MCLE is pleased to announce that Robinson & Cole LLP has made a generous contribution of $25,000 to MCLE’s scholarship endowment to establish the Robinson & Cole LLP Scholarship Fund to support pro bono and legal aid training. The fund will annually support ten scholarships to MCLE programs for deserving lawyers who serve the public interest, including private practitioners who accept pro bono cases and legal aid staff attorneys who, day in and day out, serve those in need. This initiative is exemplary of the firm’s efforts to assist the Commonwealth in promoting full participation in the marijuana industry by people from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement.
Founded in 1845 in Hartford, Connecticut, Robinson & Cole has a notable history of pro bono service. In 1914, Thomas Hewes, an associate at the firm, began to work with the Charity Organization Society, which was organizing legal aid committees nationwide. In the years that followed, he handled hundreds of pro bono cases and ultimately developed the Connecticut Plan for Legal Aid, which led to the establishment of the Hartford Municipal Legal Aid Bureau. Today, Robinson & Cole lawyers continue to follow his example by providing access to the justice system for some of our most vulnerable populations and neediest charitable organizations. The firm’s pro bono volunteers are active in each of the communities in which they practice.
MCLE’s Board of Trustees thanks Robinson & Cole LLP and all of the firm’s partners for its leadership gift and for helping MCLE in its efforts to grow its endowment so that all persons have access to the best trained lawyers. To learn more about MCLE’s named scholarship funds honoring outstanding members of the bar and bench whose lives and work exemplify the best of Massachusetts’ rich legal heritage, visit our named scholarships page or contact Mark S. Rotondo, Esq., MCLE Executive Director.
Lawyers interested in applying for a scholarship from the Robinson & Cole LLP Fund to a relevant MCLE program are encourage to email their request to scholarships@mcle.org.
If you would like to make a donation to the fund, you can do so here.
About MCLE
Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE | New England®) aims to keep raising the caliber of lawyers’ professional and ethical service to their clients and communities by providing comprehensive and practical continuing legal education of the highest quality to the broadest possible audience.