Boston Bar Association Elects Claire Bishop Abely '00 as Public Interest Leader

November 6, 2007

November 6, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - Claire Bishop Abely, an attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP and 2000 graduate of DePauw University, has been elected one of 15 new members of the Boston Bar Association’s prestigious Public Interest Leadership Program. In its fifth year, the program is for those who have practiced law for fewer than 10 years and have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to pro bono, public service or organized bar activities.

Public Interest Leaders participate in meetings and workshops with prominent community leaders, develop insight into the challenges confronting local organizations and increase their understanding of successful community leadership. They also study and participate in group projects or public service activities that respond to a community Law Scale 4.jpg need they have identified. Lawyers selected for the Public Interest Leadership Program serve for a 12-month period, up to 25 hours per month.

Abely is an associate in Foley's general commercial litigation practice. Prior to joining Foley, she was a litigation associate with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP in Boston. She also served as a legal clerk for the Violence Policy Center and as a volunteer for the Workers' Rights Clinic, both located in Washington, D.C.

As an intern with the Center for Applied Legal Studies at Georgetown University Law Center, Abely successfully represented an asylum seeker in immigration court proceedings. Her background also includes experience as a teacher for the Peace Corps in Sebes, Romania.

Abely received a B.A. degree in history magna cum laude from DePauw. She received a J.D. magna cum laude in 2004 from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was elected to Order of the Coif and served as student notes editor for the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal.

In recognition of her work in business litigation, Abely was named a 2007 Massachusetts "Rising Star" by Law & Politics Media, Inc. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, a member of the Boston Bar Association and a member of the Steering Committee of the ABA White Collar Crime Committee, Young Lawyers Subcommittee-Boston.

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