Skip to site navigation Skip to main content Skip to footer content Skip to Site Search page Skip to People Search page

Releases and Announcements

Duane Morris Attorneys Richard P. Jaffe and Joshua B. Long Receive Firm Pro Bono Awards

November 7, 2022

Duane Morris Attorneys Richard P. Jaffe and Joshua B. Long Receive Firm Pro Bono Awards

November 7, 2022

Read below

PHILADELPHIA and HOUSTON, November 7, 2022—Duane Morris LLP associate Joshua B. Long of the Houston office and partner Richard P. Jaffe of the Philadelphia office were honored at the firm’s annual meeting for their pro bono contributions. Long received the 16th annual Duane Morris Pro Bono Award and Jaffe was the recipient of the eighth annual Duane Morris Pro Bono Leadership Award.

The Duane Morris Pro Bono Award honors the outstanding service of an attorney who exemplifies Duane Morris’ commitment to pro bono service and has made a significant impact on an individual or community.

Long represented a Vietnam War veteran who witnessed horrific combat including surviving numerous bombings and the death of several friends, which resulted in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—although PTSD had yet to be diagnosed as a mental illness at that time. After serving 11 months in Vietnam, the client’s PTSD symptoms became so intense that he went absent without leave, resulting in a dishonorable discharge, the stigma of which haunted him for the past four decades. Before the Army Discharge Review Board, Long successfully petitioned for the client’s discharge status to be upgraded to honorable both in equity and pursuant to Undersecretaries Hagel, Carson, Kurta and Wilkie’s memorandums proscribing liberal consideration for discharge upgrades that were the result of undiagnosed PTSD.

Long primarily practices in the area of intellectual property litigation. He has experience with intellectual property litigation in federal courts throughout the United States for matters involving electronics and computer components and systems. Long has represented clients in patent litigation matters related to telecommunications networks, fiber optic data transmission, Wi-Fi, Power over Ethernet, dynamic RAM, LED display panels and internal circuitry, medical devices, PCI Express, micro electro-mechanical systems and alarm systems. He also has patent litigation experience before the International Trade Commission.

The Duane Morris Pro Bono Leadership Award recognizes an attorney who exemplifies the spirit of pro bono: a selfless, long-standing and unwavering commitment to pro bono service; a leader by example who accepts pro bono matters without fanfare; and a pro bono contributor who encourages and mentors other firm attorneys in pro bono service.

Over the last few years, Jaffe has led a cross-practice team of Duane Morris attorneys providing critical legal support to The Food Trust, an organization that works with neighborhoods, institutions, retailers, farmers and policymakers across Philadelphia and the country to ensure delicious, nutritious food in urban and rural areas alike. The team has helped in numerous ways, including negotiating agreements and memoranda of understanding with community stakeholders such as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Medical Center to increase access to the Food Bucks program, which makes fresh produce more affordable for shoppers paying with SNAP, supports local farmers/small businesses and increases demand for fresh produce in historically under-resourced neighborhoods. Other firm attorneys developed agreements with local artists and store owners to paint murals on their facades, including a mural with Camden Lutheran Housing on three stores in Camden, New Jersey. Intellectual property attorneys likewise secured The Food Trust’s trademark and advised on various branding issues, and employment lawyers advised on COVID-19 policies, corporate governance documents and record storage/destruction issues.

“What I find unique about the relationship with Duane Morris is the timeliness of the feedback and the access to the breath of technical expertise that we get across the law firm, in what sometimes to me it feels like a real time situation. The attention and the quality of work that we get, that is a game changer for a nonprofit such as The Food Trust,” said Mark Edwards, president and CEO of The Food Trust.

Jaffe practices in the area of corporate finance with an emphasis on private equity law. He focuses on advising funds on control and noncontrol investments, fund formation and operation, divestitures, corporate finance and venture capital financing, particularly in the alternative energy, technology and manufacturing industries. Jaffe regularly represents private equity funds and other investors and strategics in corporate transactions and advises business owners and PE portfolio companies on raising capital to grow and exit their companies, as well as structuring public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions. In addition, he also counsels boards and committees of boards on corporate governance issues and is a frequent lecturer on these issues.

About the Duane Morris Pro Bono Program

The goal of Duane Morris’ pro bono program is to provide free legal services to those in the firm’s communities least able to afford legal services, and usually to those who have a dire need of such services. Accordingly, the focus of the pro bono work is providing quality legal services to individuals and organizations that serve the community through provision of services to low-income individuals, by furthering economic development in low-income areas, or by pursuing other charitable endeavors. The importance of pro bono work and volunteerism has been an integral part of Duane Morris’ culture and the backbone of its value system since the firm’s founding more than 110 years ago.

About Duane Morris

Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 800 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.