most vulnerable members of the community including abused and abandoned children, homeless families, veterans, senior citizens, victims of consumer fraud and nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities.
“Without question, Public Counsel is providing extremely valuable services to those that need it most,” said Kim Massana, president of Elite and member of the Public Counsel Board of Directors. “We are proud to support Public Counsel the best way we know how – with the leading technology tools and services available in the legal market today. We look forward to many more decades in partnership with Public Counsel.”
Elite employees also recently participated in the annual Run for Justice 5k race on March 19 at Dodger Stadium. Public Counsel's Run for Justice is part of the official 5K run at the Los Angeles Marathon.
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About Public Counsel
Public Counsel was founded in 1970 and is the nation's largest not-for-profit law firm of its kind. Public Counsel provides free legal services through a partnership with the nation's top law firms to more than 30,000 people every year, including children in the foster-care system, persecuted immigrants seeking asylum and American military veterans. The William O. Douglas Award is named for the late Supreme Court justice noted for his support for civil rights and freedom of speech. Learn more at www.publiccounsel.org
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About Thomson Reuters Elite
Thomson Reuters Elite offers an end-to-end enterprise business management solution that allows law firms and professional services organizations to run all operational aspects of their firms including business development, risk management, client and matter management, and financial management. For over 60 years, we’ve demonstrated we understand the business and financial aspects of firm operations, with proven tools that streamline processes to increase visibility and workflow efficiency across the organization and provide the flexibility to change and grow your business. For more information, visit Elite.
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