“What a great opportunity for our attorneys to hone up on their skills on providing the stress relief and empathy that clients will need, whether it’s in tax lien foreclosure or in the context of a lot of our ordinary cases.” – Kate Carter, Dain Torpy
“It’s a really good experience…I think there are a lot of people who need help in this space, and more awareness and opportunities for pro bono [work] would be great for young lawyers.” – Taylor Lee, Phillips & Angley
“We could not have done it without Lawyers Clearinghouse…it really was a group effort on the part of many people to form it, get it planned, get it off the ground, get the funding, [and] bringing in the clients.” – Kathleen Heyer, Pierce Atwood
Created to acknowledge the contributions of Lawyers Clearinghouse’s pro bono volunteers, the Pro Bono Excellence Award is presented annually to legal professionals, law firms, or in-house departments that go above and beyond for their community.
We’re excited to highlight Dain Torpy, Phillips & Angley, and Pierce Atwood, the recipients of our 2025 Pro Bono Excellence Award!
Lawyers Clearinghouse staff chose to honor these firms in recognition of their respective efforts to assist with the founding and operation of the Tax Lien Foreclosure Clinic and their ongoing commitment to helping clients avoid tax lien foreclosure and the loss of their homes.
For nearly three years, the Lawyers Clearinghouse Tax Lien Foreclosure Clinic has provided homeowners facing foreclosure with pro bono legal advice and representation from volunteer lawyers from several law firms in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Land Court—a specialized court that primarily deals with real estate and land use law—had tried to get a similar program up and running multiple times, all without success.
“They were concerned with the number of unrepresented taxpayers appearing in the tax lien session,” said Lawyers Clearinghouse Legal Clinic Manager Sean Thekkeparayil. “They wanted to see if something could be done to find representation for those people to, ideally, help them keep their homes and stabilize their housing.”
The Court approached Lawyers Clearinghouse, hoping to find a partner to get the program off the ground. With the assistance of three law firms, Dain Torpy, Phillips & Angley, and Pierce Atwood, a pilot of the program was launched in January 2023. Since then, the Clearinghouse has established the program as a full clinic, serving the community since its inception with help from 13 law firms and a number of Access to Justice Fellows.
For participating firms, the Tax Lien Foreclosure clinic serves as a great program for young attorneys hoping to get experience in the Land Court, as well as direct client experience more generally. “It is a good way for us to give back and also to get younger attorneys into court and to be able to handle cases and get more courtroom experience in a way that they might not otherwise have the option,” said Kathleen.
“It’s good development for associates and younger attorneys to get their foot in the door of the Land Court in practice,” said Taylor Lee, an associate at Phillips & Angley. “The first time that I handled a case primarily on my own as a newer lawyer was one of the tax foreclosure matters through Lawyer’s Clearinghouse and it was a great opportunity to learn from.”
Taylor believes a program like the Tax Lien Foreclosure Clinic would be a great opportunity for law students hoping to get some courtroom experience. Attorneys with real estate transactional (as opposed to litigation) interests and experience also can play an important role in helping tax lien foreclosure clients. There is a great deal of background and training materials available to those who want to take part.
And for the firms involved, this pro bono service contributes to the ethos of each organization. Kate said lawyers at Dain Torpy have a moral obligation to serve clients who may not have access to the resources needed to endure a foreclosure case. “We believe that philosophically, we need to be a good member of the legal community. We think morally we have an imperative to provide this service,” Kate said. “Dain Torpy is very proud of the ways in which our colleague Natasha Peck (Winter) has lived out that ethos in serving her clients in these cases.”
We look forward to celebrating Dain Torpy, Phillips & Angley, and Pierce Atwood at our upcoming 37th Annual Meeting, where we’ll also recognize Nolan Leadership Honoree Michelle Volpe, President of The Property and Casualty Initiative, and Community Impact Honoree Women’s Money Matters.
