By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

It's sure to be a merry Christmas for dozens of families across the region, thanks to the generosity of a group of attorneys.

When the Erie County Bar Association's Young Lawyers Committee was mapping out what activities to schedule for the year ahead, Chairman Bill Moore looked to the holidays and proposed creating a toy drive to benefit needy children in Buffalo.

Tapping into the competitive nature of attorneys, he pitted firm against firm, encouraging a friendly competition in hopes of driving up the number of toys collected.

"We pitched it at a board meeting and everybody was onboard with the idea of a toy drive," said Moore.

Despite the fact that only seven firms participated, the group collected 343 toys. Moore and his committee members had reached out to the Attorney for Children Unit of the Legal Aid Bureau and offered to make it the benefactor of the drive.

Pamela Neubeck is chief attorney of that unit for the nonprofit agency, which annually serves 1,500 children who are being abused or neglected. She eagerly accepted their offer.

"This was such a wonderful opportunity to benefit these kids," Neubeck said. "We are a not-for-profit law firm, and we don't have the financial wherewithal to be able to go out and buy gifts for the kids we represent."

She was out of town when the Young Lawyers Committee delivered the toys, which were distributed to children of all ages. She said that upon her return, she expected to see a modest pile of toys in her office waiting to be wrapped. What she found was quite a surprise.

"They had an entire conference room filled with toys," Neubeck said. "The staff here has been so wonderful. They all worked to sort, wrap and get the toys ready to give out."

Items collected during the drive went to 200 children in 75 different families.

And though that represents only a fraction of the children the program serves, Neubeck said there was a method to making sure those most in need received gifts.

"We chose to distribute the gifts to children who are still with their families," she said. "Most of the foster-care programs already have things in place like this, so those kids are going to receive presents. These children who may be with their families but really struggling are where we saw the need."

And so, on a recent blustery afternoon, the children and their families gathered downtown at the offices of Legal Aid to receive some special gifts. But the volunteers had one more surprise up their sleeve: As the children fidgeted in their chairs, eyeballing colorful packages piled on a countertop, a bell could be heard down the hallway.

In strolled Santa Claus himself (Frank Longo, confidential law clerk to Judge Patricia Maxwell), much to their delight. Santa passed out presents, posed for pictures and helped make the holiday brighter for everyone involved.

For Moore and his group of young attorneys, that was music to their ears.

"It is so good to hear that it touched so many families," he said of the inaugural toy drive, "I hope we can do it again next year and make it an annual event."