Empowering Communities: A Recap of Loeb’s Pro Bono Clinics in January and February 2024

Loeb & Loeb is pleased to share that the firm hosted several pro bono legal clinics throughout the first two months of 2024. The firm's various clinics focused on offering essential legal assistance to small business owners, downtown Los Angeles residents, artists and prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt from the foster care system. Learn more below about each clinic's specific aims and the impact of these initiatives.

January

Loeb and Paramount Volunteers Assist Low-Income Entrepreneurs with Start Small Think Big Clinic

Loeb lawyers partnered with in-house counsel at Paramount Global, a firm client, on Jan. 23 to provide a virtual trademark clinic for five clients from Start Small Think Big (SSTB). Founded in 2010, SSTB provides support and services for low-income and under-resourced entrepreneurs, most of whom are of color, women and members of disadvantaged groups.

During the clinic, the Loeb and Paramount Global lawyers assisted five individuals in conducting trademark searches for their small businesses. These businesses, which span from an ice cream entrepreneur branching into wholesale production to an educational language learning company, a mobile clinic offering chiropractic services, and an editor dedicated to amplifying Black voices in literature, sought guidance regarding the use of their proposed trademarks for their respective companies.

The Loeb pro bono team included partner Anne Kennedy McGuire and associates Dan Liu, Jordan Meddy, Emily Rakowicz, Erin Shields and Daryl Steiger. In addition, Erin, Daryl and partners Bess Morgan and Sarina Saluja and associate Lauren Richards worked with the clients on additional business matters following the clinic.

February 

Loeb Teams Up with City National Bank and LAFLA to Support Low-Income Residents in Downtown LA

A group of firm lawyers joined forces with in-house counsel from City National Bank, a firm client, on Feb. 7 to volunteer at a legal clinic organized by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) in Skid Row. Situated in downtown Los Angeles, the 50-block Skid Row area is known for its significant concentration of homelessness and poverty. LAFLA’s bi-weekly clinic provides residential tenancy-related counsel and advice on issues affecting low-income residents of the community, who often have no one to turn to when they have legal needs. 

As of Feb. 1, many of the housing protections implemented in California during the COVID-19 pandemic have expired, granting landlords the authority to pursue legal action—notably eviction—against tenants to recover unpaid rent accrued during the pandemic. Many of the tenants at the Skid Row clinic are being forced out of their homes, and as a result are now at risk of homelessness, with many on the brink of experiencing homelessness once again.

The clinic kicked off with a brief public workshop, after which pro bono lawyers met with clients to provide guidance on housing issues with their landlord. The Loeb and City National Bank lawyers played a pivotal role in aiding clients on various legal issues, including housing matters, anti-tenant harassment complaints, evictions, and other housing and homelessness-related concerns. 

The Loeb pro bono team included Lance Jurich, chair of the Restructuring & Bankruptcy department; Kristin Bacchus, deputy chair of the Finance practice; Danielle Miller, deputy chair of the Trusts & Estates department; partner Benjamin King; and senior counsel Jill Jones. 

Loeb Partners with Alliance for Children's Rights to Support Adoption Day Program

In advance of the Alliance for Children’s Rights’ Adoption Day with the Los Angeles court on March 22, the firm partnered with the Alliance for an informational training session on Feb. 8 to invite and empower Loeb lawyers and staff members to take an active role in handling pro bono adoption cases through the nonprofit’s initiative. Established in 1992, the Alliance for Children’s Rights protects the rights of children in poverty and those overcoming abuse and neglect by delivering free legal services, supportive programs and systemic solutions. The nonprofit legal services organization’s Adoption Day events—typically held several times each year—are special, celebratory days when the LA court is exclusively dedicated to finalizing adoptions.

Seven lawyers and one paralegal from Loeb stepped up to support adoptive parents in three uncontested adoption cases in conjunction with the upcoming March 22 Adoption Day. Two of these cases involve two children each, while the third case pertains to a single child, totaling five children in need.

The three Loeb pro bono teams include partner Ann Chen; of counsel Allison Cohen; senior counsels Sasha Bass and Jill Jones; associates Manish Antani and Kyle Petersen; and paralegal Rebecca Red, with associate Lilian Walden Givens and Human Resources assistant Marcellina Hawthorne serving as support to the teams.

Loeb and TransUnion Support Low-Income Artists with Lawyers for the Creative Arts 

Seven Loeb lawyers and four in-house counsel from firm client TransUnion met in Loeb’s Chicago office on Feb. 28 to provide assistance to low-income artists seeking advice on copyright and trademark provisions in their contracts. The clinic was hosted by Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to connecting the artistic community in Illinois with pro bono representation. 

Following a brief introduction from Lawyers for the Creative Arts, Loeb partner Libby O’Neill led the volunteer training for Loeb and TransUnion participants. Clients included a music producer, a screenwriter and a literary company platforming African voices.

In addition to Libby, the Loeb pro bono team included partner Doug Masters and Jonathan Thielbar; senior counsel Tatyana Gilles and Melissa Brenner; and associates Jenny Savitt and Lisa Wiznitzer.

Learn more about Loeb’s Pro Bono program here.