Supreme Judicial
Court Justice Francis X. Spina to Present Clients'
Security Board's William J. LeDoux Award to Two Attorneys
Boston, MA — To
recognize extraordinary efforts in helping a client
recover significant financial losses resulting from
the misuse of funds by an attorney, Supreme Judicial
Court Justice Francis X. Spina will present the seventh
annual Clients' Security Board's William J. LeDoux
Award to Boston Attorneys Hang Nina Nguyen and Hung
Tran.
Ms.
Nguyen is the managing partner of the Law Office of
Hang Nina Nguyen in Dorchester, and Mr. Tran is a sole
practitioner in Dorchester.
The
event will be held in the Seven-Justice Courtroom in
the John Adams Courthouse on Thursday, September 22,
2005 at 3:00 p.m. This year's program also marks the
Clients' Security Board's thirty years of service.
Established
in 1997 in honor of the late William J. LeDoux, a member
of the Clients' Security Board from 1987 to 1997,
the award is presented annually to honor an attorney
who, serving pro bono, performs outstanding legal work
in representing a claimant before the Board. Mr. LeDoux,
who was Chair of the Board for seven years, is known
for his many achievements in advancing the Board's
goal of serving the public.
Two
attorneys were selected by the Clients' Security Board
as this year's award recipients for the work they performed
on behalf of Vietnamese immigrants who had entrusted
funds to a lawyer, and discovered, upon his death,
that funds were missing. Many of the clients who were
Vietnamese did not speak English, and, because of cultural
mores, were reluctant to suggest their lawyer had misappropriated
their funds. Ms. Nguyen and Mr. Tran, and other Vietnamese
lawyers, met with members of the Clients' Security
Board at the Vietnamese American Community Center in
Dorchester and asked for help. Through the efforts
of Ms. Nguyen and Mr. Tran, a community meeting was
held in May 2003 at the Community Center to introduce
potential claimants. From December 2003 through May
2005, the Board held hearings on more than fifty claims
and voted forty-seven awards totaling $1,185,359. The
two attorneys provided translation and interpreting
services for the Board and for claimants.
Ms.
Nguyen was an associate in the Boston law firm of Boone & Henkoff
prior to starting her own practice. Previously, she
worked as public relations coordinator at the Massachusetts
Office for Refugees and Immigrants. She also held internships
at the Office for Refugees and Immigrants and in the
Asian Outreach Program of Greater Boston Legal Services.
She is president of the Vietnamese American Initiative
for Development. Ms. Nguyen holds a J.D. degree from
Suffolk University Law School, a B.A. degree from Tufts
University, and attended the School for International
Training at Ho Chi Minh University in Saigon.
Before
entering private practice, Mr. Tran served as assistant
regional counsel in the Office of General Counsel of
the Social Security Administration and as an assistant
attorney general in the Government Bureau of the Massachusetts
Attorney General. A graduate of Suffolk University
Law School, Mr. Tran received his B.A. degree, cum
laude, from Boston College.
Established
by the Supreme Judicial Court in 1974, the Clients'
Security Board is composed of seven attorneys appointed
by the Supreme Judicial Court who oversee the disbursement
of funds to clients who have been victimized by attorney
defalcation. Through a portion of the annual registration
fees paid by attorneys to the Board of Bar Overseers,
the Clients' Security Board reimburses clients who
have been victimized by instances of attorney misappropriations.
