Mintz is pleased to share that Member and Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee Susan Finegan and Member Jeffrey Moerdler were selected as 2020 Crisis Leadership Trailblazers by The National Law Journal. The special supplement, published on September 1, honors individuals who have launched new initiatives through times of crisis and helped their communities, colleagues, or clients.

A nationally recognized pro bono pioneer and Chair of Mintz’s Pro Bono Committee, Ms. Finegan serves as lead counsel on numerous high profile pro bono litigation matters. She also manages the firm’s pro bono efforts, consisting of over 300 varied cases annually throughout seven offices, and advises firm clients on developing and sustaining pro bono programs within their in-house legal departments. Ms. Finegan also serves as Co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, which strives to achieve equal justice for all individuals across the state.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Commission formed a COVID-19 Task Force, spearheaded by Ms. Finegan, focused on increasing statewide access to justice during the pandemic. In her “Trailblazers” profile, Ms. Finegan detailed this work, which includes working with legal and social services organizations, law firms, and court leadership to provide improved access to pandemic-related legal services for low-income residents. The Task Force also created a statewide website portal for remote pro bono opportunities, among other initiatives.

Mr. Moerdler is the head of the Real Estate and Communications practices in Mintz’s New York Office. With experience including over 35 years as a general commercial real estate attorney, he has worked with many large national companies — particularly in the high-tech, telecommunications, financial services, health care, supermarket, and oil and gas sectors — as well as numerous smaller local clients.

Separately, Mr. Moerdler is a certified emergency medical technician and President of the Riverdale Chapter of the Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which is the largest nonprofit volunteer ambulance service in the United States. In his “Trailblazers” profile, Mr. Moerdler discussed his experience as a volunteer EMT during the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove a more than 500% increase in daily calls for ambulatory services in the Riverdale area. Mr. Moerdler also serves on Hatzalah’s Board of Trustees and as the organization’s pro bono counsel, attending regular briefings with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York Department of Health to develop the institutional protocols to deal with the crisis.