Trial Lawyers Care®
An initiative to encourage, recognize, and organize trial lawyers who contribute to their communities through volunteer and charitable activities that serve the public good.
Our lawyers give back by providing food and clothing for vulnerable families; promoting safe driving to students; establishing scholarships and charitable foundations; building affordable housing; helping after disasters, and more.
Howard Talenfeld
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.
Recent Member Stories
A Duty to Help
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.
Doing More
AAJ Member Mike Henry recently established an Entrance Scholarship at the University of Ottawa Law School in honor of his parents Janine and Charles Henry, who made it possible for Mike to go to law school. Mike believes that encouraging higher education for young people is critical to the success of our collective future.
“More equal access to this education is necessary and can only happen, in part, by helping those with less financial resources,” he said.
“I was very fortunate in my upbringing. That is not to say that my parents didn’t have challenges. Through their hard work and love for each other, they provided me with advantages I otherwise would not have had.”
For years, he felt that his hard work alone was responsible for his success, but recent challenging times caused a shift.
“I’ve have had an opportunity to look within and realized that I did have advantages that others didn’t have,” said Mike. “It left me with a feeling that I should do more.”
“More” for him meant establishing the scholarship at his law school alma mater.
“It is a true blessing to have the opportunity to help students become everything they can and achieve excellence in education,” said Mike.
A Humanitarian Crisis
In December 2023, Chicago-based Zneimer & Zneimer joined dedicated volunteers to help newly arrived migrants (mainly from Venezuela) in Chicago. Thousands needed urgent help. Some took refuge in police stations; others braved the unforgiving chill in tents or out on cardboard. Volunteers met the crisis with determination, helping to provide essential items.
The firm asked colleagues at the American Association for Justice, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association to help and offered their law firm as a shipping destination. The firm received and distributed 30 sleeping bags, 900 mylar blankets, 50 pairs of gloves, 50 hats, 100 sets of underwear for men and women, and 20 puffer jackets.
The City of Chicago has now opened several shelters to accommodate the migrants. The migrants receive three meals a day and some other services, but they must find permanent housing within 60 days. To assist, they receive three-month rental vouchers; however, due to a lack of work authorization, many return to seek shelter after three months. There is a push to file Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and asylum as predicate for work authorization, but there are not enough attorneys to handle that many people. There are some outreach programs, but not everyone qualifies for TPS, and even fewer people qualify for asylum.
Overcrowding and diseases are common in the shelters. In December, five-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez died from sepsis caused by strep throat, a preventable condition with timely medical care.
Housing remains a critical issue, exacerbated by the high cost and scarcity of affordable rentals and the reluctance of landlords to rent without conducting credit checks. Volunteers are contacting landlords, urging them to accept the three-month vouchers.
“It is quite common to see migrants selling candies, begging with their young children, or holding signs seeking employment. This dire situation clearly represents a humanitarian crisis,” said partner, Sofia Zneimer.
Volunteers have formed a Facebook-based network named ChiWelcome for individuals in shelters. This platform provides information on how to help, including links to volunteer-run free stores, Amazon wish lists, and other resources.
We urge people to help in any way possible.
Focused on Distraction
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.
AAJ Winter Convention Service Project
Thank you to everyone who volunteered for the AAJ caucus and TLC convention service project at the Central Texas Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief charity in Central Texas. The organization works with food donors, financial supporters, and volunteers to fill unmet needs in Central Texas. Last year alone, the charity provided 54 million meals to their community.
AAJ members worked on an assembly line at the food bank to fill boxes of food for seniors who receive a monthly box of food through a federally funded program supporting around 4,000 Texas seniors. It was a productive day’s work – 718 boxes of food totaling 18,200 meals! Thanks again to the AAJ members who participated!
After his 21-year-old daughter Casey was killed by a distracted driver in 2009, trial lawyer Joel Feldman created a safety campaign in her memory. Hundreds of trial lawyers have volunteered to give the End Distracted Driving (EndDD) presentation across North America.
Join the FightMaking our communities safer one student at a time
Trial Lawyers Care® launched 13 days after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. More than 1,100 TLC attorneys volunteered, providing free legal help to more than 1,700 families who applied for federal financial assistance.
Learn MoreLet us know what you and/or your firm are doing to help the community.
Let Us KnowEach summer AAJ recognizes a member with an exemplary community service project. If you know of a individual who has gone above and beyond, nominate them today.
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