Over the past year, Parker Poe’s pro bono efforts have included representing the interests of a credit union in an amicus brief filed in a federal appeals court, advising women and minority-owned small businesses with their corporate needs, and assisting a nonprofit public library organization draft its privacy policy.
Those are just a few ways our attorneys used their unique skills to serve our communities by offering free representation to those who need it. Below are additional details on those efforts and other examples of our pro bono impact from the past year.
Teaming Up With Companies to Serve the Community
Parker Poe often partners with clients on pro bono efforts. In 2024, those partnerships included 27 of our professionals teaming up with Duke Energy to create simple wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives for Mecklenburg County residents aged 60 years and over. It was the third year Parker Poe partnered with Duke Energy as part of the Pro Bono Institute's EmPOWERing Pro Bono Day, through which companies address key legal needs of underserved communities.
Duke Energy attorney Alex Castle and Parker Poe attorney Caroline Barrineau led the efforts in the project along with assistance from Parker Poe partner Michael Crook (who chairs the Pro Bono Committee). The project was made possible with the support of Courtney Viebrock, Soreé Finley, and Sidonia Gibilisco at the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy. Parker Poe manager of learning and development Angie Gumucio also provided support for the event.
The team at Parker Poe that took part also included Charlotte partners Jason Benton, Tim Logan, LaToya Parker, and Daniel Peterson; Charlotte counsel Brie Maris; Charlotte associates Ola Ajao, Preston Dole, Phil Fajgenbaum, Remington Jackson, Jasmine Little, Olivia Osburn, Zaire Reid, Hunter Snowden, Andy Walsh, and Cassie Zietlow; Charlotte paralegals Johanna Gervet, Carrie Marshall, Christie Norris, Joyce Reid, and Hunter Wilson; Immigration Project Manager Amy Hilton Schuler; Raleigh partner Merrick Parrott; and Raleigh associates Alex Hill and Michael Youssef.
Our firm is also an active supporter of Charlotte Triage, which involves Bank of America, Duke Energy, Wells Fargo, Husqvarna, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Legal Aid of North Carolina's Charlotte chapter, and several law firms.
Charlotte partner Nicholas Lee also has served as a champion for Charlotte Triage's expunction work for five years. He helps recruit, train, and support volunteers who represent low-income clients in expunging their criminal records and broadening their opportunities with work and housing. Nicholas represents expunction clients directly as well.
Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits
Parker Poe partner Steve Carey, who leads the firm’s Appellate Group, and associate Aislinn Klos, filed an amicus brief on a pro bono basis on behalf of the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The brief was filed in support of Navy Federal Credit Union, who is defending on appeal the trial court’s order striking class allegations in a case involving issues of significant interest to the credit union industry as a whole. Associate Jack Belk also provided valuable insight and assistance.
The primary issue in the appeal is whether the plaintiffs can move forward with their discrimination-based case as a class action lawsuit. On behalf of AACUC, Parker Poe and Paul Hastings argued that the plaintiffs' class theory is based on improper and impermissible assumptions drawn from data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The team also explained that the plaintiffs' theory improperly focused on isolated information about lending outcomes and ignored broader demographics about the types of borrowers served by credit unions like Navy Federal. The Fourth Circuit is currently reviewing the appeal and expected to hear arguments in the case in early 2025.
Last year, Parker Poe continued its partnership with the Charlotte Legal Initiative to Mobilize Businesses (CLIMB) to provide pro bono legal counseling as the group seeks to provide free legal services to low-income entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Led by Charlotte partner Elizabeth Trenary and Pro Bono Committee Chair Michael Crook, the firm helped small businesses in Charlotte with their corporate needs, such as form contracts, employment agreements, and form services agreements. The work included assisting a small woman/minority-owned business with client contracts and proposal documentation; assisting a small woman/minority-owned therapy business with business expansion plans, including contracts and employment issues; and advising a small business in the hospitality and catering industry with licensing and contract needs.
