WASHINGTON, D.C. – Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) announced that it has selected Arconic Inc. and Alcoa Corporation in partnership with Meyer, Unkovic & Scott (MUS), to receive the 2017 CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award – Small Law for their commitment to the Landlord Tenant Project (Project).
The goal of the Project is to assist low-income individuals facing landlord-tenant and other housing legal issues. These issues are of paramount importance and constitute a basic need of all people: secure and affordable housing. MUS launched the Project in August 2013, as a signature project of the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership (PPBP)—a collaboration of legal departments, law firms, the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, and Neighborhood Legal Services Association.
Alcoa Inc. joined the Project in September 2015, and when the company split into Arconic Inc. and Alcoa Corporation in November 2016, the legal departments at both companies continued their collaborative efforts. Through the Project, attorney volunteers represent families and individuals who have been denied housing choice vouchers or public housing.
CPBO, the global partnership project of Pro Bono Institute (PBI) and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), will present the award at the 2017 PBI Annual Dinner on September 28 in New York.
All three organizations are deeply involved in supporting the Project: 11 attorneys and one paralegal from Arconic joined with seven Alcoa attorneys and one paralegal to work in collaboration with 18 MUS attorneys on the Project. Volunteers represent clients who have been denied housing choice vouchers, access to public housing, and in private landlord tenant disputes. They also staff a weekly shift with a hotline, advising low income individuals on landlord-tenant issues. Hotline callers leave a voicemail for a volunteer who returns that call within 48 hours. Approximately 1,000 callers have received advice utilizing this convenient option.
“We are very proud of our partnership and its work in the Pittsburgh community, and we thank PBI and CPBO for this recognition,” said Max Laun, Vice President and General Counsel for Arconic. “We look forward to continuing with this project and expanding and building on our pro bono efforts.”
Jeff Heeter, Alcoa’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, said the lawyers and staff from both companies are committed to the Project. “It’s rewarding to strengthen the city where we both have such a long history and tradition.”
Patricia Dodge, Managing Partner of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, said, “Our collaboration with Arconic and Alcoa on the Landlord-Tenant Project represents our on-going commitment to address and support the needs of our community. We are deeply honored by this recognition.”
PBI President and CEO Eve Runyon added her appreciation for the project’s impact, “By providing a range of pro bono services, the partnership is able to address the needs of hundreds of low-income individuals and families.”
About the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award
The award honors legal departments and the organizations with which they partner in the provision of legal services to those in need. The awardees are departments, law firms, and public interest organizations that have demonstrated an impact on their community through their partnership project, shown substantial involvement in the project by in-house lawyers, made tangible steps toward sustaining the relationship among the partners, developed innovative substantive or structural approaches in support of the partnership’s effort, and addressed a critical legal need or assisted a particularly vulnerable community or target group.
About Corporate Pro Bono
Founded in 2000, Corporate Pro Bono is the global partnership project of PBI and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). CPBO’s mission is to explore and identify new approaches to and resources for the provision of legal services to the poor, disadvantaged, and other individuals or groups unable to secure legal assistance to address critical problems. CPBO does so by supporting, enhancing, and transforming the pro bono efforts of in-house legal departments in the U.S. and around the world. Since its inception, CPBO has worked with hundreds of legal departments and ACC chapters.
About Pro Bono Institute
Founded in 1996, PBI is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. With an unparalleled depth of knowledge, resources and expertise, PBI is the respected resource for all things pro bono. Through our work with law firms, in-house corporate legal departments, and public interest organizations, PBI is the global thought leader in exploring, identifying, evaluating, catalyzing, and taking to scale new approaches to and resources for the provision of legal services to the poor, disadvantaged, and other individuals or groups unable to secure legal assistance to address critical problems.
About Arconic Inc.
Arconic is a company specializing in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing. Arconic’s products, which include aluminum, titanium, and nickel, are used worldwide in aerospace, automotive, commercial transportation, packaging, building and construction, oil and gas, defense, consumer electronics, and industrial applications. Arconic’s operations consist of three worldwide reportable segments: Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transportation and Construction Solutions. The company had operations in 19 countries.
About Alcoa Corporation
Alcoa is a global industry leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminum products, built on a foundation of strong values and operating excellence dating back nearly 130 years to the world-changing discovery that made aluminum an affordable and vital part of modern life. Throughout its history, Alcoa and its employees have been at the forefront of breakthrough innovations and best practices in efficiency, safety, sustainability and stronger communities.
About Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP
Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP is a business law firm, located in Pittsburgh, PA, with a clientele that includes Fortune 100 companies, significant financial institutions and small venture enterprises. The firm represents businesses and individuals across a broad spectrum of legal matters, including commercial litigation and dispute resolution, business transactions and planning and real estate, and is committed to providing its clients with creative, insightful and cost-effective legal advice that is targeted to resolve problems and add value to the bottom line.
About the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership
The Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership is a collaboration of legal departments, law firms, the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, and Neighborhood Legal Services Association. Its purpose is to increase attorney and paralegal pro bono legal services to the greater Pittsburgh community. The Partnership encourages new and more creative efforts to provide legal services to persons of limited means and to those organizations, including charities, which work on their behalf.
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