Press Release  Supreme Judicial Court Pro Bono Committee Honors Three Attorneys for Outstanding Commitment to Pro Bono Legal Services

BOSTON, MA — Supreme Judicial Court Justice Elspeth Cypher today presented Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards to three attorneys for their tremendous dedication to providing volunteer legal services for persons who cannot afford an attorney for their essential legal needs. The annual Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards are named in honor of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Normally held in the John Adams Courthouse in Boston, this year's event was presented live online at: https://boston.suffolk.edu/sjc/.

Elizabeth Ennen, Esq., Chair of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, delivered opening and closing remarks.

Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd also gave opening remarks on behalf of the Supreme Judicial Court. "I would like to congratulate each Adams Award recipient and each Pro Bono Honor Roll participant on your accomplishments," Chief Justice Budd said. "By providing pro bono legal assistance to people who cannot afford an attorney, each of you has made an enormous difference in the lives of others."

Ariel Clemmer, Esq., a member of the Committee, recognized the legal organizations, individual attorneys and law students on the Supreme Judicial Court Pro Bono Honor Roll and High Honor Roll. The Honor Roll each year recognizes law firms and other legal organizations that perform a minimum number of hours of approved pro bono legal services during the previous calendar year, and law students who have done so during their law school careers. Starting last year, the SJC also created an Honor Roll category for individual attorneys. Those who performed at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services in the previous calendar year qualify for honors, and attorneys who performed at least 100 hours of pro bono service qualify for high honors. More than 700 attorneys and 250 law students were named to the Honor Roll.

Justice Cypher then presented Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards to three attorneys selected by the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for their outstanding pro bono work:

• Samuel E. J. Bryar, Esq., for providing approximately 3,300 hours of pro bono representation since May 2018 to low-income domestic violence survivors and their children in complex, highly contested family law matters, in partnership with the De Novo Center for Justice and Healing.
• Michael E. Jusczyk, Esq., for his exemplary pro bono representation of unaccompanied minors who enter the U.S. immigration system alone in a series of challenging cases, in partnership with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).
• Bethany N. Serota, Esq., for her leadership in providing and supporting pro bono legal services through the Community Service Committee of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, and through Project Opportunity, a program sponsored by the City of Boston in partnership with Lawyers Clearinghouse that provides free criminal record sealing and expungement clinics for Boston residents.

The SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services works to promote volunteer legal work in Massachusetts to help people of limited means in need of legal representation, in accordance with Rule 6.1 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys. The awards ceremony is one of many activities celebrating and building support for pro bono legal work in Massachusetts during the month of October, a month officially proclaimed Pro Bono Month by Governor Charlie Baker. The American Bar Association has also proclaimed a National Celebration of Pro Bono during the week of October 24 - 30, 2021.

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