Led by Raleigh associate Robert Botkin, Parker Poe assisted Legal Aid of North Carolina to help the organization review its data privacy and cybersecurity program. The pro bono project focused on three areas for the statewide nonprofit: third-party risk management (vendors), information security, and privacy by design.
Raleigh associates Will Barker and Robert Botkin assisted the Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library in drafting a privacy policy on a pro bono basis. They also helped Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library review and understand the risks associated with the transfer of data to a new payment processor.
Charlotte associate Remington Jackson assisted Legal Aid of North Carolina clients struggling with dangerous and unsanitary housing conditions as part of a clinic in partnership with the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership. Remington and other participants provided free legal advice to clients as part of the monthly clinic.
Atlanta counsel Lauren Foster provided pro bono legal assistance to self-represented fathers at a clinic organized by the Georgia-based nonprofit Fathers Incorporated, in partnership with Atlanta Legal Aid. The mission of Fathers Incorporated is to engage, equip, and empower a community network of fathers and families by creating an environment of support, parental education, and positive societal narratives.
As part of a two-hour clinic, Lauren advised fathers regarding establishing legal rights to their children. The clients were all biological fathers who were not married to or were never married to the mother of their children. Lauren worked with the clients on petitions for legitimation and custody, required by Georgia law in order to establish the client as the legal father and establish custodial rights and/or parenting time.
Advocating for Clients in and out of Court
Atlanta partner Brandon Moulard submitted a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a pro bono client. The petition centered on the question of whether a federal court’s unconditional deference to a state supreme court’s purported findings on an essential element of a crime violates the petitioner’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury.
Brandon’s client had been charged with and later convicted of several crimes in connection with a 2013 vehicle crash that involved a police chase. A passenger in the vehicle died in the crash. The Georgia Supreme Court denied a new trial motion and the client’s federal habeas corpus petition was denied by the district court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. That Eleventh Circuit opinion created a circuit split regarding federal court deference to state court decisions on elements of a crime. The petition sought to clarify the scope of federal court deference to state supreme courts.
Atlanta associates Ashlynn Hutton and Eli Awbrey obtained a negotiated resolution that resulted in a pro bono client receiving a consent judgment of $40,000 in relation to a wrongful eviction claim. The mediation stemmed from a living arrangement between two friends and one of the former friends filing an eviction proceeding against our client and throwing out the client’s material goods in the process. Some of the goods thrown out were valuable beyond monetary worth, including sentimental personal and family items.
Advising Corporate and Individual Clients
Atlanta partner Alonzo Llorens serves as general counsel in a pro bono capacity for the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE). In 2024, his work included serving as co-chair of AABE’s bylaws committee, which is responsible for analyzing its existing bylaws, then amending as necessary to update and incorporate best practices. As a national organization with 39 chapters, AABE’s governance structure is highly complex. Alonzo drafted a new set of bylaws, which are being reviewed by the committee for comment. Upon completion of review, the draft bylaws will be finalized and submitted to the board for approval and then on to the full membership for final approval. In addition, Alonzo advised AABE in relation to the nomination and approval process for board candidates during its annual meeting along with other legal counsel.
Charlotte partner LaToya Parker represented the Mecklenburg County Bar in connection with its recent move to a new office building. Working on a pro bono basis, LaToya guided the Bar through its lease negotiation process.
About Parker Poe's Pro Bono Committee
Parker Poe maintains an active Pro Bono Committee that spearheads and coordinates initiatives across all eight of the firm's offices. The firm also partners with clients and legal services nonprofits on pro bono opportunities, working closely with them to identify needs in our communities.
Bar associations have recognized our firm and individual attorneys for "outstanding achievements" in pro bono work. In 2023, for example, the North Carolina Bar Association honored Parker Poe with the Law Firm Pro Bono Award and the Outstanding Collaborative/Group Pro Bono Service Award. The awards recognized our overall commitment to pro bono work, as well as the collaborative role we played in helping Afghan refugees in 2022.
For any clients, nonprofits, or friends of the firm who are interested in partnering on pro bono efforts, please contact Pro Bono Committee Chair Michael Crook.