Celebrating Pro Bono Week 2025!

The Youth Advocacy Foundation (YAF) is celebrating pro bono week 2025!

Each day, throughout this week, we will be highlighting firms and people volunteering their time to ensure Massachusetts' children and emerging adults are able to receive access to an equitable education, by sharing some of the incredible work they're doing or have done this 12 months.

Please join us in reading their stories in the comments and thanking these incredible attorneys for volunteering their time and expertise! #celebrateprobono

Today, we'd like to thank start by thanking the team of Lisa Burton and Mariah Micah of Ogletree Deakins for representing a 5 year-old autistic student in getting an out-of-district placement at a school for students with significant behaviors. The district has agreed and the family is now exploring possible schools.

We'd also like to thank Alexandra "Lexie" Reynolds, Jesse Messmer, and Carol Wu of Proskauer Rose for their pro bono work. This team represented a student's older brother about a year and a half ago, securing him a spot in a private school where he is flourishing. And now they are representing his 10 year-old younger sister who also has dyslexia. So far, they secured a high quality summer tutoring program for her and are now focusing on seeing what is needed in her school-year program.

Huge thanks to our 2023 Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year, Lexie Reynolds of Proskauer and Patrick Archambault of Troutman Pepper Locke. This team successfully advocated for a spot for their client in a well-respected private school for students with dyslexia several years ago. They continue to support the student who is now in 8th grade and family at her yearly IEP meetings.

Last but certainly not least, we'd like to thank the team of Brandon Arber, Lisa White, Katie Groves of Shook, Hardy & Bacon for securing a private special education school placement for a 9 year-old autistic non-verbal student. She recently started at the New England Center for Children.

Please join us again in thanking these wonderful attorneys and check back tomorrow for more stories of attorneys and the incredible pro bono work they've done in the past year and continue to do. #supportingcommunities #probonoweek2025