“We rise by lifting others”
-Robert Ingersoll
Our Commitment to Service and Giving Back
For us, our work is a mission.
Often, our clients have been knocked down and face difficult challenges. Whatever their circumstances, our mission is to help and protect them to the full extent the law allows.
Day in, day out for more than two decades now, the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin has served the people of North Carolina and beyond get through those challenges. We wouldn’t be who we are without our ties to the community, and that permeates our culture.
So maybe it’s not surprising that our employees are passionate about making a difference in their community as well.
Helping Those in Need Comes Naturally to The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin
At the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, our goal of helping others isn’t limited to the courtroom. The employees in our 15 offices throughout North Carolina donate their time, money, and skills year-round to causes close to their hearts, including ending homelessness, fighting illiteracy, and feeding the poor. Our offices supported charities like Backpack Beginnings, Humane Society, RAIN, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Earth’s Angels, just to name a few. We are honored to be part of the community, and we strive to affect positive change wherever we can.
Supporting Underserved High School Students in the Research Triangle Area
Cristo Rey Research Triangle High School, a school for economically underserved students, will open next fall. Its building will be located at the American Tobacco Campus, adjacent to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Durham Performing Arts Center. James Scott Farrin, conveniently located in downtown Durham next to the campus, is planning to support the Cristo Rey program in hopes of creating opportunities for the 100 students enrolling in the school. Students in the program are twice as likely as their peers to earn a college degree by age 24.
Fighting Hunger Together
At the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, we challenge each other to give back to our community. Our very own Digital Marketing Manager, Lisa H., helped kick off the NC Legal Feeding Frenzy – an annual joint program of the NCBA Young Lawyers Division and Feeding the Carolinas food banks to fight hunger across the state. She sorted and packed fresh produce to send directly to families in need. She and the other volunteers helped sort 7,276 meals in one day. Our firm has also supported various other local charities fighting hunger such as the MANNA FoodBank and A Simple Gesture.
We Help All Members of Our Community, Even Furry Ones!
JSF employees at the Charlotte, NC office, Nicole H. and Jessica C., presented the Humane Society of Charlotte with a donation to help the organization’s operations during the busy holiday season. The Humane Society is dedicated to providing a wide range of services to protect Charlotte’s pets and people. The Humane Society of Charlotte provides pet vaccinations and spay/neuter services, as well as adoption guidance and pet loss counseling.
Our Donations Are Tailored to Our Community Needs
The firm donated numerous computers to local charities throughout North Carolina, such as the Kramden Institute, the Franklin County Domestic Violence Center, and Mi Casa Community Services. The Kramden Institute is a non-profit organization that provides technology tools and training to low-income members of our community to bridge the digital divide. The Franklin County Domestic Violence Center will use our computers to better assist sexual assault victims and their children. Similarly, Mi Casa Community Services plans to use our computers to better aid the Hispanic communities of Forsyth and surrounding counties through offering domestic legal service, immigration services, and other methods of support. We’re grateful to be able to help our community in various ways.
The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin Is Committed to Helping Neighbors in Need
Charitable giving is embodied in the culture at the Law Office of James Scott Farrin. As part of Giving Tuesday, the firm donated funds to several deserving nonprofit organizations serving our local communities. A few of the recipients include: A Simple Gesture, Community Crossroads Center, MANNA FoodBank, MERCI Clinic, and The Outreach Center. These charities provide a range of important services, such as free healthcare, food, shelter, and support throughout the state.
Helping Provide a “Home-Away-From-Home”
To help the Ronald McDonald House of Durham continue supporting the families of seriously ill children, the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin has recently donated funds towards the organization’s efforts. Ronald McDonald House of Durham provides a comforting place to stay, meals, and a community of support to approximately 50 families a night – families who have travelled to Durham for their children’s treatment. We are honored to support this organization create and sustain a “home-away-from-home” for these families.
Farrin Public Interest Fellowship
Following the success of the Durham Eviction Clinic, which now receives funding from the city of Durham, Jim and his wife Robin made a second major gift to Duke Law School. In 2021, Jim donated $500,000 to endow a public interest fellowship for new graduates. By endowing this fellowship, Jim has helped increase access to justice for those in vulnerable communities. Lawyers looking to pursue careers in public service have a new opportunity to do so while being fully funded and supported.
