The Youth Advocacy Foundation (YAF) is

celebrating pro bono week 2024!

Each day, throughout this week, we will be highlighting firms and people volunteering their time to ensure Massachusetts' children and emerging adults are able to receive access to an equitable education, by sharing some of the incredible work they're doing or have done this year.

We'd like to start by thanking Kiara Vaughn for acting as Pro Bono Coordinator of Latham & Watkins Boston office.

Thank you Cory Lewis of Latham & Watkins for helping a young adult student with autism receive a residential school placement and transitional supports to appropriately meet their educational and behavioral needs.

Thank you Kenneth Parsigian, Allison Carbonaro and Matthew Duffy of Latham & Watkins for filing a class action challenging the failure of the state to provide special education services to young adults confined in County Houses of Correction.

Thank you Christopher Lloyd and Samual Townsend of Latham & Watkins for representing a student with emotional and learning disabilities who Latham attorneys have represented over four years. Initially they helped secure a residential placement for the student and just this year they secured a day placement, so the student could go home. They also secured specialized language-based tutoring for this student.

And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank the team of Priyanka Krishnamurthy, Avery Boreliz and Annabel Kupke of Latham & Watkins for representing a second grade student to secure his eligibility for special education and many services to meet his learning, speech, and social needs.

A big thank you to Lisa Burton and Laurielle Howe of Ogletree Deakins for advocating for a middle school student with multiple suicide attempts. They were able to obtain a therapeutic day school placement for this student.

Thank you Alexandra "Lexie" Reynolds and Hayley Kronthal of Proskauer for their representation of a 7th grader with dyslexia who was reading at an early elementary grade level. Despite advocating with the district for years, his guardians were unable to secure the appropriate services. Thanks to the Proskauer team, he received specialized tutoring over the summer and has started at a school designed for students with his profile and he is thriving.

We'd like to thank Brandon Arber, Lisa White and Katie Groves of Shook, Hardy & Bacon for representing a 9-year-old non-verbal student with autism who is currently at home due to concerns about the safety of her school program. This team of attorneys are arranging for independent evaluations of the student and the program, assisting family with applying for DSS services, and as a result of their representation, a "Failure to Send" case against the parent was dismissed.

Another thank you to Brandon Arber for representing a student when the district was threatening the student's parent with a hearing, because they were not able to support him in the public school. The student is now at a more appropriate program where he is doing well.

Please join us in thanking these incredible attorneys for volunteering their time and expertise!

Pro bono work is a professional responsibility and an individual ethical commitment for every lawyer, and this week we celebrate those who have given their time as part of our pro bono panel. To learn more about Pro Bono Week please visit:

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/center-pro-bono/celebrate-pro-bono/

Marlies Spanjaard, CEO and President

Michele Scavongelli, Executive Director

YAF Board of Directors

Duci Goncalves, Chairperson

Directors

Edith Bazile

Laura Bickel, Clerk

Allyson Black-Foley

Alondra Bobadilla

Jeremy Cohn, Emeritus

Chris DiMeo

Josh Dohan, Emeritus

Ami Fatula, Treasurer

Amy Feinman

Katherine Hall Page, Emeritus

Camai Mazzulla

Jeff McCarthy

Steven J. Pacini

Calixto Perez, Jr.

Deb Poppel

Suzanne Schlossberg

Bridget Treco-Bettez, Vice President