Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly recently celebrated Hinckley Allen’s commitment to pro bono work in its Pro Bono Spotlight — highlighting our ongoing dedication to investing in the communities we serve. This series celebrates law firms, like Hinckley Allen, whose attorneys have demonstrated exceptional commitment to providing unpaid legal services to those in need.
Hinckley Allen’s distinguished pro bono initiative spans many years of dedicated service to our communities. In 2022, the firm achieved remarkable milestones, including tripling our pro bono hours, doubling attorney participation, and increasing our matters six-fold over the previous year. Thus far, in 2023, our attorneys have contributed nearly 1,000 hours to our community members. These exceptional achievements reflect our commitment to enhancing our internal processes, fostering increased participation, and demonstrating our success in developing and promoting meaningful community partnerships. Our ongoing mission is to pave the way for a brighter future, ensuring equal access to legal counsel and promoting justice.
“Pro bono work strengthens our connections to both our communities and clients. As corporate citizens, it provides us with a tangible way to work towards helping those in need and ultimately achieving justice,” says Mitchell R. Edwards, Litigation & Investigations Partner and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee.
We put our promise into practice through social justice initiatives, community partnerships, and diversity scholarships. We established a Social Justice Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation, allowing the firm to make yearly impactful gifts to eligible organizations and help contribute to racial equity and social justice in our communities and industries. As part of this fund, Hinckley Allen supported Northeastern University School of Law’s Center for Law, Equity, and Race (CLEAR) and its Criminal Justice Task Force — a cohort of passionate individuals focused on creating a more just and fair criminal justice system through systemic changes in 2023. In addition to the monetary contribution, Hinckley Allen supports CLEAR and our combined goals for social justice and racial equity through access to our attorneys. Our attorneys work to develop close relationships with the students and the institution, contributing our resources, experience, skills, and networks to support the collective mission to serve our communities.
Most recently, Hinckley Allen provides legal services to community businesses through its partnership with the GK Fund, a nonprofit organization working to close the racial gap by facilitating access to capital, technology, and mentorship to BIPOC, veteran and women-owned small business founders and owners. In 2022, our attorneys contributed over 100 hours of service to growth-stage start-ups and growing for-profit companies in the Greater Boston area through the GK Fund network. Our attorneys have assisted owners/founders with preserving their intellectual property, crafting contracts to protect business interests, developing governance policies and procedures, offering counsel on tax law, real estate, mergers & acquisitions, and navigating the complex arena of business registrations and regulations.
Hinckley Allen also partners with The Women’s Bar Foundation (WBF) on their mission to empower low-income women to attain equity for themselves and their children by meeting their legal needs. Our attorneys give back to our communities across WBF’s programs, including the Family Law Project for Domestic Abuse Survivors. In these matters, our attorneys echo a sentiment embedded in the culture of the firm – a paramount focus to fulfill an intrinsic obligation to help those without privilege. In addition to the GK Fund and the Women’s Bar Foundation, Hinckley Allen also partners with Lawyers Clearinghouse and Volunteer Lawyers Project to support our communities.
“Our pro bono work removes obstacles to essential legal assistance, and provides clients with access to critical legal advice and guidance. I am proud to work at a firm that promotes positive stewardship for our communities,” says Jared L. Shwartz, Corporate & Business Transactions Partner.
At Hinckley Allen, we are a community of dedicated advocates with an unwavering commitment to drive positive change for our clients and our communities. It’s our mission and our privilege to offer our time, talent, and resources to achieve unencumbered access to legal assistance.