Served as Pro Bono Partner at Chadbourne since 1999
New York, NY – LAWFUEL – Law News, Law Jobs – October 24, 2006 – Bernard W. McCarthy, recently retired as Pro Bono Partner at Chadbourne & Parke LLP, was the honoree on October 19 at “Raising the Bar,” an event to benefit the Legal Services Center at The Door, New York City’s premier youth development agency. Held at Rockefeller Center, the reception recognized Mr. McCarthy for his many years of service at the helm of Chadbourne’s Pro Bono program, and for his outstanding contributions to The Door and the vital legal services it provides to New York City’s youth.
As part of the benefit, Mr. McCarthy was presented with an engraved work from the Steuben glass collection by keynote speaker Professor John D. Feerick, former dean of Fordham University School of Law, and founder and director of the Feerick Center for Social Justice and Dispute Resolution at Fordham University School of Law. Phoebe A. Wilkinson, the current Chair of Chadbourne’s Pro Bono Committee, and Charles K. O’Neill, Chadbourne’s Managing Partner, also accepted a plaque from Christa Stewart, Director of The Door’s Legal Services Center, presented to Chadbourne in recognition of the Firm’s support of the pro bono legal services provided at The Door.
Mr. O’Neill said, “Our Pro Bono program has made extraordinary strides under Bernie’s management over the past 10 years, for which we cannot thank him enough.”
Mr. McCarthy served as Pro Bono Partner of Chadbourne from February 1999 to June 2006. He was one of the nation’s first law firm partners entirely devoted to the management of a law firm pro bono program. He became Chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee in July 1996, having served on the committee since the late 1970s. As Chair of the Pro Bono Committee, he presided over its expansion to Chadbourne’s overseas offices, welcoming new members from London, Warsaw, Moscow, Kyiv and St. Petersburg. Mr. McCarthy continues as Pro Bono Counsel for Chadbourne.
An experienced litigator, Mr. McCarthy concentrated his practice for many years in the employment law area. In recent years, he also actively assisted young lawyers in trying pro bono cases. Mr. McCarthy is a trained mediator on the panels of the Commercial Division – New York State Supreme Court and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. He is also a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation.
Mr. McCarthy has been an active participant and panelist at the Pro Bono Institute’s Annual Law Firm Seminar in Washington, D.C. He is one of the founders of the New York Law Firm Pro Bono Coordinators Group, and has been a featured speaker at law firm operations seminars on pro bono as a means of achieving firm goals of recruitment, integration, mentoring, training, retention, good public relations and business development. In early 2006, Mr. McCarthy was honored by Fordham Law School in an exhibit highlighting Fordham lawyers who have spent their careers involved in pro bono/public service work.
Chadbourne’s relationship with The Door began in 1998, when it first offered associates the opportunity to participate in externships at The Door’s Legal Services Center on eight- to 12- week full time extern assignments. In 2005, the Firm expanded its commitment to The Door by inaugurating the Chadbourne & Parke Fellowship. This unique program offers outstanding law school graduates the opportunity to spend a year working entirely on pro bono matters at The Door’s Legal Services Center, as well as the opportunity to return to Chadbourne at the conclusion of the Fellowship. Ghita Schwarz is now serving as the first Chadbourne & Parke Door Fellow. Prior to receiving the Chadbourne & Parke Door Fellowship, Ms. Schwarz was a senior attorney with Queens Legal Services, working on its education rights project.
The Door serves young people, aged 12-21 years, primarily from low-income and at-risk communities. The Door’s Legal Services Center was established in 1992 to address the lack of free civil legal services for youth in New York City. It provides a broad range of legal counsel and advocacy services in many areas, including family law, the rights of youth in foster care, immigration, and access to public benefits.
About Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, private funds, corporate finance, energy, communications and technology, commercial and products liability litigation, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, special investigations and litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, insurance and reinsurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, employment law and ERISA, trusts and estates and government contract matters. Major geographical areas of concentration include Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS, and Latin America. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Almaty, Warsaw (a Polish partnership), Beijing, and a multinational partnership, Chadbourne & Parke, in London. For additional information, visit www.chadbourne.com.
