CATIC, the title insurance underwriter, has pledged $45,000 to support the Connecticut Community Law Center, which offers legal services to low- and moderate-income clients.
The center, founded last year in cooperation with the Hartford County Bar Association, operates as a legal incubator, offering new lawyers professional mentoring and a subsidized working environment on the UConn School of Law campus in Hartford. The lawyers, working as solo practitioners, have provided legal services at a modest cost to hundreds of clients who meet income guidelines.
“We are grateful for this generous donation from CATIC and CATIC Foundation, which will allow us to help these clients who do not qualify for free legal services, but often do not have the financial resources to pay standard legal fees,” UConn Law Dean Timothy Fisher said.
The donation was provided in large part by CATIC members who contributed the proceeds from the redemption of stock in CATIC Financial’s recent corporate reorganization, said James M. Czapiga, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “We wanted to do something with those donations that would benefit the Connecticut legal community and the Law Center does great work,” he said.
CATIC’s support is vital to the mission of the Connecticut Community Law Center, said its director, Mark Schreier. “Here at the CCLC we endeavor to provide an advocate’s voice to individuals in our community that typically view the legal system as an insurmountable and overwhelming hurdle,” he said. “It is gratifying to witness new lawyers develop their practices with that goal in mind.”
CATIC has headquarters in Rocky Hill with offices and attorney agents throughout New England.