Recent Recognition of Sidley's Pro Bono Service
In 2007, Sidley received the American Bar Association’s
Pro Bono Publico Award at the ABA’s annual meeting in San Francisco in August. The
Pro Bono Publico Award seeks to identify and honor individual lawyers and 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 nation's poor and disadvantaged. These services are of critical importance to the increasing number of people in this country living in a state of poverty who are in need of legal representation to improve their lives.
In announcing the award, the ABA cited Sidley’s firmwide Capital Litigation Project, a firm-wide initiative in which Sidley lawyers across the country represent a score of prisoners on death row in Alabama. “The commitment that Sidley has made to death penalty representation is unprecedented,” said Robin Maher, director of the ABA’s Death Penalty Representation Project. “I’m not aware of any other law firm that has committed this amount of resources, people and funding to this number of cases at one time.” The Capital Litigation Project received a similar honor from the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ICADP), which also presented its Annual Law Award to Sidley for the Project.
In January 2008, Sidley received
The National Law Journal’s 2008 Pro Bono Award—one of four law firms to be recognized for exceptional pro bono work in 2007. The firm was recognized for its leadership involving the Veterans Benefits Project, a campaign to provide pro bono assistance to veterans seeking disability benefits and military service members about to be discharged. Sidley has played an integral role in initiating the project, which involves over 50 law firms across the country and the Georgetown University Law Center’s Pro Bono Institute working with U.S. veterans’ organizations. Ron Flagg (who is Chairman of the Board of the National Veterans Legal Services Program) and David Wetmore, both of the Washington office, were featured in this week’s
NLJ article that highlighted the firm’s work with respect to the project. Sidley was also a recipient of a
National Law Journal Pro Bono Award last year, when we were recognized for our firmwide Capital Litigation Project and political asylum program.
In May 2008, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association recognized Dave Gordon, Kristen Seeger and former associate Michael Nadler, all of the Chicago office, with the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service. Pursuant to a Trial Bar appointment in 2004, Sidley represented John Vosatka, a 70-year-old resident of Chicago, in his suit against the City of Chicago and several of its police officers for Section 1983 claims arising from allegations of false arrest, excessive force and unlawful searches in connection with two incidents in 2001 and 2004. After substantial discovery, the case was resolved in the fall of 2007 pursuant to a favorable settlement. During the representation, the firm also assisted the Office of the Cook County Public Defender in its representation of Mr. Vosatka in a related criminal matter that resulted in an acquittal on all charges. Presiding Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier presented the award. William H. Neukom, President of the American Bar Association, gave the keynote address.
Also in May 2008, D.C. Pro Bono Counsel Rebecca Troth was named an “Idealist of the Year” by City Year, an organization that unites young people for a year of full-time service as tutors, mentors and role models to children in schools and neighborhoods in the United States and Johannesburg, South Africa. The award was presented at City Year’s annual dinner on May 13.
On June 10, 2008, Mel Washburn was recognized by the National Immigrant Justice Center for his pro bono work on behalf of U.S. immigrants at a luncheon ceremony on June 10, 2008, in Chicago, where Mel received the organization’s Midwest Light of Human Rights Award. The luncheon ceremony is the NIJC’s largest fundraising event of the year. This year’s keynote speaker was Harold Koh, Dean of the Yale Law School and former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
At its annual dinner in Washington, D.C., on June 11, 2008, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association honored law firms that are representing prisoners on death row. On behalf of Sidley, Paul Hemmersbaugh and Matt Warren accepted the association’s Beacon of Justice Award for our pro bono work on behalf of inmates on death row. Hundreds of legal aid supporters, including the general counsels of several firm clients, attended the dinner.
Steve Ellis, Nitin Reddy and Drew Norman were honored at this year’s ACLU Law Luncheon on June 26, 2008, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The ACLU recognizes pro bono work by both individuals and firms at the annual event. Steve and Nitin were presented with the Pro Bono Advocacy Award; Drew was presented with the Pro Bono Special Service Award. The keynote speaker was Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding dean of the Donald Bren School of Law at the University of California, Irvine. Drew represented the ACLU of Southern California in matters related to the sale of its existing office building and the purchase of a larger building. Steve and Nitin represented Victor Martinez Jaramillo in his petition for review in the Ninth Circuit as part of the Ninth Circuit's pro bono program. The Ninth Circuit granted the petition for review and held that Mr. Martinez is eligible to be considered for discretionary relief from removal.
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