Sponsor Spotlight: 45th Anniversary Gala

VIP is proud to celebrate our Anniversary Sponsor, TE Connectivity. TE is among the most generous supporters of VIP’s small business and nonprofit legal assistance work, which helps entrepreneurs and community organizations across Philadelphia access the legal help they need to grow and thrive. But TE does more than only fund this work; their corporate legal department has produced some of VIP’s most vocal advocates and visionary leaders who consistently champion our mission.

At this year’s Anniversary Gala, we will honor the memory of former VIP Board President Lee Zimmerman, who advocated for VIP during his many years in leadership at TE Connectivity. Lee’s legacy continues to inspire our work today; you can read a tribute to his life and leadership here.

We’re thankful for the longtime support of Morgan Lewis, our Anniversary Sponsor. Every year, VIP partners with Morgan Lewis to host our Corporate Pro Bono Day Small Business Legal Assistance clinic, where we connect business owners with volunteer attorneys for free legal counsel. This annual collaboration is a cornerstone of our small business and nonprofit legal assistance program.

Morgan Lewis attorneys bring deep employment law expertise to their volunteer work. They help VIP small business and nonprofit clients navigate hiring, workplace policies, and other employment matters that are critical to running a healthy organization. We count on their skill, consistency, and pro bono spirit year after year.

We’re honored to partner with our Anniversary Sponsor, Troutman Pepper Locke. Troutman Pepper Locke is one of VIP’s oldest and steadiest supporters.  A prime example of the firm’s commitment is its monthly VIP tangled title practice group, which it has hosted for more than a decade, where volunteer attorneys receive ongoing training and support as they help clients resolve complicated homeownership issues.

Last fall, Troutman Pepper Locke also hosted a landlord-tenant training and recommitted to representing low-income tenants with VIP, which expanded the pool of volunteers trained to take these high-need cases.

VIP extends our thanks to our Anniversary Sponsor Dechert for its longstanding partnership. Dechert is a leader in pro bono commitment among Philadelphia’s large law firms, a distinction we recognized last year with the Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Award at our Annual Awards Night. That recognition reflects a sustained, firm-wide culture of service to pro bono clients.

To give just one of many examples of Dechert’s pro bono leadership, the firm has been one of the key players in delivering legal services to tenants facing eviction in the past decade. Dechert trains its attorneys in this and other pro bono service areas from the day they start working at the firm, to the benefit of our Philadelphia neighbors.

Our thanks go out to Presenting Sponsor Barnes & Thornburg for its partnership with VIP. Barnes & Thornburg’s Philadelphia office is relatively new to the city, but the firm wasted no time becoming an enthusiastic and generous financial supporter of VIP’s mission. Such a commitment speaks to the firm’s commitment to and investment in Philadelphia.

A special thanks goes out to VIP’s current Board President Chanda A. Miller, a Partner at the firm who is a champion of VIP’s mission, steward of our program, and enthusiastic recruiter of volunteers at Barnes & Thornburg.

VIP is deeply appreciative of our Presenting Sponsor, Faegre Drinker. At VIP, we count on Faegre Drinker for its versatility; attorneys at the firm are not afraid to take on cases outside of their normal practice areas.

That willingness to stretch means Faegre Drinker attorneys show up for clients across nearly every corner of VIP’s work, from homeownership and eviction defense to family law, small business and nonprofit assistance, and name changes. This breadth of service reflects a firm-wide commitment to meeting Philadelphians where the need is greatest.