2008 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards Presented to Five Attorneys

Justice Francis X. Spina (right), with the award recipients and Mary Ryan, Chair of the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Serivces (left).

In recognition of outstanding commitment to providing volunteer legal services for the poor and disadvantaged in Massachusetts, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Francis X. Spina, on behalf of the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, presented the seventh annual Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards to five attorneys at a special ceremony in the John Adams Courthouse on Wednesday, June 4.  Award Recipients are:

Attorney John G. Dugan, of Millis, a principal in the law firm of Doherty Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon, P.C. in Franklin and Medfield, and Attorney Edward Notis-McConarty, of Newton, a partner in the Boston law firm of Hemenway & Barnes LLP, for their work in the development and implementation of three Limited Assistance Representation pilot projects in the Probate and Family Court Department to expand access to justice;

Francis J. (Jay) Lynch III, of North Easton, managing partner in Lynch & Lynch Attorneys of Boston and South Easton, for his volunteer legal services at MainSpring House;

Attorneys Christine J. Wichers, of Cambridge, and Lisa M. Gaulin, of South Boston, of Choate Hall & Stewart, LLP in Boston, for their tireless efforts on behalf of an abandoned Pakistani mother forcibly separated from her four children.

Justice Spina said, "The field of nominees this year demonstrates the exceptionally wide spectrum of opportunities for lawyers to render pro bono legal services. I was truly moved by the depth of sacrifice, the remarkable achievements, and the ingenuity of the legal profession when called upon to address difficult problems in hard times. I applaud the 2008 award recipients for their inspirational work."    

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