Mission-Minded: Giving Back Started With Jim
James S. Farrin is intentional about hiring people who see their work as a mission to help the community. In fact, one of the behaviors we encourage within the firm is “Giving Back.”
As such, the firm volunteers and contributes monetarily to 30+ different organizations.
Four of Jim’s handpicked partnerships — ones that both the firm and he and his wife, Robin, personally support — are:
Durham Eviction Clinic
This is a legal clinic we help fund, staffed by Duke Law students to help people being wrongfully evicted as Durham becomes increasingly gentrified. The goal is to help young lawyers develop their craft in tandem with helping a community group close to our hearts. As a result, numerous wrongful evictions have been avoided.
Jim published a heartfelt op-ed in the Durham Herald Sun successfully urging government support for the clinic, writing:
“No one who reads the news can ignore gentrification as a potent force shaping and in some ways distorting our city. In addition to our faith in making the justice system work for everyone, we believe that diversity and inclusivity have had much to do with making Durham such a desirable place. An epidemic of avoidable evictions undercuts the very diversity that is the lifeblood of our city.
…The Durham Eviction Diversion Program isn’t just a good idea, it’s a signpost for the kind of smart, caring and equitable community we want to be, as well as a lifeline for people who need and deserve an advocate by their side.”
Farrin Public Interest Fellowship
Following the success of the Durham Eviction Clinic, which now receives funding from the city of Durham, Jim and his wife Robin made a second major gift to Duke Law School. In 2021, Jim donated $500,000 to endow a public interest fellowship for new graduates. By endowing this fellowship, Jim has helped increase access to justice for those in vulnerable communities. Lawyers looking to pursue careers in public service have a new opportunity to do so while being fully funded and supported.
To learn more, visit Duke Law News for more details.
UNC Law School Poverty Research
Jim and the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin are primary contributors to this ongoing research project which studies the criminalization of poverty in North Carolina, and we hope the results will lead to better laws and treatment for impoverished people in our state.
North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals
Having represented a number of accident victims who have been treated for burn injuries at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center, the firm knew the quality of medical care and overall support their clients have received there.
The firm began fostering a relationship with the Burn Center in January of 2014. Since that time, firm volunteers have enthusiastically supported its mission by providing dinners for patients and staff annually, as well as donating baseball tickets for past patients, who are primarily children in the Center’s after-patient program. Most recently, in July 2015, the firm donated a pediatric bronchoscope.
The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center is one of the few in the nation that is American Burn Association-verified for adult and pediatric care. Mary Lee Baker, RN BSN, Director of Clinical Operations at the Center, said that she does not know of many — if any — other burn units who have a pediatric bronchoscope dedicated for children under the age of two.
Leaving It Greener: How We Are Helping Our Environment
One of the JSF behaviors the firm tries to uphold is to “Leave It Better.” We want to leave our community and our world better for the future, so we have — and do — actively look for ways to maintain within the firm, like:
- Sponsoring the annual Earth Day celebration at the American Tobacco Campus under the Lucky Strike Water Tower in Durham, featuring eco-friendly vendors, organizations, and activities that spread environmental awareness
- Planted 20 trees in downtown Durham in honor of the law firm’s 20th anniversary
- Replaced plastic K cups with coffee that uses compostable pods, and replaced Styrofoam cups with biodegradable paper cups
- Adopting an easier, more efficient, and user-friendly recycling initiative
- Participating in the GoPass program with GoTriangle for employees who take public transportation
- Using a car fleet with an EcoBoost option
- Shredding documents through a service that recycles
North Carolina Bar Association Recognizes Citizen Lawyers
The North Carolina Bar Association established its Citizen Lawyer Award in 2007 to recognize and thank lawyers who volunteer their time and provide public service to their local or statewide communities. Past honorees include elected and appointed government officials, coaches, mentors, and voluntary leaders of non-profit, civic, and community organizations.
James Scott Farrin attorney Stan Abrams has been honored with this recognition.
Community Service
