2010 PBA Pro Bono Awards
     2010 PBA Pro Bono Award Nomination Summaries
     2010 PBA Pro Bono Award Winners by County

Rick Filippi Honored by Erie County Bar Association, Northwestern Legal Services as 2010 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

2010 Louis J. Goffman Award Winners
The York County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center received the Louis J. Goffman Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation for their innovative joint initiative, the Central Pennsylvania Immigration Project. Click here for the May 10 press release.

2010 Pro Bono Celebration of Volunteers Program; PBA News Release; Awards Photos from the Event, May 19, 2010

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.

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.

Temple Law Dean Epps Wins O'Connor Award, Delivers Public Interest Lecture
JoAnne Epps, dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law, received the Philadelphia Bar Association's Sandra Day O'Connor Award June 9. The annual award is presented to a female attorney who has demonstrated superior legal talent, achieved significant legal accomplishments and furthered the advancement of women both professionally and in the community. At the award event, Epps also delivered the Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Memorial Public Interest Lecture. Click here for the text of her speech, titled "Life is a Public Interest Journey."

PBA's Trevaskis Receives Center for Law and Society Gavel Award
PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David Trevaskis has received a Gavel Award from the Community College of Philadelphia's Center for Law and Society. Trevaskis received the award, one of 10 presented, at an awards luncheon celebrating the College's 10th Annual Law and Society Week, March 3. The award is presented in recognition of longstanding support for the event. The other honorees included George Anastasia, staff writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer; Paul Bechtel, Esq., retired partner, Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin; William Colarulo, a chief inspector with the Philadelphia Police Department; Judge Holly Ford of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; retired Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson; Lynn Marks, executive director, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts; Kal Rudman, music and business pioneer and donor to the college's justice curriculum; William Whiteside Jr., retired partner, Fox Rothschild LLP; and Beverly Williams, a paralegal at Community Legal Services Inc. and a graduate of the college's paralegal studies program. Sister Mary Scullion, homeless advocate and co-founder, executive director and president of Project H.O.M.E., received the 2009 Judge Edward R. Becker Citizenship Award during the event.
      "I was delighted to be honored among such local heroes for my work with CCP in supporting public education about the law, civil legal aid and pro bono efforts by CCP paralegal students and graduates," Trevaskis noted. "CCP is a strong partner of the PBA Pro Bono Office and other PBA projects such as the 2010 National High School Mock Trial Championship Tournament."
      Trevaskis, right, is shown above receiving his award from Tom Doyle, CCP justice program coordinator.

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.