The Public Service Legal Response Center will unite lawyers who want to assist current or former federal workers through a central hub to connect them with opportunities to help.

Access the recording of a webinar hosted by the American Constitution Society and co-sponsored by the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance on March 5. The 90-minute training is geared to both employment attorneys who are not familiar with representing federal employees, as well as attorneys who don't practice employment law. The webinar will cover the statutory overview, categories of federal employees, case intake, the current litigation, and more. To access the recording as an AAJ member, please click here.

If you have any issues accessing the webinar as an AAJ member, please reach out to the Education Team at education@justice.org.

*Note: You will need to be logged into our On-Demand Platform to view the recording and its landing page.*

Join We the Action for a complimentary webinar training. Access the training of the on-demand training and materials by clicking here. This 90-minute training offers information to broaden the field of legal counsel available to serve these workers. Completing the training will prepare you to represent federal workers, starting this April.

On the link above, to receive the training materials, click “Volunteer for this Project.” If you are new to We The Action, enter your email address and click the green “Join” button. After signing up, check your email for a message from We The Action with the subject line: “You were selected to volunteer with We The Action!” This email will include links to the training materials, to complete at your convenience.

AAJ’s Employment Rights Section focuses on all aspects of employment and labor law, including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Fair Labor Standards Act, employment discrimination, and wrongful discharge cases. Learn more and join.

Bailey Geller wants to make a difference, not only for her clients but for the community at large. She joined her firm, Strong Law, only two years ago. This year, she took charge of the firm’s coat drive and a fundraiser for an organization called The Kitchen, whose mission is to “bring stability and purpose to people who are homeless.” Bailey’s efforts resulted in a record-breaking year. She raised more money (and more coats) than in any prior year: 96 coats and over $32,000. Bailey believes that lawyers need to show up, again and again, in their communities, putting in the time that shows the public that trial lawyers care.

AAJ member Jeremy Babener is a tax lawyer for plaintiffs and has created a new path for plaintiffs at risk of losing Medicaid coverage. These plaintiffs are often years from settling their cases but need funds for their uncovered medical expenses. To supplement Medicaid, they turn to online fundraising.

Unfortunately, plaintiffs’ success with online fundraisers like GoFundMe sometimes results in their loss of Medicaid coverage. Jeremy learned of this as Chair of the Legal Committee for the Society of Settlement Planners (SSP).

Fortunately, a solution was created years ago by 501(c)(3) charity Help Hope Live (HHL), which has helped individuals raise medical funds for cancer treatment, transplants, and other significant care, all while retaining their Medicaid benefits. HHL has helped over 20,000 families raise nearly $200 million.

In 2024, Help Hope Live launched the Plaintiff Fund and asked Babener to raise awareness. Clients of the Plaintiff Fund work with HHL staff to set up a fundraising page. HHL holds (and technically owns) the money raised by each client’s page, then uses it to pay the client’s medical bills.

In addition, Babener and others on the Plaintiff Fund Committee have raised over $70,000 to fund each client with a starter amount of $1,000. Says Babener, “That first $1,000 is critical to address immediate medical expenses and to demonstrate credibility to potential donors in the client’s community.”

Significant contributions have been made by the Society of Settlement Planners and leadership of the American Association of Settlement Consultants and the National Structured Settlements Trade Association.

Please reach out to the Plaintiff Fund to volunteer, raise awareness, or contribute!

Howard Talenfeld is a leading children’s rights attorney, personal injury trial lawyer, and child disability attorney. 

Howard was a founding Board President of the non-profit Florida’s Children First, which has become Florida’s most prominent advocacy organization for at-risk children in the state. FCF has recruited and trained thousands of lawyers, guardians, and other child welfare stakeholders regarding Florida’s dependency proceedings.

FCF seeks full representation of youth in their dependency proceedings and meaningful improvement in Florida’s child-serving systems using a range of strategies, including the passage of critical legislation, public policy development, ongoing training and technical assistance, and strategic litigation.

Howard and the FCF team have been responsible for significant legislation positively impacting tens of thousands of children in state custody, including Florida’s statute providing for attorneys to represent the most vulnerable children in foster care; Florida’s interagency education bill for foster children; Florida’s Bill of Goals for Foster Children; and the law creating Florida’s Children’s Cabinet.

GDH Law is now in its second year of supporting the efforts of the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ) to serve the local community. The focus of that support is on Progress Place, which offers temporary and transitional housing for the unhoused. Additionally, Progress Place works with MAJ to provide clothing and resume writing services for residents.

“Helping those in urgent need is at the core of this work. At GDH Law, we feel a duty to provide support to those who find themselves in difficult and often devastating situations,” said Gwen-Marie Davis Hicks, Managing Attorney at GDH Law.

An added benefit of working with the MAJ is the opportunity to work with members of MAJ’s Minority Caucus and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee to support their work with other local specialty bar associations.

These associations include the Alliance of Black Women Attorneys, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Haitian American Lawyers Association, the Hispanic Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association. MAJ and these groups conduct a quarterly legal clinic at Progress Place.

“As well as providing this critical community service, we developed strong relationships with these specialty bars, which has led to increased recruitment of diverse members of AAJ and MAJ,” said Gwen-Marie.

Gwen-Marie has been instrumental in reviving the Minority Caucus of MAJ, along with Petra Aaron, a Senior Attorney at GDH LAW, who was a co-chair of the Minority Caucus, and caucus co-chair Renee Boston. Ms. Aaron is now a co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of MAJ alongside co-chair Divya Potdar. Together, these women have prioritized promoting diversity amongst the membership of MAJ and serving the community.

In 2009, Casey Feldman was tragically killed by a distracted driver at the age of 21. After her funeral, many young women said to Casey’s parents, “That was my best friend.” Casey’s father, Joel Feldman, is a trial lawyer and AAJ member. When Casey died, Joel reduced his workload and started an amazing organization to End Distracted Driving (EndDD).

“EndDD has worked with trial lawyers to give presentations at school assemblies on distracted driving. I immediately fell in love with the organization because I knew it would work. Young people today, while indeed the most affected group by distracted driving, are also the most empathetic generation of young people our society has ever seen,” said trial lawyer, Travis Patterson.

Since joining forces with EndDD, Travis has received amazing feedback – after seeing the presentation, 92% of participants said they were less likely to drive distracted and more likely to speak up when others drive distracted.

When asked why, a resounding majority reported that they are mostly concerned with the effect their distracted driving could have on others (i.e. “I don’t want my mom to go through losing me” or “I don’t want to hurt someone”). Their empathy provides a chance to save lives.

“Mr. Feldman and his team did a remarkable job creating these presentations, which are undoubtedly saving lives across the country. I am blessed to be able to work with high school students in Texas and help curb this epidemic of distracted driving,” said Travis.

To learn more about Travis’ firm’s efforts in Texas or request a presentation, visit this webpage.

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