The Massachusetts Bar Foundation has announced that two of its most dedicated volunteers will be honored with its 2018 President's Awards at the upcoming MBF Grantee Receptions on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4. Click here to RSVP for the receptions. Award recipients are:
- Albert P. Zabin, Boston
- Lawrence J. Farber, Amherst
Albert P. Zabin, an MBF Life Fellow, has been one of the MBF’s most dedicated and generous supporters since he first joined the Society of Fellows in 1978. Zabin has been a perennial presence on the MBF Grant Advisory Committees for Greater Boston. He has conducted site visits to organizations all around the region, carefully evaluating their requests and making sound funding recommendations to the MBF Trustees. He is dedicated and passionate about equal access to justice. Through his volunteer work with the MBF, he has helped strengthen the network of civil legal assistance available to individuals and families in need across the state.
After 54 years of private practice, Zabin retired in 2015 from Duane Morris LLP, where he was a partner and of counsel since 2003. Shortly after that, Zabin volunteered to do an Access to Justice Fellowship at Greater Boston Legal Services. Even though the fellowship commitment is over, he continues to volunteer as a full-time staff attorney at GBLS. Zabin has been very active in legal and community organizations, including the Massachusetts and American bar associations, and has served as a Lecturer in Law, teaching trial practice at Northeastern University School of Law and Boston College Law School. Zabin will receive his award at the Eastern Mass. Grantee Reception, in Boston, on Sept. 27.
Lawrence J. Farber, an MBF Oliver Wendell Holmes Life Fellow, has supported the MBF in many ways since he first joined the MBF Society of Fellows in 1994. In addition to being a generous contributor to the foundation, he served as an MBF officer and trustee from 2010-17. He has served on the Western Mass. Grant Advisory Committee annually, both as chair and volunteer grant reviewer, and worked tirelessly to ensure MBF grant funds were allocated to where they were most needed in Western Mass. His knowledge of the region and legal services needs greatly contributed to the MBF’s ability to effectively support legal aid programs serving desperately needy clients.
A founding partner of Farber and Lindley in Amherst, Farber has been practicing law for more than 30 years. He concentrates his practice on landlord-tenant law, discrimination, wrongful discharge from employment, personal injury, and general civil litigation. A member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, Farber is a past president of the Hampshire County Bar Association and was the chair of the Western Division Housing Court Bench-Bar Committee from 2003-08. Farber will receive his award at the Central & Western Mass. Grantee Reception, in Springfield, on Oct. 4.
The MBF hosts grantee receptions annually to show its appreciation to the MBF grantees and supporters. Join us at this event to learn more about the MBF. For more information, click here.