Every month, We The Action gives the Amicus Mundi Award to an outstanding lawyer in our community who exemplifies our shared values of service and volunteerism.
With the school year set to begin, we’re proud to give this month’s Amicus Mundi Award to a lawyer who uses her expertise in copyright law to help innovative education nonprofits make an impact in communities nationwide.
We hope the profile below inspires you to volunteer for one of our 150+ active projects. And if you’re already volunteering – thank you!
Congratulations, Stephanie Abrutyn!
The big picture: A lawyer in New York with 30+ years of experience, Stephanie has volunteered on three different We The Action projects to help education innovation organizations navigate copyright law and other intellectual property questions.
After a long career, Stephanie says her schedule finally allowed her to explore something she’d been interested in for years: pro bono legal work.
“It’s only getting more and more expensive to get good legal advice,” she says. “When I decided to take a break from full-time employment — and after a couple months of sleep — I wanted to find an opportunity to contribute.”
A win-win: That urge to give back led her to We The Action, where she sought out projects with a defined time commitment in familiar areas of the law.
“I started looking for projects from organizations who needed my expertise and couldn’t find it in the paying legal marketplace,” she says. “It’s a win-win. I got to actually use my skills and experience, and they got the benefits of my help.”
“The perfect match for me”: With a background in copyright and intellectual law, Stephanie volunteered for projects where she could apply her specialized expertise.
For instance, Stephanie held an in-person training for one organization to help them understand fair use laws, consider the risks and tradeoffs of fair use, and answer questions for themselves.
“That project was the perfect match for me because I didn’t have to do a bunch of extra research to get up to speed,” she says. “But I also felt like I was doing something meaningful for them.”
Using her expertise to make an impact: In her work, Stephanie has helped nonprofits review policy agreements, navigate intellectual property questions.
For instance, Stephanie helped Deans for Impact, a national nonprofit organization working to improve how teachers are prepared, understand and navigate “fair use” questions to make the latest teaching materials widely available to the teachers and institutions they serve.
“It’s incredible that someone so accomplished who has so many demands on her time has gone above and beyond for us,” said Benjamin Riley, founder of Deans for Impact. “She helped us work through the practical applications and pros and cons of our work. It was so perfect, and we’ll be able to serve the education community in a broader fashion.”
The time for action: If you’re interested in trying pro bono work too, Stephanie says there is no learning curve when working with pro bono clients.
“The most important thing to remember is that these organizations are clients just like any other, except for they’re really thrilled to have your time.” Stephanie says.
On behalf of 42,000+ volunteer lawyers: Thank you, Stephanie!
Be sure to check out our 150+ active projects currently looking for volunteer lawyers. Whatever your experience, expertise, or availability, there's an opportunity for lawyers like you to make a difference!