November 2010 — Attorneys from Cleveland Clinic have partnered with Legal Aid to extend the hospital’s community commitment beyond medical care. Legal Aid board member and Cleveland Clinic attorney Betsy Rader leads the collaboration between her workplace and Legal Aid’s Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP). The Legal Department staffed its first VLP Brief Advice and Referral Clinic in 2008 and recently staffed another event at Cleveland’s Langston Hughes Center on Quincy Avenue.

Ms. Rader’s passion for pro bono comes from personal experience, “I remember how difficult things were for my family. I was lucky enough to have full scholarships to Ohio State University and Yale Law School, and have felt the need to give back ever since.” Rosie Wenstrup, Associate Counsel at the Cleveland Clinic, volunteered at her first clinic in October. She says, “[The clinic] was very different from what I typically do. I negotiate and draft technological and IT licensing agreements. It was nice to meet face-to-face with an individual who might be personally helped by what we were doing.”