News Article

RALEIGH—Womble Carlyle attorneys Peter Duffley and Liz Riley are helping those who help others. Recently, the two Raleigh attorneys were honored for their pro bono work on behalf of Passage Home, a Wake County charity that works to end homelessness and poverty.
 

The two were honored at Passage Home’s Annual 3C’s Breakfast—Corporate. Community. Congregations. The breakfast was held Tuesday, Nov. 17^th at Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh.

For the past 17 years, Passage Home has worked to help break the cycle of poverty in Wake County. The group’s programs focus on four key areas: housing and support services, economic development, youth development, and neighborhood revitalization.

Duffley and Riley have provided pro bono legal assistance to the organization. Duffley has been helping the charity get access to capital to fund various community initiatives, including through traditional bank financing and government grant programs.

Riley helped the organization work through a complicated construction lien dispute that began in 2008. The dispute, which arose out of the construction of a transitional housing project for the homeless, could not have come at a worse time for Passage Home. Just as the charity was about to open the doors to the new facility it learned that multiple construction liens had been filed against the property. Shortly after learning of the lien claims it was also told that the general contractor had filed bankruptcy.

Although Passage Home wasn’t at fault, the lien claims and the complications presented by the general contractor’s bankruptcy filing prevented the organization from closing on the permanent financing it needed to repay the project construction loan. Riley spent an entire year untangling the mess and eventually brokered a deal that cleared up the problem and allowed Passage Home to get back to business. Duffley helped get the permanent financing commitments extended to give Passage Home more time to resolve the dispute.
 

In addition to Duffley and Riley’s efforts, Womble Carlyle attorneys Bill Matthews, Julie Pape and Holly Mills, as well as paralegals Jane Valentin and Barbara Sporrer, also contributed pro bono time to help Passage Home.

"Their work has helped us close on property that will be used for both permanent and transitional affordable housing for very low income families, and for women leaving the correctional system seeking to become responsible citizens," said Jeanne Tedrow, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Passage Home. “Not only have they provided the highest quality legal services, they have performed their service with a passion for our mission to help those in need.  I cannot speak more highly of any group than this and I truly appreciate their service to us and our Raleigh community. On behalf of those we serve and our Board of Directors, we are recognizing them for their outstanding service to our community.”