City lawyers launch pro bono service for World Aids Day
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Law firm LGBT network InterLaw is to launch today a pro bono and community service initiative named Helping Hands (H2) to coincide with World Aids Day.
InterLaw will ask its network of members at 65 law firms to collaborate with four charities. These are sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, the Albert Kennedy Trust, which works with homeless LGBT people, the Food Chain, which provides food delivery and nutritional advice to adults and children living with HIV, and LGB lobbying organisation Stonewall.
InterLaw founder, Simmons & Simmons partner and co-chair Daniel Winterfeldt said: “The whole premise is that we’ve got all these law firms and all these resources, how can we channel that usefully to make a difference?”
The scheme will kick off by InterLaw members collecting food to pack in Christmas hampers for distribution to people living with HIV.
Winterfeldt added: “In some cases LGBT networks want to become more visible but they need a reason or a purpose to do so. The food hamper gives them a project to do. By launching on World Aids Day it also helps to raise HIV awareness.”
Co-chair and Olswang associate Harry Hatzipavilidis said: “Each of the charities we’ve selected is very different, some have massive budgets, some have tiny budgets. We want to raise awareness about what they do, ask people to volunteer and get people to encourage more formal relationships at their respective firms.”
