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T H E P R I M E R U S P A R A D I G M
"Collins & Lacy has always placed
a premium on contributing to and
connecting with our community. We find
this creates a workforce of committed
citizens who carry over good stewardship
and dedication into the practice of law
for the benefit of our clients," said the
firm's founding partner, Joel Collins.
Collins also received the Primerus
Lifetime Achievement Award at the
Global Conference. The award is given
to members who have helped build
their individual institutes, as well as the
Primerus organization as a whole, since
the establishment of Primerus in 1992.
"Incorporating the Primerus
Community Service Pillar into our firm's
core mission and values has allowed
our entire team of attorneys and staff
to see the importance of our Primerus
membership in a very real and relevant
way for the communities in which we live
and work, and to carry on this ethic in
every area possible," Collins said.
As a firm-wide community service
project, Collins & Lacy implemented the
2012 Denim Days project. Employees
were invited to wear jeans on the last
Friday of each month in exchange for a
$5 donation to a local charity. The firm
then identified the top charities it would
like to support: Kids' Chance of S.C.,
Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands,
Harvest Hope of S.C., American Red
Cross, S.C. Bar Foundation, American
Cancer Society, Alzheimer's Association
of S.C., National Alliance on Mental
Illness, Special Olympics, Senior
One doesn't need to look too far to find
the commitment to community service
at Collins & Lacy, P.C. It starts at the
top and trickles down to each individual
attorney devoting time to the causes
they love.
Because of this wide-reaching
effort, Collins & Lacy, of Columbia,
South Carolina, won the 2012
Primerus Community Service Award,
as announced at the Primerus Global
Conference in November. Primerus
names two finalists in addition to
the winner. This year's finalists are
Kubasiak, Fylstra, Thorpe & Rotunno
of Chicago, Illinois, and Lewis Johs
Avallone Aviles L.L.P. of New York,
New York.
Collins & Lacy
This year, Collins & Lacy made its
commitment to community service even
more official by developing a new core
values statement, which says, "We are
devoted to our communities through our
support and involvement."
At the beginning of this year, the
firm's managing partner, Ellen Adams,
challenged all employees to identify
their "passion" in pursuit of excellence
in both their professional and personal
lives. She encouraged firm employees to
pursue their passion by identifying one
goal and outlining the steps to achieve
that goal. Many attorneys and staff have
incorporated community service into
their overall passion for excellence
by renewing their commitment to
helping others and their communities.
As a result, working together and
individually, the firm has served about
50 organizations in the four cities where
the firm is located.
Resources/Meals on Wheels, Muscular
Dystrophy Association, Habitat For
Humanity and Jamil Shrine Cripples
Hospital. The project has raised over
$1,100 to date.
In August 2012, the firm conducted
the first "Biggest Giver" food drive
to benefit Harvest Hope Food Bank
and Crisis Ministries, creating a fun
competition between office locations. The
firm delivered a total of 223 food items to
these organizations in each of the cities
where it's located.
Here are just a few examples of
individual attorneys' volunteer efforts:
·
The firm's Workers' Compensation
team is dedicated to supporting
Kids' Chance of South Carolina
with attorney Rebecca Halberg
currently serving as the president
of this organization. Kids' Chance
is a nonprofit corporation developed
in 1992 by the S.C. Workers'
Compensation Educational
Association, and is committed to
providing financial scholarships for
children of South Carolinians killed
or seriously injured in work-related
accidents.
·
Jack Griffeth is the current president
and a longtime member of the
South Carolina Bar Foundation
which promotes legal aid and the
advancement of justice in South
Carolina through grants to related
Primerus Community Service