Dennard has observed first hand that this organization makes a difference in the lives of these clients and their families. His work on the McDaniel Glenn project in South Atlanta is a good example.

In late 2004, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (which was started by UPS founder, Jim Casey) and GJP entered into an agreement, providing that GJP would provide legal representation for residents of the McDaniel Glenn subsidized housing complex who were at risk of becoming homeless because of the termination of their leases. This particular complex, which was administered by the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA), had been identified for demolition and reconstruction as a “mixed use” complex under a Hope Six Grant. Most of the 295 current residents of McDaniel Glenn were given the opportunity to move to other federally assisted housing but approximately 45 residents were identified for lease terminations based on arrest records that had been retrieved by AHA. After notification of their pending lease terminations, 41 of these individuals chose to be represented by GJP.

In November, 2004, GJP started work on the McDaniel Glenn relocation with 2 lawyers (including Dennard) and 3 legal interns who were law school students. Although this initial team was prepared to proceed with the project by the end of the year, only limited work could be accomplished prior to the receipt of names of the individuals whose lease would be terminated. GJP did not receive this information from AHA until the first week in February, 2005 which was after the legal interns had returned to class and could no longer devote substantial time to the project. At this point it was time to call up the reserves. Dennard contacted his former law firm for help and King & Spalding provided 4 attorneys, 6 paralegals and numerous other support staff as volunteers. The 41 clients were divided into approximately equal numbers between GJP and K&S. In addition, paralegals and project assistants from the law firm checked and copied records for all clients from numerous courts and other agencies such as the Atlanta Police Department. In several situations, the Assistant Solicitors handling the cases were also contacted.

Administrative hearings for all 41 clients were conducted in March, 2005, with GJP and King & Spalding lawyers representing their clients in these proceedings. Documents that had been retrieved from courts and agencies were presented to the Hearing Officer and arguments were made regarding the seriousness and timeliness of the clients’ offenses. For example, some clients had arrest records but the related court cases had been dismissed. In other cases, the conduct was not as serious as characterized in the arrest record. In April 2005, the Hearing Officer issued her decision, rescinding 28 of the lease terminations and upholding 13. Subsequently, GJP and K&S presented a 50 page joint appeal brief to AHA on the behalf of the 13 clients whose lease terminations had been upheld. In general, the appeal brief argued that AHA should not terminate leases based on arrest records unless the residents had been convicted of serious crimes that occurred a reasonable time before the decision to terminate. Some of the clients had been identified for eviction based on relatively minor charges (like shoplifting) that dated back 5, 10 or even 20 years prior to the current decision to terminate. After considering the arguments in the appeal brief and those made in the warrant proceedings, additional terminations were rescinded with only 6 clients remaining in lease termination proceedings.

This was certainly a worthwhile endeavor with outstanding results that were made possible by the hard work of a team of volunteer lawyers and legal staff. The work prevented many people, including families, with small children, from becoming homeless. In her letter of thanks to the legal team, Casey Foundation representative, Susan Lampley provided a good summary: “This is an outstanding job and a tremendous achievement. We could not have realized such incredible results without your assistance. Thank you very much for your hard work. Please feel good about what you have done in the community and more importantly, the lives you have touched.” Based in part on the McDaniel Glenn work, GJP was one of three organizations in the country to receive the Casey Foundation’s prestigious “Families Count” award. In addition to the plaque, GJP will receive a grant of $500,000 over five years.

Dennard encourages other Fellows to get involved in similar pro bono work. “Different people may have different ways of giving. We are lawyers and one way we can give back to our communities is to help provide legal representation to indigent clients who otherwise would have no representation.”