The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) will honor five equal justice heroes and a county-based newspaper from Rochester, New York, at the NLADA 2010 Annual Conference in Atlanta, Ga. The awards to be presented include the Reginald Heber Smith Award, the Emery A. Brownell Award, Mary Ellen Hamilton Award, Denison Ray Award and the Arthur von Briesen Award.
Reginald Heber Smith Award
The 2010 recipient of the Reginald Heber Smith Award is Josefina Pontoja-Oquendo, attorney-coordinator of the special education project at Puerto Rico Legal Services in San Juan, Puerto. The Reginald Heber Smith Award recognizes the dedicated service and outstanding achievements of a civil legal aid attorney or indigent defense attorney while employed by an organization supporting such services. The "Reggie" is named for a former counsel at the Boston Legal Aid Society and the author of Justice and the Poor, published by the Carnegie Foundation in 1919.
For 30 years, Josefina Pontoja-Oquendo has served as a staff attorney for Puerto Rico Legal Services, dedicating almost all of her years of practice to serving indigent people and communities. Active in a variety of groups that advocate for human rights, she has dedicated herself to training parents of children with disabilities as advocates for their children.
Pontoja-Oquendo's dedication to a number of causes has been recognized by a variety of groups, including that Puerto Rican Defense and Education Fund in NY; the Puerto Rican Bar Association's Women Commission and by the Women's Advocate Office. "Although our Josie may be largely unknown outside Puerto Rico, we can assure you that she is an example of tireless devotion to the cause of justice on an island," stated Charles S. Hey-Maestre, executive director of PRSL. "She is a daily inspiration to all of us at PRLS."
Mary Ellen Hamilton Award
The 2010 Mary Ellen Hamilton Award recipient is Yvette Long, client board member of Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. The Mary Ellen Hamilton Award honors a client who, on a compensated or volunteer basis, has provided extraordinary service or support to the delivery of legal services to the poor. The award honors one of the founders of the National Clients Council and the Alliance for Legal Rights. Mary Ellen Hamilton served on NLADA's Board of Directors and remained an active member of the Alliance until her death in 1985.
Long has been on the board of Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. (PLAN) for 14 years, involved in the important decisions of allocating funding from year to year, what new initiatives might be funded, and the setting of priorities for activities from year to year. She served as president-elect form 2004 -- 2006 and then as president from March 2006 -- March 2008, followed by her role as president emeritus for the next two years. In these capacities, Long gained the trust and support of the board as a whole, keeping cohesiveness among the attorneys and clients who make up the board.
Most recently, Long's leadership was a part of the creation of a DPW-funded statewide employment project, allowing legal aid attorneys and paralegals to represent clients in removing barriers to employment. "Her vision, energy and skills are remarkable," stated Laval S. Miller-Wilson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Law Project. "In sixteen years of legal practice, I have not encountered a client advocate like her... She has improved the lives of thousands of Pennsylvanians, and inspired me and numerous other legal services attorneys."
Denison Ray Award
The 2010 Denison Ray Award goes to Jeremy Lane, executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance. The "Denny" award honors persons who have provided at least five years of service to the legal services community in staff, client or volunteer capacities. Dennison Ray, who dedicated his professional life to equal justice for the poor, is the former director of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Legal Services of North Carolina, and other programs.
For the past forty years, Lane has been an extraordinary advocate for access to justice for the poor. In addition to Lane's tireless advocacy, Lane has inspired an entire community to form a seamless system of legal aid providers who jointly share resources, time and talent to serve the poor. "Jerry is unsurpassed, undeterred, undaunted and unrelenting in his pursuit of justice for the poor. For over 40 years, he has worked diligently and in cooperation with other legal services providers to enhance the quality, availability, and the impact of legal aid services," said Mary Deutsch Schneider, executive director of Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota and on behalf of the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition Leadership Team. "He has strengthened projects he inherited, and created new programs to address emerging client needs. But powering all is Jerry's belief that all people deserve equal access to justice."
The 2010 Emery Brownell Award
The 2010 Emery Brownell Award has been awarded to The Daily Record, a newspaper that covers the mid-sized city of Rochester in western New York. The Emery A. Brownell Media Award provides for national recognition to newspapers, films, radio, and television stations that have informed the public of the crucial role played by civil or defender organizations in ensuring equal justice for poor people. This award commemorates Emery Brownell, who began his legal career with the Legal Aid Society of Rochester, N.Y. in 1925 and served as NLADA's executive director from 1940 to 1961.
In a fitting tribute, this year's Emery Brownell Award recognizes the huge impact that The Daily Record from Rochester, NY, has had on the community's awareness of the need to ensure equal justice for those who cannot afford it. Even more impressive is the fact that its daily circulation of 1,200 and its small staff produces 251 editions per year. The Daily Record has distinguished itself time and again with its ongoing in depth and enlightened coverage of the crucial role played by civil legal aid and/or defender organizations in ensuring access to justice for the most vulnerable members of our community.
"In my 8 years as executive director of VLSP [Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County, Inc.], The Daily Record has published innumerable articles raising public awareness of the dire circumstances our clients face and the need for attorneys to step forward and honor their professional responsibility to provide free legal assistance to the indigent," said Sheila Gaddis, executive director of VLSP. "The impact of The Daily Record's reporting is statistically significant. VLSP had 5,304 pro bono hours in fiscal year 2009. In fiscal year 2010, we were delighted to report 7,467 pro bono hours. It is difficult to imagine any newspaper being more supportive of indigent clients and those who dedicate their careers to the ideal of equal justice for all then The Daily Record."
The Arthur von Briesen Award
The 2010 Arthur von Briesen Award goes to attorneys Chris Messerly and Philip Sieff of the law firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP. The Author von Briesen award honors an attorney not employed by a legal services or defender program, who has made substantial volunteer contributions in support of the delivery of legal services and/or indigent defense representation. The award celebrates the achievements of the first president of NLADA.
The August 1, 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis forever changed the lives of all Minnesotans but the direct impact fell upon the families of the 13 killed and the over 140 injured. This horrific catastrophe united a group of law firms across the state, including Robins, Kaplan, Miller &Ciresi L.L.P. The actions of two firm partners in particular stood out -- that of Chris Messerly and Philip Sieff, who secured a $40 million settlement on August 23, 2010 on behalf of the bridge accident victims and their families. Immediately following the bridge collapse, Messerly and Sieff determined that their firm should do whatever they could to help the bridge victims, and that they should do this for free.
The hours that Messerly and Sieff have devoted to this effort are considerable. In all, more than 130 attorneys and staff at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. contributed more than 20,000 hours pro bono over the past three years, making this the most significant pro bono contribution in the firm's history. The contribution by the firm is also substantial - over $1.1 million in out of pocket costs and over $1.3 million in total attorneys' time.
"Without Mr. Messerly and Mr. Sieff, the voices of the survivors would not be heard in committees and conferences throughout the long legislative process, said Ryan Winkler, state representative in MN. "Their timeliness in recognizing the need for advocacy for the survivors of this tragedy was crucial to ensuring that legislation was passed in a timely manner. Mr. Messerly's and Mr. Sieff's efforts exemplify the best of what lawyers can be in the community: Champions of Justice."
For more information on NLADA awards, visit www.nlada.org/About.
Published: Fri, Oct 29, 2010
