January 12, 2008
HunterMaclean, the largest law firm in Savannah, recently launched the MRM Pro Bono Project, a streamlined effort to provide legal assistance and volunteers to address critical needs in the community.
“HunterMaclean has a long history of pro bono work and a long-term commitment to Savannah,” said LeeAnn Aldridge, a firm partner who serves on the MRM Pro Bono Project Committee. “I’m really excited about what we’re going to do. It’s a wonderful way to make a real difference in the community.”
Named after the late Malcolm R. Maclean, a former Savannah mayor and a key partner at HunterMaclean, the initiative continues Maclean’s significant legacy of community involvement, featuring strategic partnerships with local and regional agencies.
The firm will partner with the Savannah Bar Association on the Homeless Experience Legal Protection (HELP) project, Georgia Legal Services on the Elder Home Defense program, the Savannah-Chatham Board of Education on children’s literacy, and CASA on truancy intervention and prevention.
“This pro bono program is an effort to prioritize and put our energy into a handful of specific programs,” said Jennifer Dickinson, an associate at HunterMaclean who helped spearhead the new program and serves on the MRM Pro Bono Project Committee. “It’s a very community-focused initiative. We wanted to bring projects that address specific needs in the community, from literacy to homelessness.”
ABOUT MALCOLM R. MACLEAN (1919-2001)
A former Savannah mayor and a longtime partner at the law firm of HunterMaclean, the late Malcolm R. Maclean served as a progressive force in local politics in the 1960s. During his political tenure, he oversaw the desegregation of public libraries, spearheaded the hiring of African-American managers in City of Savannah positions and was instrumental furthering Civil Rights in Savannah. Before becoming mayor, he worked as an assistant city attorney and served as a member of City Council. During the course of his law practice at HunterMaclean, he represented the Chatham County School Board, Chatham County Hospital Authority and Memorial Health University Medical Center, and served as president of the Georgia Municipal Association. Commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1941, Maclean rose to lieutenant commander in World War II and earned a Bronze Star for extraordinary service in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School and later returned to naval service as a commander during the Korean War.
