Peter Newman Elected to Board of Directors of Homeless Advocacy Project

Feldman Shepherd is pleased to announce that partner Peter M. Newman has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP).

Established in 1990, HAP is the only legal services organization dedicated to providing direct civil legal services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. HAP also advocates for the needs of the city’s homeless population in broader terms, promoting changes in city policies that benefit Philadelphia’s most vulnerable people. Since its inception, HAP has conducted legal clinics by reaching out to its clients in places where they live and eat, such as homeless shelters, transitional housing sites, and soup kitchens throughout Philadelphia. More recently, HAP has added virtual clinics, weekly telephone intake sessions, and an online Request Help Now form. Since HAP’s first legal clinic in December 1990, its staff and 350 volunteers have helped more than 63,000 people and have provided more than $114 million worth of free legal services to clients experiencing homelessness.

Newman brings to the HAP Board of Directors considerable experience in pro bono advocacy. He is a past member of the board of pro bono legal services provider Philadelphia VIP and continues to volunteer pro bono services for VIP, representing indigent clients in its mortgage foreclosure program. In September 2017, he was selected as VIP’s volunteer of the month.

At Feldman Shepherd, Newman represents clients in catastrophic personal injury cases including medical malpractice, product liability, complex personal injury and wrongful death actions. Newman also handles claims against insurance companies for clients who are victims of bad faith in the adjustment or defense of claims, and for clients who made claims for disability benefits that their insurers unreasonably denied. Over the course of more than 30 years as a trial lawyer, he has represented clients who are victims of medical and surgical errors and delayed diagnoses, as well as clients injured by defective medical devices and implants. He has also developed considerable experience investigating the cause and origin of fires and industrial accidents.

“I believe every attorney has an obligation to give back to the community by providing pro bono legal services. Living and working in Philadelphia, I have witnessed widespread homelessness and look forward to being part of the solution,” Newman said.

“We are happy to share Peter’s considerable talents with such a worthwhile organization, and we remain proud of his longstanding commitment to pro bono work. Peter’s pro bono efforts have spanned decades, benefiting countless members of our community,” said Mark W. Tanner, co-managing partner at Feldman Shepherd.