Pro Bono and Community Services

Attorneys at Taylor Duane Barton & Gilman have a long history of community involvement. Our attorneys are committed to serving organizations and deepening our ties to local communities, which further enhances our advocacy skills. Below are examples of some of the community work our lawyers are doing. Taylor Duane Barton & Gilman is committed to the principle that legal professionals should give back to their communities. Our attorneys are involved in a variety of pro bono initiatives, and volunteer their time to a number of community organizations as well.

Below is a sampling of some of those activities:

Pro Bono

Numerous attorneys at the firm participate in an ongoing pro bono partnership with the Victim Rights Law Center, a non-profit agency that provides free legal services to victims of sexual assault and rape in Massachusetts. Some of the legal services provided by the Law Center include protecting confidential medical records in various types of legal proceedings, obtaining protective orders, and providing guidance on housing, employment and other matters. Andrew R. Weiner spearheads the firm’s affiliation with the Law Center.

Firm attorneys – including Matthew R. Plain, Lauren Regis, Timothy J. Groves, Stephen Adams, Francis A. Connor III, Andria Coletta and Angela L. Carr – provide legal services as part of the Roger Williams Law School Pro Bono Collaborative. Taylor Duane attorneys are partnered with Bradley Hospital in East Providence, RI. The attorneys represent families who file guardianship petitions in Rhode Island Probate Court on behalf of children approaching the age of 18 with severe and profound disabilities.

Our attorneys also provide pro bono legal representation to individuals before courts and administrative agencies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. 

Community Service

Attorneys at Taylor Duane Barton & Gilman have a long history of community involvement. Our attorneys are committed to serving organizations and deepening our ties to local communities, which further enhances our advocacy skills. Below are examples of some of the community work our lawyers are doing.

The firm in 2011 collected food and contributed financial donations in support of the second annual Legal Food Frenzy organized by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in partnership with numerous bar associations. Taylor Duane was one of over 60 legal organizations recruited to participate in the relief effort that collected, in funds or food, the equivalent of over 377,000 pounds of food during the two-week initiative. The Legal Food Frenzy is a benevolent competition to benefit the four food banks in Massachusetts, which serve more than 800 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. The food and funds raised during the drive will provide over 290,000 meals to people in need. Andrew R. Weiner organized the firm's participation in the food drive.

Tamara Smith Holtslag and Lindsey Gil in October 2011 co-chaired  the first Boston screening of Miss Representation, a powerful documentary addressing the impact of how women are portrayed in the media. The film challenges the often disparaging portrayal of women and girls and how that contributes to relatively low numbers of women in positions of power and influence in the United States. The Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) sponsored the event, which was planned by Smith Holtslag, a chairperson of the WBA's Public Relations Committee, and Gil, a member of the committee.

Taylor Duane Barton & Gilman was a primary sponsor of the Manton Avenue Project’s spring 2009 benefit theater performance. The performance was a collaboration between the students participating in the Manton Avenue Project, and Rhode Island media and political figures. The Providence-based Manton Avenue Project works with children ages 8-14 living in the city’s Olneyville neighborhood to help boost their self esteem and unleash their creative voices by uniting them with professional artists to create original theater. Elizabeth R. Merritt serves on the board of directors and is secretary, and Matthew R. Plain serves on the board of directors as well. 

Heather J. Kilmartin serves on the board of directors of New Urban Arts, a nationally recognized interdisciplinary arts studio for high school students and emerging artists in Providence, RI.

Jay Myers is a member of the Greater Boston Catholic Charities Advisory Board, and is also a member of the Young Professionals Board of Jumpstart, which is dedicated to delivering a high quality early education curriculum to preschool children in low-income neighborhoods.

Timothy J. Groves serves on the Executive Director's Council of the San Miguel School in Providence. Tim in 2009 organized a number of volunteer projects for the school in which Taylor Duane attorneys and staff participated, including the installation of outdoor basketball hoops, interior painting, and general clean-up and landscaping of the school’s courtyard and playground.

James J. Duane III has an extraordinary record of volunteerism at various community organizations over the years. Presently, Jim is vice president of Friends of Metro Boston, which is devoted to providing recreational opportunities to people with mental illness. Jim is devoted to helping educational institutions, as well, serving on the Board of Trustees of Lehigh University, his undergraduate alma mater. He also has chaired the Student Affairs Committee since 2002.

Francis A. Connor III serves on the Special Olympics Rhode Island Board of Directors. To help raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Pamela S. Gilman completed the Boston Marathon in 2007 in her first ever long distance event and she continues to assist the Society’s fundraising efforts.

Sheri L. Pizzi serves on the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Healthcare Association.  Andrew C. Coulam is an associate member of the Rhode Island Health Care Association, and also serves as the Associate Business Representative on the Association's Board of Directors. Tamara Smith Holtslag is a regular fundraiser and participant in the Annual American Cancer Society 2-Day Relay for Life.

Edward D. Shoulkin serves on the Board of Trustees of Temple Beth Elohim, and is a member of the Temple’s Bikur Cholim committee, providing support to those faced with serious illness, injuries and issues of continuing treatment. Lauren J. Regis is a Playspace Activity Leader for Horizons for Homeless Children, which provides educational play services for homeless children in Massachusetts.

Timothy J. Groves, Matthew R. Plain and Elizabeth R. Merritt are mentors to students participating in Year Up, a workforce development program empowering urban young adults to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.

Andrew R. Weiner has organized a group of attorneys from Taylor Duane to help sort food at the Greater Boston Food Bank in 2009 and 2011.

Joshua B. Walls does fundraising work for Indego Africa, a non-profit organization that supports artists in Africa to generate income and build business skills.