Michael B. Hayes Elected President of Homeless Advocacy Project’s Board of Directors

January 28, 2020

Categories : Community Service

Types : Press Releases

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Montgomery McCracken is pleased to announce Michael Hayes was elected to serve as President of the Homeless Advocacy Project’s (HAP) Board of Directors for 2020. Hayes has served as a volunteer attorney on behalf of HAP clients since 2002 and on the HAP Board of Directors since 2008.

This year marks HAP’s 30th anniversary, which the organization is excited to celebrate with the Philadelphia legal community at its Annual Benefit scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 2nd at the Comcast Technology Center.

“It is truly an honor to serve as the President of HAP’S Board of Directors,” said Hayes. “Working with HAP and providing direct legal services to HAP clients has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I look forward to helping HAP further its mission in its 30th year and continuing to serve our community.”

HAP was founded on the belief that people experiencing homelessness have unique and complex legal problems that often are not adequately addressed by traditional providers of legal services to indigent and low-income individuals. To ensure that people experiencing homelessness have access to legal services, HAP’s founders created an organization designed to conduct free legal clinics and to deliver legal services directly to the homeless where they live and eat. By recruiting and training volunteer attorneys, legal assistants and law students to staff these clinics, HAP is able to provide free legal counseling and representation to a population not adequately served by other legal services programs. HAP is the only legal services organization in Philadelphia that conducts such direct outreach to the homeless population.

Hayes is Chair of Montgomery McCracken’s E-Discovery Practice Group, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, and Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. His practice concentrates on commercial litigation, government investigation response, and corporate internal investigations. Hayes has been dedicated to serving the community throughout his career.  Since 2014, Hayes has served as an officer in the JAG Corps of the United States Army Reserve.  In 2012, the Judges of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania selected him to receive the Court’s Pro Bono Publico Award for his pro bono representation of Philadelphia families put at risk of losing their homes by an unscrupulous landlord. Hayes was actively involved in the Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association, serving as its chair in 2006 and receiving its Michael K. Smith Excellence in Service Award in 2003.

Hayes received his J.D., cum laude, from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law and his B.A. from La Salle University.

About HAP

The mission of the Homeless Advocacy Project is to provide free civil legal services and advocacy to reduce the frequency and duration of homelessness in Philadelphia. With a legal staff of 10 and a corps of 350 volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students, HAP engages in direct outreach to homeless individuals in need of legal services. More information about HAP can be found at https://haplegal.org.

About Montgomery McCracken

Montgomery McCracken is a full-service law firm with offices in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. The firm represents leading businesses, multinational corporations, nonprofit organizations and individuals across a wide range of industries in complex litigation matters, significant corporate transactions and challenging disputes. Follow the firm on Twitter at @MMWR_Law.