At most softball games, a strikeout just costs you an out. At the Battle of the Barristers, it costs you a donation.
So do double plays, runs allowed and errors.
In fact, in Lowenstein Sandler’s annual Fresh Air Fund Softball Tournament, nearly every mistake on the field turns into money for summer camp.
This year, the mistakes and everything else added up to $100,000.
The 33rd annual tournament, held June 18 at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield, raised the money for the Greater Newark Fresh Air Fund. The funds help send children from Newark-area neighborhoods to summer camp at no cost to their families.
The total landed at the top of the event’s usual range. The tournament typically raises $75,000 to $100,000 a year and is one of the fund’s largest annual fundraisers.
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The roster of teams at the event reads like a who’s who of New Jersey law.
Lowenstein was joined by Brach Eichler, Carella Byrne, Connell Foley, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, FBT Gibbons, Fox Rothschild, Gottlieb & Greenspan, McCarter & English and O’Toole Scrivo. Prudential and One Boland Drive also fielded teams.
Many of those firms face each other in court or go after the same clients. At Brookdale Park, they shared the same diamond, with division and semifinal games starting at 11:30 a.m. and the championship at 6 p.m.
The money comes from corporate sponsorships, flat donations and those on field “penalties.” That may be the only setting where a lawyer’s error is good news.
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Karim Kaspar, senior counsel at Lowenstein, has led the firm’s team and its role in the fundraiser for more than 25 years.
What still gets him, he said, is who shows up.
“Every year, I’m amazed by how our colleagues, our friends at the other firms, and our sponsors show up for these kids,” Kaspar said.
The $100,000 is a big number. He said it’s what the money buys that matters.
The camps give children outdoor, educational and recreational experiences they might otherwise never have.
“Raising $100,000 is a tremendous achievement, but what it really means is a summer of friendships, fresh air, and lasting memories for children who might not otherwise have the chance,” he said. “We couldn’t be prouder to be on this team.”
