Neil Steinkamp, Director in the Dispute Advisory & Forensic Services Group, presented to the Pro Bono Coordinators Network of the New York State Bar Association on “Adding Financial Analysis to the Pro Bono Mix: How a Partnership Between Legal Services and Pro Bono Financial Services Can Help Your Clients.” SRR professionals possess specialized financial expertise that can benefit low income individuals and the non-profit organizations that support them.

Mr. Steinkamp presented a number of recent case studies showcasing SRR’s recent involvement in Pro Bono services.

• SRR provided valuation and consulting services in a divorce matter on behalf of an individual who was the victim of domestic violence, was denied access to any of the marital financial records, and had no means to hire counsel or experts. The services were provided in connection with the State Family Law Assistance Project.
• SRR assisted a nationally recognized law school in developing a robust financial model to assist with budgeting and forecasting. SRR pro bono efforts included discussions with law school administrators, the development of a financial model that could interface with the law school's reporting platform, and ongoing guidance on how to utilize the model to gather information from department heads and review the information for completeness and accuracy.
• SRR assisted a significant non-profit organization in the Greater Chicago area evaluating opportunities to liquidate certain properties in its real estate portfolio.  Our pro bono efforts included performing high-level valuations of certain properties in this portfolio located in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The property types varied from vacant land and office buildings, to recreational properties.
• SRR developed a strategic growth model to assist a non-profit organization in evaluating opportunities for geographic expansion.  SRR professionals created a user-friendly model to facilitate the ongoing assessment of expansion opportunities through the evaluation of both regional demographic characteristics and expected return on investment based on anticipated cost structure and funding sources.
• SRR provided forensic accounting, preliminary damage assessment, and expert consulting services in a Civil Litigation matter on behalf of an individual who was allegedly unknowingly involved as a straw buyer in a mortgage fraud scheme.
• SRR conducted an internal investigation on behalf of the Board of Directors of a non-profit organization whose Executive Director was accused of falsifying grant applications to provide funds for friends and relatives, as well as other violations of the organization's conflict of interest policy.  SRR professionals conducted interviews, reviewed documents, completed forensic accounting analyses, and presented a report of our findings and observations, including recommendations for control improvements, to the Board of Directors.

To learn more about SRR's Pro Bono Practice, click here.