Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project to hold gala at BAM

May 18, 2015 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Project

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The Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) is holding its 25th anniversary celebration on May 20 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

At the gala, the VLP will celebrate and honor the work of nine extraordinary individuals and one organization who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the public good: Allan Gropper, retired bankruptcy judge for Southern District of New York; Henry Gutman, of counsel to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Karen Patton Seymour and Samuel Seymour, partners at Sullivan & Cromwell; and Betty Whelchel, general counsel North America, BNP Paribas.

The VLP will also recognize the Brooklyn Bar Association, a loyal partner of the VLP since its inception in 1990, and will present the TD Bank Champion of Justice Awards to three remarkable attorneys: Fernando Bohorquez Jr. of Hostetler, Muhammad Faridi of Patterson Belknap & Tyler and Gregory Starner of White & Case.

“We are deeply grateful that our honorees and chair persons for this event have embraced the important mission of the VLP and committed their valuable time and resources to making sure this event, a critical fundraising tool for the VLP, is a success,” said Heidi Lee Henderson, executive director of the VLP.

The mission of the VLP is to ensure that the legal system is accessible to those who would not otherwise have their rights protected or voices heard. Every year, the VLP trains and supervises thousands of dedicated volunteer attorneys, from the private bar, to provide critical legal assistance to thousands of individuals and families from all neighborhoods in Brooklyn. The goal of the VLP and every one of its volunteers is to use the legal system to assist people in regaining dignity and control over their lives.

Visit brooklynvlp.org for more information or to purchase tickets for the event.