Charities We Support

Percentage of Our Firm’s Profits Donated to Charitable Causes

The Hebrew word tzedakah means “charitable giving”. The mitzvah of donating to charity is a core principle at our law firm. Each year, we donate to charities all over the world.

We have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to causes across the world.

In 2023, we donated close to $400,000 to important causes. Some of those causes we supported included: (1) over $100,000 to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces which went to a special command unit dedicated to freeing the world of Hamas, and to a field medical clinic to help wounded IDF soldiers; (2) $100,000 to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; (3) $54,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Israel Emergency Campaign; (4) $40,000 to two orphanages: Lev Lalev and Dror Israel; and (5) $20,000 to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical and ambulance service.  In addition to these donations, we gave to the American Cancer Society and many other terrific organizations that do important work.

In 2022, the largest single donation we made overseas was $100,000 to SightSavers, an international organization aimed at fighting avoidable blindness. Nationally, we were inspired to donate to the national organization Alzheimer’s Association in memory of two special people, including Darren’s grandmother Vivienne. Locally in the State of Georgia, we donated to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Atlanta Speech School, synagogues, schools in Sandy Springs, and various worthy causes in Atlanta and Athens.

In 2021, we donated almost $80,000 to various charities.  Some of the local organizations here in Georgia that we supported included the Atlanta Humane Society, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, The Salvation Army as well as other various synagogues, schools, and charities in Atlanta.  Abroad, we donated $50,000 to GiveDirectly. GiveDirectly is a nonprofit that puts money directly in the hands of the world’s poorest households. This ensures that people preserve their dignity and are afforded their own choice on how best to improve their lives.

In 2020, we donated $71,360 to three international charitable organizations: (1) $36,360 to SightSavers which funded medical treatment for impoverished children and adults who suffer from debilitating eye diseases;  (2) $25,000 to The End Fund which funded medical treatment for thousands of children who suffer from a tropical disease; and (3) $10,000 to the Against Malaria Foundation which funded the distribution of 5,000 mosquito nets to the Kwilu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  In addition to those donations, in 2020 we also gave to Georgia-based organizations including: $5,000 to The Salvation Army and Boys & Girls Club of America; $1,500 to the Johns Creek Fire Department; and financial contributions to various local organizations.

In 2018 and 2019, in addition to donating to various local organizations, we donated $100,000 to three international charitable organizations: (1) $33,334 to the Against Malaria Foundation which bought thousands of insecticidal mosquito-fighting nets to protect families from malaria; (2) $33,333 to Evidence Action’s “Deworm the World Initiative” which paid for thousands of deworming medication tablets to help children suffering from parasites; and (3) $33,333 to GiveDirectly which helped extremely low-income families afford basic necessities.

For so long as our law firm continues winning verdicts and settlements for our clients and their families, our law firm will continue to donate a portion of our law firm’s profit to nonprofit and charitable organizations here in Georgia and in countries overseas.

Pro Bono Cases

Each year, in addition to volunteering our time in the community, we try take on cases pro bono, meaning we work for free and do not charge our client any money for our work.

Below are just a few recent examples of clients we helped.

November 2023: a lovely young mother facing foreclosure asked us to help put a stop to the mortgage company foreclosing on her house. We stepped up and did everything we could to put a halt in place.

December 2022: while we typically do not handle property damage claims when there is no injury to the victim, we did help a family who had their minivan totaled out and were getting the run-around from their own insurance company. We drafted suit and showed the insurance company why it legally had to take care of their insured and pay for the new minivan. We then had to fight with the insurance company about paying more than it wanted given the cost of vehicles has risen so dramatically. (PSA: Do not ever buy insurance with Allstate–you are in the opposite of good hands!)

May 2022: a young teacher in an apartment complex in Sandy Springs was under constant harassment and bullying by her downstairs neighbor.  After many months of trying to reason with the neighbor, this young teacher came to us for help. While we don’t normally handle neighbor disputes, we did help this young teacher. After sharing the applicable code section violations with the apartment company’s legal team and drafting a lawsuit, we helped evict the bully.

January 2022: a young man came to us for help with his accident. We gathered his medical records, spoke with his doctors, sent a time-limited demand on his behalf, and negotiated with the insurance company on his behalf–all at no cost. We waived our fees and costs so that this young man could start his life with money in his pocket and no financial setbacks.

July 2021: we resolved a car accident claim for an older friend who suffered personal and financial setbacks unrelated to this crash years ago. The setback this friend suffered years ago, really impacted his whole life. We took on his 2020 car wreck case for free. This client suffered hip and back injuries as a result of a head-on car accident that occurred in Sandy Springs in 2020. With about $50,000 of medical bills, (most of it related to the emergency room visit, physical therapy, and three injections), our client made a good recovery. We pursued the case on his behalf at no charge and resolved it for $148,500 after we filed suit and were in discovery.  We waived our fee and we also waived our expenses so that our client could keep 100% of the settlement.

February 2021: a young single mother asked us to help her with a complicated landlord-tenant dispute. While landlord-tenant law is not something we typically handle, we wanted to help this lady who did not have the financial resources to hire a lawyer. We researched the law, conferred with colleagues, and negotiated a settlement with the apartment complex that allowed this woman to move into a new larger apartment in a different (and more upscale) complex for 1/2 the rent. There she will be able to raise her baby in a healthier, safer, and better environment.

September 2020: we helped a young mother of five to recover from a severe crash. Despite the insurance coverage being the state’s minimum limits (i.e. $25,000), we filed a lawsuit at no cost to this young mother and we spent months litigating and then negotiating with the medical providers and lienholders. Our client ended up with enough money to pay off her medical bills, her lien holders, and keep several thousand dollars to spend on her children. Again, though we did not take any fee, we did take pride in changing this young mother’s life.

January 2020: we helped the parents of a young man who was killed.  The young man’s parents lived out of state and we did everything through Zoom and by email.  Despite the evidence being stacked against the young man, we managed to track down witnesses who shared testimony that conflicted with the investigating officer and established that the young man was mostly innocent. The results of our investigation meant that the car insurance had to pay the parents.  Though we did not get paid any fee for the time we spent, the feeling we experienced when we shared the good news with the young man’s parents was worth far more than any legal fee.

While we wish we could take on more cases each year on a pro bono basis, we are very proud of the work we have done and continue to do.  We’ve developed life-lasting friendships with the wonderful families we have met and represented through our pro bono representation.

Supporting the Fight Against COVID-19

When the COVID-19 crisis struck in early 2020, we quickly stepped up to help Georgians across our state. We were one of the very first law firms to donate to causes that helped our fellow Georgians.  Early on, we made significant financial contributions to:

  • the Atlanta Community Food Bank so that families wouldn’t go without eating;
  • Emory University, specifically the Emory COVID-19 Impact Fund, so that medical professionals could work with more safety equipment; and
  • Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (“CHOA”) where Darren and Lana have personally taken their boys for care, and where Lana worked as a pediatric physical therapist for over a decade.

The bottom line is our Georgia-based personal injury law firm tries to help where we can, when we can, and however we can.  If you have a cause that you believe in, or are looking for help on some particular legal matter, you are welcome to call us at 404-JUSTICE or contact us via email.