Last year, Radiate Coalition was presented with the opportunity to acquire a former nun’s convent that the organization plans to convert into a transitional home for girls aging out of the Texas foster care system. The property was offered as a gift by The Haven, another nonprofit that was winding down operations.
Hostetter Benac, a corporate attorney and board member of Radiate Coalition, knew just the lawyer to help negotiate the property assignment agreement: her husband, Dylan Benac, a corporate deal lawyer in Bracewell’s Houston office. Together, their firms committed resources that allowed the attorneys to handle the acquisition pro bono.
Benac told The Texas Lawbook he tended to associate pro bono work primarily with litigation, which made this transactional matter especially meaningful.
“It was this light bulb moment of, ‘Oh this is something that I do, this is something that is truly in my wheelhouse,’” Benac said. “Pro bono itself is already incredible, but it made this one really particularly special because I was able to use my knowledge over eight years of practice to truly benefit a client who simply could not have afforded our services and needed to take the next step as a nonprofit.”
