News

The Robert B. Fraser Award 2009

Heidi Harvey believes in saving the world, one person at a time. Too humble to admit she’s doing just that, those she has touched can say with confidence that her dedication to pro bono legal service has had outstanding ripple effects.

Heidi Harvey attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an undergraduate and worked as an engineer, eventually attending Law School at Cornell. She practiced Intellectual Property law at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP in the 80s, an exciting era of initial public offerings and venture capital, and the firm became a powerhouse during Boston's technology boom. In the midst of this success, Testa, Hurwitz had a strong culture of pro bono work “because it was a great way for Associates to build skills, and because it was the right thing to do,” says Heidi.

Heidi brought this culture with her to Fish & Richardson, where she focuses on the trial of patent and trade secret cases and enforcement and protection of product designs and trademarks. A patent firm with 27 lawyers when Heidi joined, the firm is now represented by over 400 attorneys across 11 offices. Heidi joined as a third year associate and noticed that there was no obvious culture of pro bono work. While no one would keep lawyers from taking work on, there were certainly no invitations to do so. Without a policy in place, there were no demerits taken but also no credit given for taking on non-billable case work.

Over time, as she headed up litigation and also internal training, she was able to get Partners and Associates excited about integrating pro bono work as part of their practice. The Volunteers Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) was coming into being, and she began to take on cases referred to her by this organization, among others.

“Artists by nature are unsuited to work the system and think about contract details. It’s not what motivates them,” Heidi explains with a laugh. “Lawyers are there to sort it out.” She developed a reputation for being especially capable at untangling cases that were racing against the clock, and the VLA/Arts and Business Council started calling her with problem cases. As Fish & Richardson became more generous about their pro bono policy, Heidi could take on more cases in good conscience, and pull in more Associates to help. Not only were the younger Associates thrilled to practice their skills, they were able to offer outstanding services to artists who were struggling against the system and with dense contracts that were far from artistic.

“These [lawyers] are math and science and people at Fish,” Heidi explains, “for whom being right matters. It leads to a sincerity of approach. We are really able to help, and we have a lot of fun doing it.”

Now the firm’s pro bono policy gives credit towards yearly billable goals. “We have a culture of representing clients well and winning cases and participating in the community through pro bono work. It’s part of being a firm of stature.”

One of Heidi’s most recent cases is also one that excites her greatly, and her energy is palpable as she shuffles through the documents.

“Frank Gaylord vs the United States,” she says, and grins.

Frank Gaylord is the sculptor of the Korean War Memorial Sculpture. A former WWII paratrooper, he lives in Barre, Vermont, where he creates magnificent sculptures and statues in granite and steel. In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, 19 larger-than-life servicemen on patrol were installed on the Washington Mall. In 2003, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp that shows an image of the sculptures covered in snow. They sold 80 million stamps, without Gaylord’s authorization and without attribution or payment to him.

With the time limit to pursue his cause running out, Heidi was enlisted to help, and together they filed suit against the U.S. Postal Service for copyright infringement, seeking 10% of the revenues from sales of the stamp. The Court of Federal Claims found that the Postal Service’s use of the photograph of the sculptures was a “fair use” under the Copyright Act, but the case is currently in appeals. Heidi’s materials for this case sit squarely on her desk at Fish & Richardson and include stacks of photographs and slides, which she continues to pore over joyfully. While her background may be in engineering and her specialty in IP law, it’s evident that the right side of her brain is fully engaged, and she’s grateful to the VLA for the stimulation. Likewise, the VLA is profoundly grateful for her efforts and will bestow their annual Robert B. Fraser Award for Pro Bono Excellence to Heidi for her exceptional dedication to artists and arts and cultural organizations.

Email This

Print This

Save To Del.icio.us