Providing Critical Support to a Community Lifeline
mintz
pro bono portfolio
//
2022
Amanda and the team won the
2022 Richard Mintz Pro Bono Award
for their hard work and dedication
to this case.
By staffing our community legal clinics, Mintz volunteers have added much-needed capacity to Asian Outreach and helped bring critical relief to community members seeking legal help.
Senior Paralegal, GBLS’s Asian Outreach Unit
Yu Sin Mok
Income and educational attainment levels vary widely among the Asian population in Greater Boston, yet the overall poverty rate is twice that of white poverty. The last few years have been particularly challenging for this fast-growing population. Asians in Massachusetts are more likely to work at or own companies in industries deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many have been victimized by the nationwide rise in discrimination and hate crimes
against Asians.
View the 2021 Pro Bono Journal
Transcending
View the 2020 Pro Bono Journal
Resilience
© 2022 Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. P.C.
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Collaborating to Improve
Lives and Communities
Pro bono service is at the heart of Mintz's culture and identity. Together, we provide individuals with life-changing assistance and support the nonprofit organizations that care for our communities.
Learn More
Guardianship Keeps Boy with Family Friend
© 2022 Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
All Rights Reserved.
View the 2021 Pro Bono Journal
Transcending
Share to Social:
Collaborating to Improve Lives and Communities
Pro bono service is at the heart of Mintz's culture and identity. Together, we provide individuals with life-changing assistance and support the nonprofit organizations that care for our communities.
Learn More
“I used to be a scientist before I went into law, so I understand how complex the legal system is to a layperson. So many people have legal issues they cannot figure out how to address.”
Attorney
Lei Xu
“A lot of the attacks on Asians have been on women or the elderly. It just breaks my heart to think about how the people harmed could have been my grandparents, aunts, or uncles. Being able to give back in a way that I can make someone comfortable speaking a language that’s their first language is so rewarding.”
Attorney
Amanda Mei
Volunteer Spotlights
Pro Bono Team
Amanda Mei
Associate
Sally Gu
Associate
Michelle Choi
Associate
Jane Chen
Associate
Jessica Zhang
Associate
Kevin Yao
Associate
Lei Xu
Associate
Catherine Xu
Associate
Nick Torres
Associate
Angela Kung
Member
Ginny Lee
Associate
Attorneys
Patent Agents
Katherine Wang
Project Analyst
Shaina Sikka
Project Analyst
Luke Haubenstock
Project Analyst
Raj Gambhir
Project Analyst
David Friedman
Project Analyst
Christina Hoong
Patent Agent
David Dang
Senior Patent Agent
Project Analysts
Cassidy Wang
Project Analyst
Since the initial training session with GBLS staff in February 2021, Mintz volunteers have conducted more than 75 intakes. They speak with callers for about 30 minutes in Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and sometimes English, identifying legal issues while also lending an ear and providing support that callers have been unable to find elsewhere. After each call, volunteers fill out a form to help Asian Outreach determine the right legal services for the caller.
“By staffing our community legal clinics, Mintz volunteers have added much-needed capacity to Asian Outreach and helped bring critical relief to community members seeking legal help,” said Yu Sin Mok, a Senior Paralegal at GBLS’s Asian Outreach Unit.
“There are a lot of resources, but language and cultural barriers often prevent people from seeking help. The struggles of low-income Asian immigrants are often overlooked, and supporting GBLS’s work makes a big impact in the Asian American community,” Ginny said.
The firm’s work with GBLS’s Asian Outreach Program came about because of a chance conversation. After reminiscing about her rewarding experience volunteering at a mock trial event for students in Chinatown, former Mintz attorney Ginny Lee and former Mintz project analyst Katherine Wang reached out to Sue Finegan, the Chair of Mintz’s Pro Bono Committee, to ask how the firm could help the Asian community. Ginny and Katherine then teamed up with GBLS staff to organize a collaboration between the organization and the firm.
Amid these circumstances, inbound calls to the clinic run by the Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) Asian Outreach Program have doubled within the last two years. The clinic screens low-income Asian clients in matters involving domestic and family violence, federal or state benefits, immigration, housing, and employment issues, advising clients in a variety of languages and referring them to other organizations when appropriate.
Income and educational attainment levels vary widely among the Asian population in Greater Boston, yet the overall poverty rate is twice that of white poverty. The last few years have been particularly challenging for this fast-growing population. Asians in Massachusetts are more likely to work at or own companies in industries deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many have been victimized by the nationwide rise in discrimination and hate crimes against Asians.
Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS)
Asian Outreach Program
Boston Legal Services (GBLS)
The firm’s work with GBLS’s Asian Outreach Program came about because of a chance conversation. After reminiscing about her rewarding experience volunteering at a mock trial event for students in Chinatown, former Mintz attorney Ginny Lee and former Mintz project analyst Katherine Wang reached out to Sue Finegan, the Chair of Mintz’s Pro Bono Committee, to ask how the firm could help the Asian community. Ginny and Katherine then teamed up with GBLS staff to organize a collaboration between the organization and the firm.
Asian
Outreach Program
“There are a lot of resources, but language and cultural barriers often prevent people from seeking help. The struggles of low-income Asian immigrants are often overlooked, and supporting GBLS’s work makes a big impact in the Asian American community,” Ginny said.
By staffing our community legal clinics, Mintz volunteers have added much-needed capacity to Asian Outreach and helped bring critical relief to community members seeking legal help.
Senior Paralegal,
GBLS’s Asian Outreach Unit
Yu Sin Mok
Since the initial training session with GBLS staff in February 2021, Mintz volunteers have conducted more than 75 intakes. They speak with callers for about 30 minutes in Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and sometimes English, identifying legal issues while also lending an ear and providing support that callers have been unable to find elsewhere. After each call, volunteers fill out a form to help Asian Outreach determine the right legal services for the caller.
To work with a mission-driven organization that is clearly impacting positively on a challenging problem that is killing people and to see them be as successful as RIZE has been in such a short period of time is truly gratifying.
Attorney
Lei Xu
I went into health care law because I wanted to help individuals who were suffering from behavioral health issues and substance use disorder issues. To be able to work with an organization whose entire mission is based around helping this population feels like I’m living my pre–law school dream.
Volunteer Spotlights
Pro Bono Team
