2006 ACBA Pro Bono Awards presented at Fellows dinner
By Lorrie K. Albert
For The Lawyers Journal
Nov. 9, 2007—Twelve deserving attorneys, paralegals, law students, law firms, corporate legal departments, and organizations were honored with ACBA Pro Bono Awards at the LeMont on Thursday, Oct. 18 during the tenth annual Fellows dinner.
The Pro Bono Awards are selected annually by the ACBA/ACBF Public Service Committee to honor those who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to pro bono services. It is always very difficult to chose from the many nominations representing the increasing dedication to pro bono in Allegheny County.
The recipients of the 2006 Pro Bono Awards are:
2006 Lorraine M. Bittner Public Interest Attorney Award
Eileen D. Yacknin, Esq.
This award recognizes the critical role played by public interest attorneys in meeting the legal needs of the poor. Yacknin, Neighborhood Legal Services Association’s Litigation Director, was selected to receive this award because of her exceptional commitment to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged. In her entire 30-year legal career, Yacknin has been devoted to serving the legal needs of low income and disadvantaged families and individuals. Among the many services she has provided, Yacknin has obtained public benefits for clients, prevented evictions, represented clients in Protection from Abuse cases, assisted clients in obtaining the fresh start benefits provided by the Bankruptcy laws, and helped clients who have lost jobs obtain unemployment benefits. Of note, Yacknin litigated the case which resulted in a change in the state rules governing garnishing of bank accounts with Social Security funds. More recently, she initiated two important cases affecting public housing and Section 8 tenants and their ability to either remain in public housing or to be admitted to the Section 8 program.
2006 Jane F. Hepting Individual Pro Bono Award
Melaine Shannon Rothey, Esq.
Melaine Rothey has been a long time volunteer for NLSA’s Protection from Abuse referral program, accepting several dates annually. In 2006, she volunteered to take over the scheduling for the attorneys for NLSA’s Family Law Clinic at a time when NLSA was having great difficulty obtaining volunteer assistance.
Rothey served on the Administrative Board of the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership in 2006. Her knowledge in family law was invaluable to the board as it worked to develop signature projects in that area of law. Rothey has volunteered and continues to volunteer for the most ambitious of the Partnership Projects – the Custody Conciliation Project. She also is a tireless mentor, always agreeing to let new non-family law volunteers shadow her before undertaking representation on their own.
2006 Outstanding Young Lawyer Pro Bono Award
Benjamin E. Orsatti, Esq.
Benjamin Orsatti has volunteered on multiple occasions for the Uptown Legal Clinic, a pro bono legal clinic operated on the second Wednesday of each month at Bethlehem Haven. As a family law lawyer, his expertise is especially welcome. Although the clinic only asks volunteer attorneys to give legal advice, Orsatti agreed to provide full representation to a client who was desperately seeking to regain custody of her three children after being clean from drug and alcohol addictions for well over two years. This case was particularly challenging, because not only did the father want custody, but the maternal grandmother with whom the children had lived with in the past two years also wanted custody. Orsatti went well beyond the normal call of duty in providing pro bono legal assistance to this client. His commitment to the mission of the clinic and to the pro bono community in general is incredible and unselfish, making him a most deserving recipient of this award.
2006 Law Student Pro Bono Award
Joshua F. Hall
Joshua Hall served as the Duquesne University School of Law’s Student Pro Bono Coordinator. In that capacity, he worked to place law students interested in volunteering with organizations that needed such volunteers, including NLSA and various community clinics. Hall also was instrumental in coordinating and planning the annual silent auction for Duquesne Law’s Public Interest Law Association which raises money for Duquesne law students to work at non-profit law firms that provide free legal services to the poor.
2006 Law Firm Pro Bono Award
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott continues to play a vital role in pro bono and 2006 was no exception. The firm is commended not only for the dedication of its attorneys to Neighborhood Legal Service Association’s Protection from Abuse Program, but also for the firm’s leadership role in the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership’s Custody Conciliation Signature Project. With the hard work of attorney Sarah Shannon and paralegal Rachel Klink, Eckert has been instrumental in making this program a success.
Since the inception of the Custody Conciliation Project, Eckert attorneys have been in the forefront in volunteering to take custody conciliations and in mentoring new volunteers. These attorneys have also participated in training seminars for new volunteers. The firm has handled all aspects of administering the project, including screening applications, obtaining volunteers, and recording the outcome of those cases.
