Gross McGinley, LLP, in Allentown recently launched an LGBT practice group to better serve the area’s LGBT community.
The formation of Gross McGinley’s LGBT practice group has been months in the making, even before marriage equality was legalized in Pennsylvania. The practice group offers a wide range of legal services, from adoption to real estate to divorce and more.
“We have 31 attorneys at our firm, and we have eight attorneys in this practice group,” said firm business development and marketing manager Madlen Miller. “We tried to get a nice sampling of areas where the LGBT community has really specific needs in the legal realm: That includes real estate, domestic relations, family law, custody, divorce, prenuptials and more. We tried to get a nice, wide sample of backgrounds and expertise in the group.”
Mal Gross, a member of the LGBT practice group and a founding partner of the firm, said the company is enthusiastically prepared to help meet the community’s specialized legal needs.
“Most areas in the law are settled, and what you do as a practitioner is execute and follow up with techniques you already know,” Gross said. “This area is in flux, and it’s challenging and important. While this is a cutting-edge and gray area in some respects, we feel this is an area where we could help a lot of people who now have rights to confirm and smooth them out.”
Gross McGinley has a history of LGBT activism. Several years ago, Gross represented the city of Allentown in a significant case that expanded the city’s nondiscrimination legislation. While some local zealots challenged that, Gross worked pro bono as the local counsel on the case, which led to the city banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Miller noted that Gross McGinley is sponsoring a local event in Allentown called Pride in the Park, Aug. 17 at Theatre Beach, where the firm will have a booth with mini-seminars that are free for anyone attending the event.
Miller said the event will be educational both for the firm and the public.
“We’re not sure what kinds of cases we are going to pick up,” Miller said. “We’re just trying to make sure we have our bases covered. These mini-seminars will help us gauge where the interest is. Maybe there’s something we haven’t addressed yet that we need to.Either way, we will do our best to serve the LGBT community, paying special attention to the specific needs that are going to be different from people not in the community.”
Gross expressed the passion and dedication the lawyers in the LGBT practice group have for issues specific to the community.
“The people in this practice group really care about the issues,” Gross said. “If you’re just doing it because you have to, or for an economical benefit, you’re not going to be effective. You have to care about what you’re doing. Clients would find our lawyers to be enthusiastic and that they care about the issues.”
Gross said that while the LGBT community has been underserved by the legal profession in the past, he hopes that Gross McGinley can help rectify that by providing assistance with the changing LGBT legal landscape.
“We’re proud of our law firm,” Gross said. “We’ve got a deep bench and a depth of knowledge that would be advantageous to anyone who has a question or is in need of our services.”
For more information, visit www.grossmcginley.com