[News] [Australia] Major law firm donates win to Pinnacle

[Stephanie Stevens]

Gay News Network, Australia


13 May 2012

Major law firm donates win to Pinnacle

Serkan Ozturk


Leading law firm Freehills has donated $20,000 to LGBTIQ youth
mentoring organisation the Pinnacle Foundation from the proceeds of
costs awarded to it following a landmark legal win late last year in
the High Court.

The case involved two transgender persons who are now legally
recognised as men under Western Australia’s gender reassignment laws.

The law firm has already been a generous supporter of Pinnacle
Foundation with previous pro-bono work helping to establish the
not-for-profit organisation which helps with providing scholarships
and mentoring to LGBTIQ students facing hardship.

Susan Brooks, from the Pinnacle Foundation, told SX the donation was
very welcome considering the influx of applications the group has
received in the past 12 months.

“This year Pinnacle awarded three scholarships to transgender students
and I believe this demonstration of support prompted them to give
their award of costs to us,” Brooks said.

Pinnacle is now in the process of establishing an endowment fund which
would allow substantial bequests to be made managed with interest from
investments and be directed towards providing further scholarships to
students.

Brooks said that more and more companies were interested in the work
of Pinnacle having seen the likes of Accenture and Freehills offer
financial and mentoring support.

“For them they see tangible benefits by inspiring management who
attend our functions and hear the scholar’s stories and they can take
a named scholar into their organisation after degree completion and in
the meantime assign a corporate mentor,” she said.

For more information, visit www.thepinnaclefoundation.org
<http://www.thepinnaclefoundation.org/>


http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/news-2/6343-major-law-firm-makes-large-donation-to-pinnacle.html