County Bar Programs Honored with Awards
The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) presented County Bar Recognition Awards during the 44th Annual Seminar of the Conference of County Bar Leaders, Feb. 25 - 27, 2010, in Lancaster. Many of the awards went to counties for their pro bono programs. Click here for the awards news release.
Nominations Sought for 2010 Pro Bono, Judges and Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Awards
Now is the time to nominate deserving champions of justice for the 23rd Annual Pro Bono Awards of the PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee. The committee is also accepting nominations for its 6th Annual Judges Award and the Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award, which are presented, respectively, to a judge and a legal services lawyer in recognition of exceptional contributions to improve civil legal aid in the commonwealth. Click on the following links for more information, the PBA president's memo and the nomination form. Nominations deadline: April 15.
2010 Louis J. Goffman Awards Nominations Sought
The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation is accepting nominations for the Louis J. Goffman Awards for Outstanding Pro Bono Service. The awards recognize and honor an individual and an organization for commitment to pro bono service. Click here for more information and the nomination form. Nominations deadline: April 15. Presentation of the awards will take place during the 2010 PBA Annual Meeting, May 12-14, at the Hershey Lodge.
2010 ABA Pro Bono Publico Awards Nominations Sought
The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is seeking nominations for this year’s ABA Pro Bono Publico Awards. Each year the Pro Bono Committee Service presents five awards to individual lawyers and institutions in the legal profession that have demonstrated outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services. The awards will be presented on Aug. 9 at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Click here for more information on the awards, including a link to the nomination form. Nominations deadline: March 8, 2010.
2009 Pro Bono Awards Presented by the PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee
The Pennsylvania Bar Association Legal Services to the Public Committee has presented its annual Judge's Award to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Alan D. Hertzberg and its Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award to Barbara L. Payne. Click here for the Sept. 28, 2009, press release. The committee also presented a Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award to Stefanie Fleischer Seldin, co-managing attorney for Philadelphia VIP. Click here for the Sept. 28, 2009, press release. Click here for the awards event brochure.
2009 PBA Pro Bono Award Winners by County
2009 Pro Bono Awards Nominations Summaries
PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee 2009 Pro Bono Award Photos
Louis J. Goffman Award Information and Past Winners
Past PBA Pro Bono Award Winners
Ernico Award Information and Past Winners
PBA’s Past President Susko Receives 2008 Arthur von Briesen Award
The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) named former PBA President Andrew F. Susko winner of the association's 2008 Arthur von Briesen Award. Celebrating the achievements of the first president of NLADA, the award is given to a private attorney who has made substantial volunteer contributions in support of the delivery of civil legal aid or indigent defense representation. The award was presented at the NLADA 2008 Annual Conference Awards Luncheon on Nov. 21, 2008, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.
A partner with the Philadelphia law firm of White and Williams L.L.P., Susko has given countless hours as an advocate for and a leader and volunteer in providing legal help to low-income individuals. He has worked hundreds of hours as a pro bono attorney for indigent clients, including several whose rights could have easily been compromised due to their mental and physical disabilities. During his terms as PBA president-elect and later as president, he led the association in initiatives to improve legal access for the poor, including the passage of resolutions creating a pro bono standard for attorneys and urging the state Legislature to increase funding for legal aid.
Susko stated, "I am truly honored and I greatly appreciate this special personal recognition. I proudly accept the Arthur von Briesen Award on behalf of the many dedicated members of Pennsylvania's legal community who, by their collective dedicated efforts, improve access to our justice for everyone."
Wills for Heroes Program Honors Early Volunteer as it Aids Philadelphia Police Officers; McKenna Recognized by His Firm for Spearheading Effort, 2009
Organizers of Wills for Heroes, a program that provides free wills and other estate planning documents for Pennsylvania's emergency responders, have presented the first annual Verdina Y. Showell Award recognizing outstanding community service and a commitment to "protecting those who protect us." The award presentation was made during a session on will preparation for 60 Philadelphia police officers on June 26, 2009.
Showell, an Exelon attorney who died unexpectedly last year, was an early volunteer for the Wills for Heroes program. The PBA Young Lawyers Division has adopted the program, which provides free wills and other estate planning documents to Pennsylvania's emergency responders, as one of its major community service initiatives. In future years, the award will be presented by the PBA Young Lawyers Division to lawyers and legal professionals who demonstrate a commitment to "protect those who protect us" through active voluntary support of the Wills for Heroes program.
And in July 2009, Daniel J. T. McKenna of Ballard Spahr L.L.P. and a driving force behind the Wills for Heroes program in Pennsylvania, received his firm's second annual Alan J. Davis Award for leading the national and statewide efforts of Ballard Spahr's Wills for Heroes team. Click here for more on McKenna's award.
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