Robinson & Cole’s 164-year commitment to community service has become so well known that law students ask about it when interviewing with the Hartford-based law firm.
“It’s part of what has driven many of us to come to this firm,” said Attorney David Hadden, leader in Robinson & Cole’s Tax and Tax Exempt Organizations practice group. “It’s just part of the character of the firm. It has always supported community involvement … and supports community life.”
When Hadden first joined the firm more than 25 years ago, he began with a commitment to have at least one pro bono case going at a time. “There have been plenty of opportunities,” said Hadden, adding that it is now a full-time focus of his legal career.
Hadden conceded that the firm could make more profits by not focusing on community service. “It is the right thing to do and it’s what we believe in,” said Hadden. “At the end of a long work day, when you get home … it is good to rest for the night thinking you have had some important impact besides generating the profit for your employer’s bottom line.”
Among the organizations Robinson & Cole has sustained involvement with over the years are: Junior Achievement; Achieve Hartford; The Bridge Family Center; The Children’s Museum; The Bushnell; Connecticut Children’s Medical Center; Connecticut Science Center; Boys & Girls Club of Hartford; the Summer Law Institute for students from the Law & Government Academy of Hartford Public Schools; and WALKS Foundation, which provides scholarships to inner-city children to attend five private secondary schools.
The WALKS Foundation, Hadden said, is a good demonstration of what a firm with Robinson & Cole’s resources can do. He said the community collaboration provides students without access to the normal channels of money a way to get into private schools that can make a difference in their lives. “It’s an inspiring example of how the community can come together,” Hadden said, adding it’s not a program that “makes a big splash” but achieves a great deal.
Eric Daniels, former managing partner of Robinson & Cole, was recognized in the spring by his firm for his many outstanding achievements in the community. Oz Griebel, president and CEO, MetroHartford Alliance, and Ronna Reynolds, chair and executive vice president of The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, where Daniels serves as a trustee, dedicated the center’s new Early Childhood Literacy Program in Daniels’ honor. As a special tribute, bookplates were created which will be placed in all books used in the program.
