NEW YORK, Oct. 28 -- The New York City Law Department issued the following press release:
Continuing the innovative service theme weaved into the World Series bets of Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Philly City Solicitor Shelley R. Smith and NYC Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo today announced their own bet designed to inspire volunteerism and pro bono service.
The friendly wager, hinged on which team wins the Phillies/Yankees 2009 World Series match-up, will revolve around expanding a theme 'near and dear' to both the Mayors and their chief legal officials - promoting volunteerism generally, and educational and career opportunities for children in particular.
Specifically, the legal officials have agreed to the following:
* Whichever team loses, the chief legal official from the losing city will travel to the other city, along with a team of leading attorneys and staff.
* The friendly exchange will take place before June 2010.
* Members of the visiting legal team will volunteer in every borough (in New York City) or county (in Philadelphia) to ensure that their presence is appreciated by the entire city - and their inspiration is widespread.
* The volunteer efforts will include moot court/mock trial events, as well as career chats with school children by the losing city's legal team, including the losing city's chief legal officer.
* The visiting team will don the winning city's sports jerseys during the visit.
* The officials from both cities are using it as an opportunity to promote pro bono work among their respective city and state bar associations - especially with this being 'National Pro Bono Week.' (According to this week's New York Law Journal, Michael Getnick, the President of the New York State Bar Association, announced that his group was 'joining the American Bar Association and local bar associations...in celebrating the first-ever National Pro Bono Week [through] Oct. 31st.')
This afternoon's bet was inspired by an agreement announced yesterday between Mayor Nutter and Mayor Bloomberg. The joint Philadelphia-New York City press release issued from City Hall in New York yesterday afternoon noted that this was 'the first-of-its kind wager on the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.' It continued, 'The losing mayor will travel to the winning city to join the winning mayor in a volunteer service project, while wearing a jersey from the winning team.'
The joint press release also mentioned, 'In addition, the losing Mayor will cater lunch from a local establishment for the volunteers working with the winning Mayor. Win or lose, Mayor Bloomberg will be joining Publicolor to work with students painting open spaces at I.S. 131, the Albert Einstein School in the Bronx, and Mayor Nutter will be joining the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program to paint a mural on the side of a Philadelphia recreation center.'
* To view the full release, go to nyc.gov and click on 'Press Releases' or click here.
Cardozo and Smith announced their respective bets with a mix of excitement and fanfare.
'The real winner of this bet is the community who will benefit from the spirit of pro bono service embodied in this water,' noted Smith. 'After the Phillies win, perhaps Counselor Cardozo can take the train down with Mayor Bloomberg to make good on their bets together.'
'Them's fighting words!' joked Cardozo. 'Seriously, though, this is a wonderful opportunity to expand the spirit of volunteerism espoused by both of our fine mayors,' he added. 'Moreover, it allows each of our offices to give inspiration to many schoolchildren and provide them with a window to careers in the legal community, be it as lawyers, paralegals, court officers, judges or other legal officials - even city solicitors and corporation counsels! Finally, it gives us an important opportunity to support efforts by our local, state and nationwide bar associations to encourage pro bono work and volunteerism among legal professionals across the country.'
Today's bet echoes a tradition of public service embraced by both city's legal departments and chief legal officers.
Pro Bono Work of the Philadelphia Law Department
The Philadelphia Law Department strongly encourages its attorneys to supplement the valuable public service they provide in their positions with the Law Department by also offering service to the broader community through pro bono activities. Law Department attorneys have participated in programs such as the Homeless Advocacy Project, which provides assistance to homeless individuals with such tasks as securing social security cards and driver's licenses to assist in finding jobs and housing, Philadelphia's Volunteers for the Indigent Project (VIP), which provides low-cost or free legal services to Philadelphia citizens in need of legal representation but without means to secure such representation, and various programs offered through the Philadelphia Bar Association, including the Advancing Civics Education (ACE). In fact, just last week, the Mayor of Philadelphia honored the extensive pro bono work of a senior attorney with the Philadelphia Law Department by conferring a Mayoral Citation upon that attorney.
Law Department attorneys and staff also provide service to their community through various food drives, book drives and other fundraising activities.
Pro Bono Work of the New York City Law Department
In New York City, the Law Department has partnered in the last year with the New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge, Jonathan Lippman, and created 'NYC Legal Outreach,' one of the several initiatives involving the encouragement of volunteerism, to encourage more attorneys to provide pro bono service in the areas of mortgage foreclosures, evictions, immigration, and consumer credit/debt.
Law Department attorneys and staff also provide volunteer support for public schools in a variety of ways: raising funds for supplies, speaking at Career Days, coaching and judging moot court and moot trial competitions; and mentoring individual students.
Rest of the document can be viewed at (http://www.nyc.gov/html/law/downloads/pdf/2470889_1.pdf)For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.
Maura Kennedy, 215/686-6210, maura.kennedy@phila.gov; Kate O'Brien Ahlers, 212/788-0400.
