Greenberg Glusker today announced that litigation partner Aaron B. Bloom has been elected President of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Free Loan Association (JFLA). Founded in 1904, JFLA is a nonprofit micro-lending agency that offers interest-free loans to people of all faiths who are facing financial challenges.
“The prolonged economic downturn has increased the need for the Jewish Free Loan Association and its critical work,” said Bloom. “JFLA provides a financial lifeline to those in need who could easily fall through the cracks, and the breadth of JFLA’s loan programs is astounding. JFLA has programs ranging from those in need of emergency dental care and truck repairs to student loans and small business loans. The phenomenal rate of repayment – more than 99 percent – underscores JFLA’s vitality, and I am proud and honored to lead its governing Board.”
In 2012, JFLA was responsible for more than $11 million in interest-free loans circulating throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. Education is one of the agency’s leading areas of lending, along with emergency, healthcare, resettlement, micro-enterprise, life cycle and “green” loans. The two newest funds are a Los Angeles MicroLending Loan fund and Strawberry Jam, a loan fund to assist veterans.
JFLA’s high repayment rate allows the agency to recycle loans for generations and perpetuate funding. Providing an alternative to charity and conventional bank loans, JFLA was instrumental in helping thousands of families make a fresh start in the U.S. after World War II, and assisted families after the Watts riots in 1965 and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
“I am thrilled that Aaron Bloom was elected President of JFLA,” said Mark Meltzer, JFLA’s Chief Executive Officer. “Aaron brings vision, experience and foresight to the agency and leads with a youthful passion. His experience in the non-profit sector will lend itself beautifully as the agency faces program and development challenges in the coming years.”
Bloom began serving on JFLA’s Board of Directors in 2007. He agreed to serve as JFLA’s President after recently finishing a second term as President of the Housing Rights Center, a non-profit agency that fights discrimination in housing and with which Bloom remains active.
In addition to his strong pro bono and non-profit commitment, Bloom focuses his legal practice on real estate, entertainment and general business disputes, and he has expertise in electronic discovery and enforcing judgments. Recently, Bloom handled several electronic discovery issues and internal investigations for a publicly traded company involved in complex, multiparty litigation. In other recent matters, he successfully enforced an $8.5 million judgment, and he obtained a jury verdict in a trial involving a complex real-estate dispute.
Bloom is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, and he earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.