2006 New Pro Bono Initiative Award
The Wills Project
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare & Reed Smith, LLP
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, which has only nine attorneys in its legal department, joined the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership in 2006 and immediately began to explore opportunities for pro bono. Reed Smith quickly partnered with them to develop what is now known as the Wills Project. This project was initiated in response to a need identified by Neighborhood Legal Services Association’s Elder Law program.
GalaxoSmithKline and Reed Smith attorneys hold monthly clinics at Focus on Renewal, a McKees Rocks community center, where they draft wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives for elderly people who otherwise might not be able to afford a lawyer. These documents not only serve to provide closure and peace of mind to the elderly, but also help to avoid significant healthcare treatment issues and resolve any unanticipated property issues that might be created if someone dies without a will.
Special Pro Bono Service Award
Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership
The Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership is an association of law firms, legal departments, and other legal organizations which have joined together to increase attorney and paralegal pro bono services, especially direct pro bono services to the poor and those in need. It was formed in 2001, and in 2003 established the first of its signature projects, the McKees Rocks Clinic. Since that time, the partnership has concentrated on identifying issue-oriented or community-wide legal needs that it is especially qualified to meet because of its access to the financial and human resources of its members. Other signature projects include the Anti-Predatory Lending Clinic, the Wills Project, the Custody Conciliation Pro Bono Project, the Academy of Trial Lawyers School Pro Bono Project, and the Child Guardian Custody Pro Bono Project. The Partnership also has taken a lead role in the continuation of the Lawyers on Loan program launched in 2004, through which Thorp Reed & Armstrong, Dickie, McCamey and Chilcote, and Reed Smith have “loaned” lawyers to NLSA for a year.
The partnership is a unique cutting-edge development in pro bono which continues to join law firms, legal departments, and legal associations together in a cooperative effort to take on such a variety of legal needs of low income individuals. Currently, the partnership has 27 members.
2006 Paralegal Pro Bono Awards
The following paralegals were selected for their dedication and service to four of the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership’s signature projects. Each of these women has done an outstanding job in organizing the particular project with which her firm or corporate legal department is associated.
Maureen L. Atkinson
The Wills Project
Maureen Atkinson accepts referrals from NLSA’s Elder Law Program for the Wills Project. She also is notified of the signups for the Wills Project. Atkinson is responsible for contacting and obtaining volunteers for each of the cases from NLSA. She keeps the records for all cases, specifically which attorney handled the case, what documents were prepared, and when the case was closed. Atkinson also takes her turn at Focus on Renewal where the attorneys bring a paralegal with them for each session. In addition, she helps to coordinate trainings and recruit volunteers for Pro Bono Partnership programs.
Rachel V. Klink
Family Law Custody Conciliation Pro Bono Project
Rachel Klink accepts and evaluates applications for the Custody Conciliation Project. She notifies any client who is not income eligible or who has been rejected because his/her application was not timely filed. She sends out e-mail requests for volunteers to take the cases and then provides the accepting attorney with the application information and docket history. She obtains closure information from each of the attorneys and keeps a running database with information which includes the names of the volunteer attorneys and the outcomes of the cases. Klink has been instrumental in keeping this project running smoothly and efficiently.
Susan Logan
Anti-Predatory Lending Clinic
Susan Logan has played a vital role in the Anti-Predatory Lending Clinic since its inception in February 2005. The clinic, based at the offices of Family Services of Western Pennsylvania in East Liberty, provides pro bono advice and representation to victims of predatory lending practices. Along with U.S. Steel’s Law Department, this clinic is staffed by attorneys from the law firm of Pietragallo, Bosick & Gordon. Logan has served the clinic as liaison between clinic staff and Family Services, in coordinating files among attorneys and in assisting attorneys and clients on individual cases. Any success the clinic has achieved in affording pro bono services to deserving clients is due in major part to Logan’s tireless dedication and skill.
Peggy S. Zirckel
McKees Rocks Community Clinic
Peggy Zirckel receives application information from a staff person at Focus on Renewal, the site of the McKees Rocks Community Clinic. She schedules the attorneys from Alcoa, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, and Burns White & Hickton for the entire year. Prior to each clinic, she sends out reminders to the attorneys and also the list of clients and the types of cases. She collects information from each attorney regarding the outcome of the case, specifically whether it involved advice only at the clinic or whether additional representation is being provided for the client. Zirckel’s commitment to this project has been unwavering.