The Jeffrey A. Ernico Award
The Ernico Award celebrates the pro bono accomplishments of Harrisburg attorney Jeffrey A. Ernico and his long-standing commitment to equal justice and serving those who had nowhere else to turn. The Ernico Award is an occasional award of the PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee that is to be given to such individuals and groups as the committee, from time to time, determines have provided unique service that has resulted in significant improvement in the provision of legal services to the neediest among us.

At a March 2006 reception hosted by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network and the law firm of Mette, Evans and Woodside honoring Ernico, he noted that "The only bad thing about having an award like this named after you while you are still alive is that you have to keep behaving well so they do not take the award away." Given Ernico's commitment to pro bono service - he ran from the breakfast to the board meeting for the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network - no one is worried about the award losing its luster.

The first recipient of the Jeffrey A. Ernico Award was Jim Carroll, former president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, who received the award in September 2005 from then-PBA President-elect Ken Horoho. Carroll was honored for his work as ACBA president, his accomplishments included hiring the first full-time pro bono coordinator and organizing a loan forgiveness program for public interest attorneys.

Other Past Ernico Award Winners

Elizabeth R. Price
The PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee presented its fifth Jeffrey A. Ernico Award to Elizabeth Price, the Delaware County Bar Executive, for her work in promoting legal aid and pro bono service in Delaware County and beyond. Price was instrumental in the success of a number of public service efforts. Illness kept her from receiving her award, which was given posthumously to her family. A January 2011 ceremony to acknowledge her award by the Delaware County bar is planned.

Kathleen Smith
The PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee presented its fourth Jeffrey A. Ernico Award to Philadelphia County attorney and Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) administrator Kathleen Smith in August 2008 for her work in promoting pro bono service through the Fox Rothschild Center for Law and Society and for being instrumental in making CCP a center for public service. Pictured below, PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David K. Trevaskis presents the award to Ms. Smith. (CCP was the first academic institution to host Wills for Heroes in Pennsylvania and has been a great partner of the PBA's Pro Bono Office, hosting clinics and providing student and faculty volunteers for a host of public interest programs.)

Cary L. Flitter

Michael Paul Malakoff