2011 was a great year for Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. We provided legal assistance valued at over 2.3 million to 174 nonprofits. To view the report in its entirety, please click here.

Although 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Georgia are exempt from federal unemployment taxes (FUTA), they may still have to pay state unemployment taxes. Nonprofit organizations are responsible for unemployment insurance coverage if they employ four or more workers in each of 20 different weeks during a calendar year. At least one officer or director must be included in the count, regardless of whether the officer or director is an employee. Nonprofit organizations that meet this requirement have an …

Happy Perkins, then-General Counsel of GE Energy, called a meeting back in 2004. He wanted to know if the Atlanta legal community was interested in bringing the Pro Bono Partnership model down south from New York. Attorneys would be paired with nonprofits in need of free legal assistance, opening up more pro bono opportunities to in-house and transactional lawyers. With an “if we build it, they will come” attitude, several corporations and law firms committed initial funding …

To celebrate another successful year, Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta held its seventh annual appreciation reception for donors and volunteers. Over 100 attorneys gathered at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan on January 24, 2012 to recognize the incredible work accomplished by PBP-Atl volunteers this past year. After PBP-Atl clients Jimmy Wilson of Loganville Community Ministry Village and Lauren O’Brien of Embraced Atlanta spoke about the impact of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta on their organizations, Executive Director Rachel …

Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta proudly welcomes four new Board members: Kathleen Bardell, General Counsel for Power Generation Services at GE Energy; Jared Brandman, Securities Counsel for the Office of the Secretary at The Coca-Cola Company; Brent Houk, Labor & Employment Counsel for United Parcel Service; and Tricia Kinney, Senior Counsel of Litigation for Kimberly-Clark Corporation. New PBPA Board Members (L-R: Jared Brandman,Tricia Kinney, Brent Houk and Kathleen Bardell) Kathleen Bardell joined GE in 2006 from Cozen …

In the Spring of 2000, Bill Maness, Recreation Director at The Gym at Peachtree, noticed a group of Latino children getting off the school bus across the street from Peachtree Presbyterian Church. He learned that these children had parents who spoke little to no English and could not help them with their homework. He invited the students to come to the church for after school tutoring and invited their parents to come for English as a Second …