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January 31, 2015

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Home » District » Pudong

Lawyer's call: Helping autistic kids, others

LAWRENCE Y Lu, 37, senior partner of SG & CO PRC Lawyers in Pudong, is an experienced attorney who is giving back to the community with his charitable endeavors.

He made something of a recent splash related to the display last year of a giant rubber duck in the Century Park lake when he represented a 10-year-old boy who had written to the Dutch artist who created the duck.

The autistic boy, named Yan Yan, wrote to the artist, Florentijn Hofman, to describe his admiration for the duck when it was on display in other cities. Ten months later, the duck played to huge crowds in Pudong抯 Century Park, and young Yan Yan was besieged by the media wanting to pursue the story of a mentally challenged boy who helped lure the world-renowned display to Shanghai.

Lu stepped in to protect the child from publication or other commercialized services under the boy's right of portrait (which can be used only for charity).

"Society should be more concerned about people with autism; not only the patients but also the families,?says Lu, who has been providing free legal consultation and volunteering in families with autistic children for more than two years.

Dedication to charity
In the past few years, Lu has dedicated himself to providing legal aid not only to autistic kids but to other vulnerable groups in society ?the elderly and migrant workers and their families, among them.

"I have divided my career into two parts. The former half has been dedicated to my profession, endeavoring to the biggest interests for my clients. And now with a certain career base, I want to do more to make our society a better place,?Lu tells Shanghai Daily.

As a lawyer, Lu is an expert in finance and securities.
 
Every now and then, Lu and other lawyers will visit nursing homes in Shanghai to help residents complete insurance policies.

Some elderly come to him with very trivial matters such as petty quarrels with others, Lu says. Sometimes, they will fight over 1,000 yuan (US$160) or 2,000 yuan. But for Lu, it抯 important to always think on the side of an elderly client who seeks help.

"Some young volunteer lawyers will not understand why they fight for such tiny matters at first,?he says. "But for them (the clients), they are huge things. And it is good to learn. As a lawyer, you have to know all classes of the society ?not only the big bosses ?and then you can understand laws and regulations more thoroughly.?
In 2012, Lu started volunteering for a hotline that helps teenagers in poverty, migrant families and those with autism. The experience put him in touch with autism groups for the first time.

One day the lawyer got a call from a despairing mother. Her son had autism and her husband had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

In the steaming hot summer of Shanghai, the family couldn't afford to turn on the air-conditioner. In addition, the woman was about to be laid off from her job as a cleaner.

"On the phone she told me, if the company dismissed her, she would turn on the gas and commit suicide with her family,?Lu recalls.

Lu sought to help and found that the company never signed a labor contract with the mother, though she had been working for the company for three years. He contacted the company and, after a few negotiations, Lu saved the job for this mother and got her a pay raise.

During this period, Lu's first child was born.

"I feel for others who suffer the agony of autistic kids,?he says. "We are both parents, and there is nothing you want more than a healthy kid. The tragedy has already happened; all we can do is help them."

He contributed 100,000 yuan and launched another charity fund to Shanghai Charity Fund for a project on behalf of autistic children. Lu also established the first volunteer team of young lawyers helping families with autism. From 20 members at the start, the team has expanded to nearly 100 lawyers. Counting other volunteers, the team is now more than 300 strong.

Free legal aid
It provides free legal aid to autistic families and protects their legal rights while also raising funds to support them. The team has raised 1 million yuan to help the families in the past two years.

"The social system to help autistic families needs to be improved,?Lu says, noting that autistic people need life-long care to support and help them.

"I have never seen an old autism person. When their parents die, who knows what happened to them and I can抰 imagine how can they survive,"he says.

Migrant children are another group that Lu cares about.

Lu and other lawyers communicate with the young migrant children, explaining their life experience and what is it like to be a lawyer. The lawyer believes that giving these kids a goal that they understand and can fight for is as important as giving their families legal and financial aid.

"Volunteer jobs have rendered me the happiness that can't be measured by money,"Lu says. "I am very much willing to sacrifice the time of making money to help others. Also, with my efforts, I want people to know more about lawyers with positive energy."
Families with autistic children can contact Lu's assistant at veronica.zhou@sglaw.cn to get free legal aid.




 

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