Firm adds philanthropy to legal feats

Greenberg Glusker gives back to community

By ROBYN WEISMAN

Chapman

Levine

Greenberg Glusker's philanthropic achievements rival its legal ones. Its attorneys serve on several educational, religious, advocacy and other charitable nonprofit boards, including: Public Counsel, the public interest law firm co-sponsored by the Beverly Hills Bar Assn. and the L.A. County Bar Assn.; the Alliance for Children's Rights; the Legal Aid Foundation; and Bet Tzedek.

Litigation partner Bob Chapman says Greenberg Glusker's public-service spirit originated with its founding partners. "Their whole idea of practicing law means more than just working for the clients. It also means being involved in the community and giving back."

In February the Anti-Defamation League honored founding partner Arthur Greenberg for his community involvement -- the most recent of many such accolades for Greenberg. Name partner Sid Machtinger got a lifetime achievement award from the ACLU in 1996.

Managing partner Norm Levine is particularly proud of the pro bono deeds of the firm's youngest lawyers. Associate Lisa Pierson Weinberger received the Circle of Excellence Award from anti-domestic violence org Jenesse Center. The California State Bar honored associate Rachel Wilkes for securing U.S. asylum for a transgender Mexican woman facing deadly abuse in her home country.

Chapman, who manages Greenberg Glusker's pro bono activities along with Weinberger and partner Ricardo Cestero, recalls the previous summer, when the firm sent a group to staff a clinic that helped Holocaust survivors handle their legal claims against the German government. "There was a combination of partners, associates, and paralegals, so (this focus on serving the community) runs throughout the entire firm," Chapman says.