ACC STL Chapter Celebrated 2021 National Pro Bono Month

Members volunteered to provide free legal counsel to individuals and families by partnering with local organizations

St. Louis (Nov. 2, 2021) – The Association of Corporate Counsel St. Louis Chapter celebrated National Pro Bono in October where its members donated hundreds of hours of free legal counsel and guidance, and volunteered for community service projects.

“Each October, we are reminded of the impact that we can make as attorneys in our community. ACC STL members consistently step up and show up to provide much needed free legal counsel to underserved communities, families and individual. By giving back to the St. Louis legal community, we gain much more personally than we professionally give to the clients we serve by preserving access to legal services. This is the foundation of our legal framework,” said Patricia Duft, 2021 ACC STL Pro Bono Chairperson and Senior Legal Director, Medtronic.

During the past several years, ACC STL members have worked with many not-for-profits. Some of the partner organizations members have worked with include:

• Legal Services of Eastern Missouri where ACC STL members have addressed a wide variety of legal matters for clients including small business, real estate, and housing issues.
• Veteran’s Estate Clinic with Missouri Attorney General’s Office and Missouri Veterans Commission where veterans and their spouses receive free legal counsel on simple wills, living wills and power of attorney valued at $35,000 or less.
• Members supported the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition where members provided support to help citizens understand their voting rights.
• Supported Loaves and Fishes, a local St. Louis area food bank.
• Provided school supplies for St. Louis area schools in our annual backpack/school supply drive.

“So many of you have supported us this year during our limited virtual offerings, I am grateful that we continued to have many new volunteers who supported the microenterprise ‘office hours’ where we were able to help ~ 100 local entrepreneurs with their business planning,” said Duft.

About the ACC STL:

The Association for Corporate Counsel of St. Louis (ACC STL), the pre-eminent professional development organization serving in-house counsel, was founded in 1987. The St. Louis chapter has more than 550 members who represent more than 100 organizations. During its 30-year-history, the ACC STL has been recognized as one of the leading chapters in the country by the national Association of Corporate Counsel with having received the 2017 and 2019 Gold Level Award and selected for the 2018 Best Membership / Recruitment Award. To learn more, please visit, https://www.acc.com/chapters/stlouis/.