For Attorney Paul Perantinides, supporting the work of Community Legal Aid is the right thing to do as a member of the legal community.
“We’re all ambassadors of our profession,” he said. “As a group, lawyers should be more involved.”
Paul first heard about the concept of legal aid — providing free civil legal services to people who can’t afford it — while in law school. He was intrigued by the idea, and once he was established in his career, he began to support Community Legal Aid by donating and leading fundraising campaigns in the law community.
“It’s not enough to have a successful practice,” Paul said. “We should all give of our talent and treasure, recognizing that the lawyers at legal aid have enormous caseloads and are totally under the radar and not getting recognition — not that they are looking for any recognition — and not being acknowledged for the services they provide to the community. One pillar in our firm is that we have an obligation to translate our success into significance. If we can’t give of our time or talent, we should give of our treasure.”
Paul said that having legal aid in our community helps the vulnerable in our communities who are dealing with life-changing issues such as evictions, domestic violence or bankruptcy.
“These are real problems in the community,” he said. “It’s something that, in my humble opinion, we have an obligation to support. We should do more.
“We can do something about it, in terms of financial remuneration, but for people being evicted or victims of domestic violence, their remedies are in the competent hands of lawyers at Community Legal Aid,” he added. “We have to do our part, and one way we can do that is by giving financial support.”
Community Legal Aid Executive Director Steven McGarrity said the organization relies on the support of the local legal community.
"We're so grateful for Paul's support over the years,” Steven said. “Having attorneys like him and his colleagues at Perantinides & Nolan behind us means we can do more to provide access to justice in our communities."
For more information on giving to Community Legal Aid, contact Chief Development Officer Shirley Smith at ssmith@communitylegalaid.org. Attorneys interested in volunteering through the Pro Bono project can apply at https://www.communitylegalaid.org/probonoproject.