Noise In The Basement raised more than $8,700 for local nonprofit Together We Bake, an empowerment-based job training program for women in need
Washington, DC (September 28, 2016) – Noise In The Basement, a DC-based alt-rock band featuring Venable attorneys Andrew Price, Damon Wright, Bri Rizzo, and Frank Cimino, won the Second Annual Law Rocks DC Battle of the Bands, competing against 14 other attorney bands representing major law firms Skadden, Hogan Lovells, Baker & McKenzie, Dentons, Blank Rome, and the UK’s Irwin Mitchell, among others. The group, with the enthusiastic support of the Venable community, was the top fundraiser among all bands, raising more than $20,000 in donations, ticket sales, and sponsorships, of which more than $8,700 will be donated to Venable’s pro bono client, Together We Bake. Venable won based on three factors – total fundraising, audience favorite, and a total score from a panel of rock judges – competing against bands from as far away as the UK at the legendary 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.
Law Rocks will donate more than $41,000 to the 15 bands’ selected charities, and the net ticket proceeds from the show will go to the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, which works to promote and protect human rights and the independence of the legal profession worldwide. The event coincided with the International Bar Association’s annual meeting and drew many of its attendees from across the globe.
“The dedication and energy that Noise In The Basement and Venable brought to this year’s Law Rocks DC was remarkable,” said Ted Scott, co-founder and director of Law Rocks. “They exemplified the core of what Law Rocks promotes in all of our shows – playing great music for charity and having a blast doing it.”
“The DC show was our most successful yet,” said Brandt Mori, a San Francisco-based Venable attorney and co-founder and director of Law Rocks. “We can’t thank the bands and their supporters enough, and we look forward to many great years ahead in DC.”
Added William Coston, Chair of Venable's Intellectual Property Division, “Giving back to the communities where we live and work has always been a defining characteristic of Venable’s culture. These four attorneys exemplify our commitment to improving the lives of others—in this case the worthy cause of Together We Bake.”
Founded in 2012, Together We Bake empowers women who have experienced incarceration, homelessness, and long-term unemployment with the knowledge, job training, and life skills to improve their lives. This unique organization, which provides job training centered on a micro-baking business, helps women gain self-confidence, transferable workforce skills, and invaluable hands-on experience to find sustainable employment and move toward self-sufficiency. Together We Bake's women learn food production, food safety education, product packaging and delivery, and customer service, along with better self-awareness, self-esteem, responsibility, and accountability. With only an eight percent recidivism rate, Together We Bake's graduates have achieved career success in the food service and hospitality industry, and even more have transformed their lives.
Law Rocks, founded in 2009, promotes music education for underprivileged youth and raises funds for local nonprofit organizations by combining the power of music and the generosity of the global legal community. To accomplish their mission, Law Rocks hosts a series of battle of the band fundraising concerts starring local legal professionals in cities across the globe. It provides an opportunity for the legal community to bring attention and funding to deserving local nonprofits.
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Venable LLP is an American Lawyer Global 100 law firm headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in California, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Virginia. The firm has more than 600 attorneys who serve domestic and international clients in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property, regulatory matters, and government affairs. For more information, visit www.venable.com.