Going the Extra Mile: Jeff Xu helps dozens of New Yorkers with end-of-life needs
For nearly a decade, Jeff Xu has helped low-income New Yorkers who are 60 and older with their wills and other life planning documents through the Volunteers of Legal Service Senior Law Project.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Xu began meeting with clients over Zoom to execute these documents. He also led execution ceremonies wherever clients felt comfortable—in coffee shops, restaurants or even their homes.
For one client, Xu went all the way to Staten Island, which even as a New York City native was his first trip to its southernmost borough, he says.
“During COVID and even now, there are clients who are unable to travel, and VOLS often steers them my way because they know that I’m willing to do these types of home visits,” says Xu, a partner in the finance group at Morrison Foerster.
Abja Midha, the executive director of Volunteers of Legal Service, notes that the nonprofit organization’s staff often conducts home visits for senior clients who can’t come to the office because of physical disabilities or various medical needs. But it is far less common for pro bono attorneys to pay those calls.
“It really shows Jeff’s dedication to working with this population,” Midha says. “He will take time out of his day, traveling both ways, to meet clients in their homes to make sure they get their legal needs met. It’s truly commendable.”
‘Pay it forward’
Xu began handling pro bono matters for Volunteers of Legal Service when he joined Morrison Foerster as a first-year associate in 2016.
Born in Queens and raised on Long Island, Xu was surrounded by teachers and other mentors who impressed upon him the importance of community service. In high school, he volunteered at a hospital.
Later, while at Johns Hopkins University, he tutored inmates at Baltimore’s city jail.
“It was sold to me as you have to understand your privilege and your fortunate position,” says Xu, a graduate of Fordham University School of Law. “You can’t take all that for granted, and you need to pay it forward.”
As a young attorney, Xu appreciated that his firm not only encouraged but expected pro bono service. As he developed his transactional practice, he gravitated toward the Volunteers of Legal Service Senior Law Project.
He found wills, powers of attorney and advance medical directives are much like the contracts he deals with as a finance lawyer in that they must be entirely unambiguous, he says.
“There is a need for any court to look at these documents in the future and say, ‘This is exactly what’s intended. It’s totally clear. There’s no room for debate,’” Xu says. “That parallels nicely with my day-to-day.”
Xu has since helped dozens of clients finalize their wishes for end-of-life care and the disposition of their assets. As part of the process, he arranges initial meetings with clients in person, over the phone or remotely. After preparing their documents, he meets with them again for the execution ceremony.
Xu says he often needs to be flexible and creative. During home visits, he asks clients to enlist their friends and neighbors as witnesses. He also finds ways to communicate with clients who may not have reliable access to a phone or email.
In one instance during the pandemic, Xu received a card from a woman that included $60. Even though he returned the money, he felt like he made a real difference by settling her affairs and relieving her worries.
“Frankly, that’s why I keep doing this,” Xu says. “As people are approaching the end of their life, a lot of them don’t have the means to pay for an attorney, and they’re intimidated by what it takes to do it yourself. They’re stuck in this weird spot where they just don’t do anything.”
Jennifer Brown, supervising counsel of pro bono at Morrison Foerster, describes Xu as a “very willing volunteer.” By her last count, he had provided more than 750 hours of pro bono service.
Because of his relationship with Volunteers of Legal Service, the nonprofit once asked Xu to assist with a training for Morrison Foerster attorneys, Brown recalls.
It was an unusual request, and what Xu told his colleagues was striking, she adds.
“He said it might be scary, the idea of talking to people about these issues, because they’re very personal, and they can call up a lot for people,” Brown says. “He was so sensitive, and it was clear that he doesn’t see these matters as, you know, ‘We’ll just fill out this collection of forms for someone.’”
Positive influence
After Xu was promoted to partner last year, he took a more active role in recruiting and training other lawyers at Morrison Foerster to represent clients through the Volunteers of Legal Service Senior Law Project.
While Xu handles three or four of his own matters annually, he oversees attorneys in his group and in other groups at the firm who are handling countless more, he says.
“That’s the number that’s really more important, because I am able to encourage other attorneys to get involved with this, and then hopefully that multiplies in a way that is positive,” Xu says.
Xu expanded his work with Volunteers of Legal Service in other ways, including by organizing execution clinics at the firm so multiple clients can finalize their life planning documents at one time. He also joined its board of directors and is working more on fundraising.
“Those types of things are where my mind is at, in terms of what I’m trying to do pro bono-wise,” says Xu, who received the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the First Judicial District for his work in May. “Those are the things I will continue to do.”
Apart from his focus on pro bono, Xu, whose parents emigrated from China, encourages diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in his firm. He lives on Long Island with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, with whom he spends the rest of his time.
“But before I had a 3-year-old, and during the pandemic, I got really into baking bread,” adds Xu, who often gifted loaves to colleagues and clients. “It got to the point where my wife was like, ‘You have to slow this down.’”
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