Press Release  Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee Now Accepting 2019 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards Nominations

BOSTON, MA — The Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services is seeking nominations for the 2019 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards, which recognize those in the legal community who have shown outstanding and exceptional commitment to providing unpaid legal services to those in need. The deadline for nominations is July 31, 2019.

The Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards are presented annually by the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services to honor those Massachusetts lawyers, law students, small and large law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law departments, law schools or other institutions in the legal profession that have improved the lives of clients in need by committing an extraordinary amount of their time and energies to provide volunteer legal services.

The Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services will select awardees from among those who have excelled in providing volunteer services in one or more of the following ways:

• creating or participating in an activity or pro bono program that expands legal services to underserved segments of the population or fills a previously unmet need;
• successfully litigating pro bono cases that favorably affected the provision of other services to those in need; and/or
• successfully achieving legislation that contributed substantially to legal services for the disadvantaged.

Click here to learn more about the award criteria and nomination guidelines. Submit nominations and all supporting materials by July 31, 2019 by email to mb.sjcprobono@jud.state.ma.us referencing 2019 Adams Awards in the subject line, or by mail to Chip Phinney, Deputy Legal Counsel, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, Suite 2500, One Pemberton Square, Boston, MA 02108. The 2019 Pro Bono Publico Awards will be presented in a ceremony at the John Adams Courthouse on October 24, 2019.

In addition to the awards program, the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services also administers the Pro Bono Honor Roll, a voluntary program that recognizes those law firms, solo practitioners, in-house corporate counsel offices, government attorneys offices, non-profit organizations, law school faculties, and law students which certify that, in the relevant time period, they have performed a certain number of hours of pro bono legal work. Certifications are now being accepted for pro bono work performed in calendar year 2018. Learn more about the Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards and the Pro Bono Honor Roll on the court system's website.

Established in 1999, the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services works to promote volunteer legal work in Massachusetts to help people of limited means who are in need of legal representation, in accordance with SJC Rule 6.1. Attorney Elizabeth Ennen of Northeastern University School of Law chairs the Committee.

###