Nexsen Pruet Commits $100,000 To Katrina Relief Efforts, Issues "Carolinas Challenge" To Other Firms To Match

"The pictures and stories flowing out of the Louisiana, Mississippi and the Alabama coastal areas are devastating," said Al Pollard, managing member of Nexsen Pruet. "Those communities need our support, and they need it now. We recognize we have a responsibility to step up, and challenge other law firms in the Carolinas to do the same."

Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier will immediately donate $50,000 to the American Red Cross. The law firm will also match employee contributions to disaster relief organizations up to another $50,000. So if employees personally donate $50,000, the total donation from the firm and its employees would reach at least $150,000.

But Nexsen Pruet representatives said the contribution, while substantial, still is not enough.

"We need firms across the Carolinas to join us in reaching out to those who have little, if anything, left after the storm," said Bill Wilcox, managing member of the Greensboro, N.C., office. "Given that both states have been greatly affected by hurricanes in the past, we can understand some of the hardships that our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast are facing. Even so, the damage from Katrina looks to be much worse than anything most of us have ever seen, and we have a moral obligation to step up to the plate and help in a meaningful way."

Pollard agreed. "Many of us remember the devastation caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989," he said, referring to the Category 4 storm that ravaged Charleston and the South Carolina coast, causing $7 billion in damage. "As terrifying as that was, it appears that Katrina will be far more destructive and costly."

Nexsen Pruet attorneys will personally contact law firms in both states, encouraging them to accept the Carolinas Challenge. Firms accepting the challenge should contact Heather Matthews at Nexsen Pruet (803.540.2141, or hmatthews@nexsenpruet.com).

Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, PLLC is one of the largest law firms in the Carolinas, with more than 170 attorneys and offices in Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C. and in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head, and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier provides a broad range of legal services to the business community and represents companies and other entities in local, state, national, and international venues.