Just like people, our outdoor spaces need advocates, too. Healthy public places rely on dedicated environmental supporters and legal professionals. As a recruiting business, Above the Bar Legal Recruiting provides recruiting and placement services, using diversity-focused practices.

Beyond the team’s day-to-day, Above the Bar Legal Recruiting supports 1% for the Planet Impact Partners, focusing on the environment and animal welfare. One of those impact partners is Friends of the LA River (FoLAR), an organization that builds capacity for communities, students and future leaders to advocate for nature, climate and equity on the Los Angeles River.

In honor of Love Your Lawyer Day, celebrated on November 6, we talked to Matthew Pond, founder and recruiter at Above the Bar Legal Recruiting, about what this holiday means to their team and how their work with FoLAR supports their ethos.

Why are organizations that protect our public and natural spaces important?

These spaces don’t just protect themselves. We need environmental lawyers to ensure that environmental laws are enforced and that corporations and governments are held accountable when that happens.

What does Love Your Lawyer Day mean for Above the Bar Legal Recruiting?

It’s an opportunity to celebrate the lawyers who advocate on behalf of the environment and who work often in a pro-bono capacity. It’s an opportunity to appreciate the organizations such as FoLAR that benefit through our partnership with 1% for the Planet. This [river] was once a concrete slab, but through the efforts of FoLAR, it is an ongoing process of restoration, of community engagement, of education. And it reminds us that wilderness isn’t just for far-flung places, it’s for urban areas where millions of people come together and enjoy nature. 

Celebrate Love Your Lawyer Day

See other impact partners Above the Bar Legal Recruiting supports through 1% for the Planet, and take some extra time today to say thank you to those who work in environmental law.

Banner photography by Friends of the LA River.

This content recognizes Above the Bar Legal Recruiting and Friends of the LA River as part of the 1% for the Planet network. It is shared for recognition and community storytelling purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or commercial solicitation.