We would like to introduce a new quarterly feature—the “Volunteer Attorney Spotlight”! The Volunteer Attorney Spotlight is a way to highlight some of our many wonderful volunteers and uplift the fantastic work they are doing with our clients. We also hope this new feature will allow our community to get to know each other better. We appreciate all of our volunteers and are excited to have another opportunity to express our gratitude!
Today we are spotlighting Kate Reddy, who has been volunteering with Communities Rise (CR) since April 2024. Kate started her career as an attorney working at large law firms and worked at Perkins Coie for several years. In fall of 2024, Kate started her own practice, Wingspan Legal, which primarily serves nonprofit and social enterprise clients. One factor that led Kate to starting Wingspan Legal was her desire to connect more directly with the types of clients she was most interested in working with.
Given that interest, something that keeps Kate consistently volunteering at CR are the opportunities to support “passionate clients who are excited about their work and projects”. “Knowing that I am helping people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access legal support feels impactful,” Kate shares. Kate also enjoys meeting with CR’s clients who she says bring unique perspectives and a refreshing approach. Kate highlights the value of participating in CR’s monthly legal clinics to gain applied learning on a wide variety of transactional issues. She also appreciates that CR provides the opportunity to review clients’ needs prior to clinic appointments, stating “Confidence is the biggest issue. Knowing what a matter is going to be before meeting with the client and knowing that I can learn what I need to is very helpful.”
Kate is a truly incredible volunteer! She regularly participates in our monthly clinics and phone consultations providing thorough, accessible, and patient advice for our nonprofit clients. Kate also supports and mentors other attorneys and law student volunteers, both at the monthly legal clinics and via trainings. For example, this January when Kate learned that CR was planning a training on nonprofit law basics for attorneys from a local firm, she jumped in to assist. She helped develop the content and co-facilitated the training session. That training is now a key part of CR’s ongoing project to develop more attorneys with deeper nonprofit law expertise so that we can more effectively help our clients.
We are so grateful for Kate’s willingness to share her time and expertise with Communities Rise to help advance our mission and better serve our clients. Thank you, Kate, for all that you do!