On February 21, the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA) will host its annual Fundraising Gala at Martini Blu in downtown Minneapolis. The Fundraising Gala is designed to increase the size of the MHBA’s endowment fund.

In 1998, the MHBA established an endowment fund in partnership with El Fondo de Nuestra Comunidad and under the administration of The St. Paul Foundation. The endowment fund helps provide access to justice for all Latinos.

Each year, the MHBA Endowment Award is presented to a nonprofit organization serving the Latino community. The award provides funding to enable the employment of a summer law student intern who works directly to serve disadvantaged Latinos.

Recent winners of the Endowment Award include Volunteer Lawyers Network, Centro Legal, the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, and the Neighborhood Justice Center. At the Gala, MHBA will publicly acknowledge the financial sponsors whose generosity enables continued growth and development of the Latino legal community and the Latino community as a whole.

Although one of the MHBA’s proud accomplishments, the Fundraising Gala is not its only effort to assist local Latinos. In 2005, the MHBA partnered with the Volunteer Lawyers Network, Fredrikson & Byron, Lindquist & Vennum, the Minnesota Justice Foundation, and CLUES to create a telephone hotline called Linea Legal Latina. The purpose of the hotline is to assist low-income Latinos who face barriers to securing legal representation by referring them to competent pro bono legal counsel. The Linea Legal Latina has been operational since September, and the MHBA is proud to have been part of the team effort in its development and implementation. MHBA’s law student and attorney members regularly volunteer by taking incoming phone calls, referring clients, and providing legal advice.

Two events have helped the Minneapolis Latino community receive national attention. Last March, 32 teams from U.S. law schools competed in the 12th Annual Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) National Moot Court Competition. Participants from places such as Texas, Hawaii, New York, and Illinois came to Minnesota to compete.Hundreds of attorneys from the United States and abroad attended the HNBA Mid-Year Conference, “Latinos Excelling in Litigation.” The MHBA co-sponsored both events and ensured their success.

With approximately 100 members, the MHBA has grown since its founding in 1991, an offshoot of the Minnesota Minority Bar Association. Its momentum from Latino leaders in the community has allowed it to flourish. In turn, MHBA continues to assist the Latino community.

MHBA’s push in the coming months is to help raise money for its endowment while providing a fun event for the Minnesota legal community. The MHBA invites you to join us February 21 at Martini Blu. The Gala will be a great opportunity to network informally with MHBA members and enjoy fine food, drink, and, of course, Latin dancing! We hope you will join us at our upcoming celebration and help us with another successful Gala.