Bickel & Brewer leads the way

This story is very cool. John Bickel and Bill Brewer are two very successful, high powered lawyers. For them to create a charitable foundation like this speaks volumes about who they really are.

Dallas-based lawyers John Bickel and Bill Brewer say they take pride not only in providing legal service for their clients, but also in taking a genuine interest in the communities where those clients live. So, in 1995, the 34-lawyer law firm of Bickel & Brewer decided to create its own charitable foundation using that same philosophy to benefit underserved members of the community.

Mr. Brewer said the firm, which has offices in downtown Dallas, New York and in a storefront in South Dallas, started the Future Leaders Program – FLP – in 2001 after dealing with cases involving North Texas school boards that did not offer families access to their decision-making process.

"The firm's focus on education is the result of the pro bono work that the firm does in the storefront office," Mr. Brewer said.

The Future Leaders Program provides after-school academic resources and leadership training for middle school students from South Dallas and Oak Cliff.

Nice going, John and Bill. Thanks for all you do.