PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

A Philadelphia-based personal injury law firm has made a sizeable donation to an organization that provides poor city residents with legal counsel in civil cases.

The plaintiffs firm of Raynes McCarty announced it has donated $200,000 to Community Legal Services, a group formed by the Philadelphia Bar Association that dates back to the mid 1960s, and is credited as being Philadelphia’s larges provider of free legal services to impoverished residents.

The news of the donation was reported Monday in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The newspaper said the donation was the largest Community Legal Services has ever received from a law firm; the money is slated to go toward the finishing touches on the construction of a new law office in North Philadelphia, which is designed to replace CLS’s current office.

In a statement to the Journal, Raynes McCarty partner Gerald McHugh, who chairs CLS’s Leadership Council, said he decided to honor law firm founder Arthur Raynes and approached other attorneys at the firm about a possible collective donation to the legal services group.

“Arthur was not only a great lawyer; he was a great human being,” McHugh told the Journal. “The firm he built continues to flourish, and nothing would bring him greater satisfaction than seeing us celebrate that success by embracing the ideal of justice for all.”

According to its website, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia specializes in various practice areas, including childcare law, consumer law, aging and disabilities law, employment law, family advocacy, housing, public benefits and more.

“This range of activity enables Community Legal Services to meet the many individual legal needs of impoverished Philadelphians,” the website states. “At the same time, our broad legal expertise empowers us to have a profound impact on local and national policy as we help policy makers understand the ramifications of policies on the most fragile members of our society.”