Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010
Photo courtesy of the SJC.
Ninth Annual Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards presented
Recipients recognized for outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services
In recognition of outstanding commitment to providing volunteer
legal services for the poor and disadvantaged in Massachusetts, the
Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal
Services presented the ninth annual Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards
to the Boston law firm of McDermott Will & Emery
LLP with special recognition to partners Melissa
Nott Davis and Edward P. Leibensperger;
Attorney Kathleen McGrath of Liberty Mutual
Insurance Company, Boston; and Attorney Alfred C.
Phillips, a volunteer with MetroWest Legal Services.
Supreme Judicial Court Justice Francis X. Spina, who presented the
awards to the recipients at a ceremony in the Seven-Justice
Courtroom in the John Adams Courthouse, said, "As citizens of the
commonwealth continue to face challenging economic circumstances,
the need for pro bono legal services has exploded. This year, the
diverse projects undertaken by our award recipients reflect a
multitude of innovative ways of helping those most in need of
representation, and we hope that these award recipients will serve
as outstanding examples to others in the legal community of the
limitless possibilities for pro bono work."
The Boston law office of McDermott Will &
Emery was recognized for its excellent pro bono
initiatives, particularly for work on Dwayne B. v.
Granholm, a case brought on behalf of 19,000 children in
Michigan's foster care system, the collaboration with the Medical
Legal Partnership/Boston and the Children's Law Center of
Massachusetts. In 2009, 84 percent of the attorneys in the Boston
office performed pro bono legal work with more than half of its
attorneys contributing more than 20 hours in free legal services.
The Boston office donated over 6,500 hours to working on pro bono
matters ranging from civil rights litigation to assisting
non-profits with organizational issues.
Melissa Nott Davis, a trial partner, who was
singled out by McDermott Will & Emery for demonstrating strong
leadership and commitment to pro bono causes, is recognized for the
manner in which she has led large teams of attorneys on high-impact
projects affecting systemic change for the benefit of children in
Massachusetts. She serves as co-chair of the Boston Pro Bono
Committee and enjoys an active role on the firm's Pro Bono and
Community Service Committee. During her eight years with McDermott,
Nott Davis, of Somerville, has personally contributed over 1,800
hours to pro bono and community service work.
Trial partner Edward (Ned) Leibensperger, who was
also recognized by McDermott Will & Emery, is awarded for his
exemplary leadership and pro bono work, particularly on the case,
Dwayne B. v. Granholm, in partnership with Children's
Rights, a non-profit advocacy organization. The federal class
action suit involved charges against the state of Michigan for
violating the constitutional rights of approximately 19,000
children in its foster care by failing to protect their safety and
well-being and to find them permanent homes. Leibensperger led the
team of lawyers and staff to obtain a settlement that mandated
top-to-bottom reform and federal court oversight of Michigan's
child welfare system and resolved the constitutional due process
and federal statutory claims in the lawsuit. A resident of Waban,
Leibensperger, who has been practicing in Boston for more than
thirty years, personally devoted more than 600 hours to the
case.
Senior Corporate Counsel Kathleen McGrath, who
has worked at Liberty Mutual Insurance Company since 1995,
spearheads the Legal Department's multi-faceted pro bono program.
She is recognized for her passion and commitment to pro bono work
with unrepresented litigants in Boston Housing Court cases as part
of the Attorney-for-the-Day program. In one typical pro bono case,
she wholeheartedly volunteered as co-counsel in a jury trial and
spent countless hours to prevent a mentally ill woman from becoming
homeless again. She continued to work on the case until affordable
housing was secured for the disabled woman. McGrath has also served
on the board of the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) since 1996, and
from 2007 to the present, has been chair of the board. McGrath is
known as a vocal advocate for the work of VLP and is constantly
striving to improve client services and to increase the involvement
of the private bar in pro bono legal work. McGrath, of Haverhill,
is a 1988 graduate of Boston College Law School and served as a law
clerk at the Supreme Judicial Court in that same year.
Attorney Alfred Phillips, of Wayland, has been a
volunteer working on bankruptcy matters for clients at MetroWest
Legal Services since 2005. After being employed for forty years as
labor and pension counsel at Raytheon Corporation, Mr. Phillips was
eager to engage in pro bono legal work in his retirement years. He
handled his first bankruptcy case in September 2005 at MetroWest
and since then has represented 106 clients, donating over 3,300
hours of pro bono time. He works on bankruptcy screenings, prepares
petitions, and represents clients with skill and precision. Known
as a consummate professional with a genteel and courteous manner,
Phillips is being honored for his dedication and sensitivity to
clients' needs and his thorough commitment to pro bono legal
service. Phillips received his undergraduate degree at Yale
University in 1952 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in
1957.
Now in its ninth year, the Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards
program seeks to identify and honor individual lawyers, small and
large law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law
departments and other institutions in the legal profession that
have enhanced the human dignity of others by improving or
delivering volunteer legal services to our commonwealth's poor and
disadvantaged.
The Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards ceremony is one of many events
and activities celebrating and building support for pro bono legal
work in Massachusetts. October has been proclaimed as Pro Bono
Month by Governor Deval Patrick for the second consecutive year.
The American Bar Association has declared October 24-30, 2010 as
Pro Bono Week.