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In the Community
Pro Bono
Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner has a long history of supporting our community by providing pro bono legal services to individuals and civic organizations that lack the means to hire an attorney. Our firm actively encourages our attorneys to participate in pro bono activities. This type of commitment is an individual decision, derived, like all good charitable work, from a desire to give back to the community. The firm does not require that attorneys devote a specific number of hours to pro bono work, nor does the firm dictate the manner in which pro bono commitments be fulfilled. We do, however, expect our attorneys to represent their pro bono clients with the same commitment to excellence and attention to detail that they would offer corporate clients.
Below are some examples of work H3GM attorneys have done pro bono:
- Mark Manner served as the chair of the 2009 Campaign for Equal Justice, the annual fundraiser benefitting the Legal Aid Society. To learn more click here.
- David P. Cañas was named the Tennessee Bar Association’s Harris Gilbert pro bono Volunteer of the Year in 2007 for his work helping a young woman named Megan in a dispute against Tenncare. Megan, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is unable to walk and needs assistance communicating. Megan’s doctor and speech therapist prescribed a specific speech communication device as a medical necessity that would allow her to communicate on her own as she entered college. TennCare and its managed care organization denied the request for the speech device, instead approving a different device that was much harder to use. Megan’s parents sought the help of the Tennessee Justice Center which asked David Cañas for help. David’s work preparing for an administrative hearing resulted in TennCare’s approval of the device originally prescribed by Megan’s doctor and speech therapist. Today Megan is enrolled at MTSU and is enjoying successes that would not have been possible without the speech device that David helped her receive.
- The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands is a nonprofit organization that, through a joint venture with the Nashville Bar Association pro bono program, provides free legal services to low-income citizens in 48 Tennessee counties. Through the Nashville pro bono program, attorneys in private practice volunteer their time and legal expertise to help those members of our community without the means to afford professional help. The mission of the Legal Aid Society is one that the attorneys at H3GM are passionate about and through the Nashville pro bono program offer their own time and legal expertise. Some examples of recent cases handled by our attorneys include aiding in the emancipation of minors to obtain public housing assistance in the case of teenage pregnancy, as well as facilitating in the protection of low-income clients faced with usurious interest rates. In addition to providing legal representation, H3GM attorneys also support the work of the Legal Aid Society by participating both financially and through volunteerism in the Campaign for Equal Justice. At different times, three H3GM attorneys have chaired the Large Firm Committee of the Campaign, helping to raise the funds that allow Legal Aid and the Nashville pro bono program to continue to play such a vital role in our community.
- H3GM has assisted the Land Trust for Tennessee in its mission "to preserve the unique character of Tennessee's natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations." The firm has represented the Land Trust for Tennessee on a pro bono basis in acquiring conservation easements from landowners. We are proud of the area in which we live, work, and play and are committed to helping preserve the natural landscapes that make our state unique.
- H3GM provides comprehensive legal services including contracts, litigation and administrative legal work pro bono for the Greater Nashville Area Scholastic Hockey League (GNASH). GNASH was established to encourage, foster and promote the growth and development of high school hockey in the greater middle Tennessee area.
- In 2000, H3GM celebrated its 25th anniversary. The firm decided that the best way to mark the occasion was to use our resources to give back to the community that supported us over the last 25 years. Instead of just sending a donation to a local charity in honor of our anniversary, we decided to roll up our sleeves and break out our checkbooks in partnership with the Habitat for Humanity. Through this organization we were able to make the dream of home ownership a reality for the Williams, a North Nashville family. Attorneys and staff spent the spring of 2000 hammering nails, laying floorboards, and painting walls- all resulting in a finished home that Joyce Williams and her family were able to move into that June. The experiences gained by participating in the H3GM Habitat for Humanity House are ones that have made a lasting impression on our employees and many still actively volunteer with this worthy charity in their spare time.
Community Support
H3GM attorneys support many of our community’s non-profit organizations through volunteerism and financial support. Our attorneys serve on boards and committees of organizations that strengthen our community and improve the quality of life of our citizens. H3GM attorneys can be found supporting the following organizations:
- American Red Cross
- Arthritis Foundation
- CASA
- Easter Seals Tennessee Nashvillian of the Year
- Frist Center for the Visual Arts
- Habitat for Humanity
- Kids First
- Legal Aid Society/Nashville Pro Bono Program Campaign for Equal Justice
- Make a Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee
- Meals on Wheels
- Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
- Nashville Bar Foundation/NBA Young Lawyer’s Division Race Judicata
- Nashville Cares
- National Steeplechase Association
- Renewal House
- Room in the Inn
- Tennessee Justice Center
- United Way of Greater Nashville
- Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory
- Wounded Warrior Project
- WPLN Nashville Public Radio
- YMCA of Middle Tennessee
- Young Leaders Council
- Youth Encouragement Services
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Firm Involvement
H3GM attorneys are committed to strengthening all aspects of our community including doing our part to help support Nashville’s vibrant business community. As a whole, our firm is involved in various business organizations. Our firm is a member company of the following organizations:
- American Bar Association
- American Intellectual Property Association
- American Health Lawyers Association
- International Technology Law Association
- Mid-South Commercial Law Institute
- Nashville Bar Association
- Nashville Chamber of Commerce
- Nashville Downtown Partnership
- Nashville Health Care Council
- Nashville Hispanic Chamber
- Nashville Technology Council
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Tennessee Biotechnology Association
- Tennessee Municipal Attorneys Association
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