Clay Perschall
Senior Public Relations Manager
312.832.4510
cperschall@foley.com
Partner Introduced During Foley & Lardner Cares Week in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. – Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Edmund T. Baxa Jr. has been named chair of the firm’s national pro bono initiative. In this role, Baxa will lead Foley & Lardner’s firmwide commitment to providing pro bono legal services to individuals, legal aid societies, civil rights organizations and nonprofit organizations that do not have the financial resources to retain legal counsel.
“Foley & Lardner has a longstanding commitment to good citizenship in the communities in which we practice and live by participating in community, civic and charitable activities,” said Ralf Boer, chairman and CEO of Foley & Lardner. “That commitment defines our values and the firm, and Ed’s appointment to this important position, which reports directly to the chairman and CEO, reflects the dedication of our senior leadership to pro bono, community and charitable activities, and our drive to be a leader in our profession by giving back to our communities.”
Foley & Lardner has long been committed to the principle of pro bono service and logged more than 30,800 pro bono hours in 2005. The firm has provided significant representation in matters referred to it by public interest firms such as the AIDS Legal Clinic, Pro Bono Advocates, and Public Counsel. A substantial portion of these matters has included immigration and asylum law as well as civil and children’s rights. Foley & Lardner was one of the founders of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI), an organization that facilitates the provision of pro bono services to legal aid organizations by law students and recent law school graduates. The firm also is a signatory to the American Bar Association Law Firm Challenge, which requires firms meet a goal of 60 hours per attorney per year devoted to pro bono matters.
Traditionally, the firm’s pro bono work has centered around partners’ involvement in litigation matters. Baxa plans to expand the firm’s pro bono activities to include matters that impact attorneys working in intellectual property and corporate law. He also will create programs and incentives to attract associates and senior counsel to pro bono work. Baxa will expand the portion of the firm’s orientation and training program devoted to pro bono and will continue to develop alliances with law school pro bono programs in order to share the firm’s philosophy and resources. Baxa is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and is the managing partner of its Orlando office. He is a member of the Construction and the White Collar Defense & Corporate Compliance Practices. For the past 22 years, he has served as a guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children and received the Orange County Legal Aid Society Award of Excellence for his work in 2000. He also was an assistant public defender in Orange County, FL, and was co-director of the legal aid society at the Western State Psychiatric Hospital in Staunton, VA. Baxa is a graduate of the University of Virginia and its School of Law. Following his two-year tenure as senior law fellow at the University of Virginia’s Center for Law and Medicine, he was awarded an LL.M.
He was introduced as the new chair of the national Pro Bono Legal Services Committee during Foley & Lardner Cares Week, a weeklong celebration of the firm’s spirit of volunteerism, pro bono work and community service held June 19-23. The Week also was an opportunity for the firm’s attorneys to educate themselves on how they can get involved in pro bono and community service projects. Foley & Lardner LLP provides the full range of corporate legal counsel. Our attorneys understand today’s most complex business issues, including corporate governance, securities enforcement, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property counseling and litigation, outsourcing and information technology, labor and employment, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, emerging technologies, energy, entertainment and media, financial services, food, golf and resort services, insurance, health care, life sciences, nanotechnology, and sports industries.
