The Atlanta Lawyer October 2013 | Page 37

AVLF 2013 AVLF Winetasting By Wendy Silver AVLF [email protected] T he Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is proud to announce the 22nd Annual Winetasting, which will be held at the High Museum of Art Atlanta on Thursday, November 7, 2013 from 5:30-8:30 pm. This year’s Winetasting will feature seven flights of surpassing wine selected by United Distributors, and a delicious selection of foods provided by Dennis Dean Catering. Additionally and excitingly, all Winetasting attendees have the opportunity that evening to view two special Museum exhibits – Art of the West and Paintings of the Louvre’s Tuileries Garden, each opening at the Museum the week of the event. The Winetasting offers great fun and outstanding networking opportunities among a gathering of the best lawyers, accountants and business leaders in Atlanta. It has become the legal community’s kickoff event for the holiday party season in Atlanta, and is a celebration of the legal community’s commitment to excellence in pro bono service. It is especially exciting that in the more recent past, with particular thanks to the work of the AVLF Junior Board, the younger lawyers who volunteer in such large numbers to represent AVLF clients have become much more involved in the support of the Foundation. This year, we anticipate even greater attendance by the younger attorneys at the Winetasting because of the phenomenal success of this year’s first annual AVLF/ALAS Beertasting event held earlier this summer at the lovely office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, which attracted 500 associates and summer associates from the city’s law firms and corporate legal departments. The Winetasting is the largest annual fundraising event for AVLF, raising nearly 50% of the organizational operating budget, and thanks to the generosity of the lawyers and law firms of Atlanta has grown tenfold in the last ten years. As a consequence, despite the difficult financial times, the Foundation has been able to sustain the pro bono legal programs on which so many in our city rely. AVLF’s core programs also remain extremely successful because the lawyers of our community understand on a very personal level that it is a part of the legal profession’s tradition to offer free legal care for those who have no other access to counsel. With the help of private lawyers participating in meaningful pro bono opportunities, AVLF serves thousands of low-income The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association clients: in the past year alone, the AVLF Domestic Violence Project’s Safe Families Office, Georgia’s only courthousebased office serving victims of intimate partner violence, offered legal protection and safety planning to nearly 2,500 visitors. In addition, through the Saturday Lawyer Program, volunteer lawyers successfully served 400 clients in housing, wage claim and debt relief matters. Finally, the Foundation’s programs also thrive because Atlanta’s lawyers understand that AVLF needs significant financial backing from the legal community. A successful Winetasting is our legal community’s chance to make a strong statement in support of high quality pro bono legal services to the low-income and underserved residents in our community, and we hope that you will join us for our 22nd annual celebration. Tickets to the 2013 Winetasting are available for $150 each until sold out. Please register at www.avlfwinetasting.org or for additional information please contact Wendy Silver, [email protected]/404-521-3319. Save The Date November 7, 2013 ‘Tis the Season for Wine Tasting at the Best Party of the Y X\