Charitable Donations

In 2010, the Metzger Law Group made a charitable donation of $100,000 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America in recognition and appreciation of the firm’s courageous clients who wage their own personal battles with leukemia and lymphoma and to fund programs that support cancer research and education for patients suffering from these terrible diseases.

Further more in 2010, the Metzger Law Group also made a charitable contribution of $100,000 to the International Myeloma Foundation, which fosters education, research, and support for victims of this especially debilitating and lethal cancer worldwide.

Over the years, the firm’s founder, Raphael Metzger, has made charitable donations totaling $1 million to the California Community Foundation to Benefit Public Justice, America’s public interest law firm that strives to protect people and the environment, increase access to justice, combat threats to the justice system, and inspire people to serve the public interest.

At the Metzger Law Group, giving is as important as receiving. As Mr. Metzger is fond of saying, many lawyers have obtained million-dollar verdicts or settlements for their clients, but few have contributed a million dollars to charity. In Mr. Metzger’s view, the mark of a truly successful attorney is not how many million-dollar successes he has achieved in the courtroom, but rather, how many millions of dollars he has contributed to charities that serve the public good.

In 1986, California voters adopted the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, commonly known as “Proposition 65.”  Proposition 65 makes it unlawful for anyone to discharge a chemical known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity into drinking water or to expose Californians to such chemicals without first providing clear and fair warning.  The Metzger Law Group represents the Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT) and other charitable environmental and public health organizations in enforcing violations of Proposition 65.

The Metzger Law Group also advocates for the rights of workers and consumers suffering toxic injuries, persons who are terminally ill from toxic exposure, and the families of workers who have died of occupational diseases.  The firm has been seeking to persuade the California Judicial Council to make reasonable accommodations for terminally-ill litigants so that they are assured access to the courts and judicial processes despite their physical disabilities and terminal medical conditions. The firm is concerned that litigants with terminal medical conditions often do not obtain justice because the courts do not process their cases in an expedited manner.

The Metzger Law Group has also spearheaded efforts to unseal confidential settlements of toxic tort cases which prevent the public from learning of the nature and extent of toxic hazards that cause injuries.