Baker & McKenzie
September 19, 2008
Baker & McKenzie LLP to Assist Holocaust Survivors in German Ghetto
Work Payment Program
Toronto, September 19, 2008 - Baker & McKenzie LLP has partnered with
the United Jewish Appeal ("UJA") and Jewish Information Services of
Toronto ("JIST") to host a free clinic to assist Holocaust survivors
in filing claims under the German Ghetto Work Payment Program ("GWPP")
on September 21 at the Lipa Green Community Centre, by appointment
only, from 10:30 to 3:30 p.m.
The Baker & McKenzie Toronto volunteer team is led by Brian Segal,
Randy Schwartz and Jonathan Garbutt.
The Firm has also partnered with the Bet Tzedek legal clinic of Los
Angeles, CA, which has put together a package of materials and
training guides, both in DVD and on the Internet, to help train
lawyers and other volunteers on how to fill out the GWPP forms
effectively and how to deal with the most common issues related to the
program.
The GWPP is a program of the German Federal Government to provide
compensation to people who performed work while they were in
German-controlled Jewish Ghettos during the Nazi era. The program
represents an effort by the German's government to bridge a
long-standing "gap" in the structure of its Holocaust reparations. To
qualify under the program, the applicant survivor must have lived in a
German-controlled Jewish Ghetto, worked while in the Ghetto and still
be alive at the time of making the application. There are
restrictions on the type of work performed due to German pension
issues, which is why the assistance of a lawyer can be helpful to
assist survivors with completing the form properly.
"Ensuring that Holocaust survivors in our community live their lives
with dignity and respect is our priority and we are very grateful to
Baker McKenzie for donating time to this humanitarian effort," said
Ted Sokolsky, President and CEO of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
"This is an important initiative and one that we strongly felt we
should take part in," said Jim Holloway, Managing Partner of the
Firm's Toronto office. "Assisting Holocaust survivors to receive fair
compensation may not erase the impact of this tragedy on the lives of
so many people, but it is nevertheless an important step in addressing
and rectifying some of the many injustices that occurred at that
time."
Angela Vigil, Baker & McKenzie's North American Director of Pro Bono
and Community Service, commented: "Efforts to help the survivors of
this era gain compensation for their labour is extremely important to
us. Baker & McKenzie provides pro bono and community service to
individuals who otherwise could not afford access to the justice
system, and we cannot think of better recipients of such service than
Holocaust survivors."
For further information, please contact:
Harriet Giannoukos, Marketing & Business Development Manager, Toronto
Jessica Benzon, Global Communications, Chicago
+1 416 865 6907
+1 312 861 2665
harriet.giannoukos@bakernet.com
jessica.s.benzon@bakernet.com
