Pro Bono Service

Beginning with the founding of the firm more than 70 years ago, Hirschler has had a long history of providing pro bono legal services.  Hirschler attorneys are grateful for the opportunity to practice our profession and are committed to giving back to communities in which we live and work by making legal services directly available to underprivileged individuals and the organizations that serve them.

Our attorneys are involved in providing a wide array of legal services in the areas of poverty law, civil rights law, housing and other public interest law to disadvantaged individuals who do not have the financial means to pay for – or do not have access to – legal counsel.  Our attorneys also provide services to religious, charitable and other civic groups with limited financial resources. 

Examples of recent pro bono service include:

• Representing the Maggie Walker Class of 1967 in connection with the restoration of the historic Evergreen and Woodland cemeteries in the East End of Richmond dating from 1891, where notable African-American Richmonders, such as Maggie L. Walker, Arthur Ashe, John Mitchell, Jr., A. D. Price, John Jasper and Rev. J. Andrew Bowler, are buried.  These cemeteries remained segregated for more than a century after emancipation.  Sadly, both cemeteries have seen serious neglect, including overgrowth and dumping.  In addition to physical restoration work, Hirschler Fleischer assisted with the formation of the Evergreen Foundation, a 501c(3) public charity, to facilitate charitable, donative assistance with the restoration -- and the longer term goal of preservation.
• Providing estate planning services for low-income individuals with terminal illnesses through the Legal Information Network for Cancer, and for military personnel and first responders through the Virginia Bar Association's "Wills for Heroes" program.
• Providing general legal counsel and assistance in real estate matters to a homeless shelter serving families in need.
• Assisting with the formation of a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established to care for abused, abandoned and orphaned children of Zimbabwe.
• Rendering free legal services to charitable organizations serving the disadvantaged, such as the Virginia Food Bank, the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program in Chesterfield County for the welfare of abused and neglected children.
• Assisting a non-profit free clinic with Medicaid issues associated with Virginia’s expansion of Medicaid eligibility and its impact on the clinic’s patients.
• Representing indigent individuals in uncontested divorce proceedings.