New England Biz Law Update
Robert E. Healing, soon-to-be-retired corporate counsel of General Electric Company in Fairfield, Conn., recently stepped down as chairman of the board of the Pro Bono Partnership.
In 1997, Healing founded the Partnership, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to other nonprofits serving the public interest in Westchester County, N.Y., Fairfield County, Conn., and New Jersey. With a staff of four full-time attorneys and a volunteer corps of more than 700 lawyers from leading corporations and law firms, the Partnership provides pro bono legal assistance to nearly 650 nonprofit clients in the region.
Healing is retiring from General Electric in May after 33 years in the company’s legal department. Since 1988, Healing has been corporate counsel of GE, which has also provided leadership support for the Partnership.
“GE has a history of supporting imaginative ideas that address tough problems,” said Healing, “and the company immediately recognized that the Partnership was a creative solution to the legal needs of the region’s nonprofit organizations – and at no cost to them. At the same time, the Partnership provides a unique opportunity for corporate attorneys to contribute to the community through pro bono service.”
Prior to joining GE, Healing served as a Marine officer in Vietnam. He was also a director of the Washington Area Corporate Counsel Association from 1986 to 1988 and of the Corporate Bar Association of Westchester and Fairfield Counties from 1990 to 1998.
According to Partnership Executive Director Richard Hobish, “Bob has been the inspiration and the moving force behind the Partnership from its inception. He has devoted countless hours at all times of the day to ensure the Partnership’s success and his efforts have generated an unparalleled involvement in pro bono activities among inside counsel in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. Thanks to Bob’s efforts, the Partnership is viewed as a national model for pro bono programs.”
John M. Liftin, senior vice president and general counsel of Prudential Financial, Inc. in Newark, N.J., will replace Healing as the Partnership’s chairman of the board.
“The Partnership is very fortunate that John Liftin has been elected to serve as the Partnership’s new Chairman,” Hobish said. “John has been an active and committed member of the Partnership’s Board of Directors for several years and played a leadership role in bringing the Partnership to New Jersey.”
Liftin said that “for more than 125 years, Prudential Financial has supported organizations that serve people in need, particularly in our headquarters city of Newark. The company also encourages its employees people to become involved in their communities. The Partnership is the perfect vehicle for our attorneys.”
Prior to joining Prudential in April 1998, Liftin served as general counsel for Kidder, Peabody Group, Inc. and as president and chief operating officer of Quadrex Securities Corporation.
He is a member of the New York Stock Exchange Legal Advisory Committee and the immediate past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities. He currently chairs the Association’s Committee of Corporate General Counsel.
