Hilary Harp, general counsel , Habitat for Humanity, Atlanta. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

The most prevalent image of Habitat for Humanity International is volunteers wielding hammers and nails to build houses, so the group lawyers must do a brisk business in waivers and construction accident cases, right?

Not exactly, explains Hilary Harp, Habitat's vice president for legal and general counsel. She says that the Georgia-based nonprofit supports close to 1,200 local affiliates in the U.S. and other entities in 70 countries. The locals organize the building and selling of houses to low-income residents–so they handle legal matters stemming from the building activities.

Harp, who spent 20 years in big law firms before she joined Habitat in 2007, manages a nine-lawyer team, plus seven staffers who work in governance, risk management and compliance. They tackle large insurance programs, mortgage compliance, new market tax credit allocations, capital lending, along with contracts, fundraising development, tax; litigation and trademark issues. On the international front, they also work on the housing finance market and, in a new venture, housing microfinance.

Unlike her counterparts in the private sector, Harp doesn't spend much time worrying about outside counsel billing rates. "We are very blessed to have a large number of firms that provide pro bono support," she says, noting help from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Ford & Harrison, Perkins Coie, DLA Piper, Alston & Bird, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and others. (Harp said her group does pay for some special projects and litigation.)

She also swings a hammer herself on occasion, saying, "Spending time in the field is really important. It really brings the mission home."

Harp, the daughter of the late Bill Harp of Arnall Golden Gregory, received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia, then moved to Washington to work for Perkins Coie. There she worked on government contracts, commercial litigation and environmental matters.

Seeking intellectual property experience, Harp moved back to Atlanta after five years in D.C. But when she arrived at what was then Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy in 1991, she worked on Resolution Trust Corp. matters for the firm's banking practice, along with general commercial litigation.

Harp became a partner and says she "really liked working with clients" on nonlitigation matters–human resources, acquisitions and other necessities to build businesses.

She says she asked herself, "Is this what I want to do for the next 20 years?"

Then she saw an advertisement for a deputy general counsel at Habitat, which was founded in Americus, Georgia, but had opened a headquarters in Atlanta. Liz Blake, the group's general counsel, hired Harp. When Blake retired about five years ago, Harp took over.

Harp says the job offers "more payback to the soul" than her private practice work.

Two myths about Habitat for Humanity, she says, are that former President Jimmy Carter started it, and that "we give away houses."

Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have been regular volunteers and partners since 1984, but the organization was founded in 1976 after years of development started in Americus, Georgia, by farmer and biblical scholar Clarence Jordan, according to Habitat's website.

"On the farm, Jordan and Habitat's eventual founders Millard and Linda Fuller developed the concept of 'partnership housing,'" the site says. "The concept centered on those in need of adequate shelter working side by side with volunteers to build decent, affordable houses. The houses would be built at no profit. New homeowners' house payments would be combined with no-interest loans provided by supporters and money earned by fundraising to create 'The Fund for Humanity,' which would then be used to build more homes."