News  Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee to Present 2025 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards to Lawyers, Law Students, and a Law Firm

WHAT:        

On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Elizabeth N. Dewar will present awards to two lawyers, two law students, and a law firm selected by the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, in recognition of their exceptional dedication to providing volunteer services for persons who cannot afford an attorney.  The committee will also recognize the achievements of attorneys, law students, and legal organizations who qualified for the Supreme Judicial Court Pro Bono Honor Roll.   

Justice Dewar will present the annual Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards, named in honor of John Adams and John Quincy Adams, to the following recipients for their outstanding pro bono work:

• Madeleine Rodriguez, an attorney at Foley Hoag, who has devoted thousands of hours of volunteer service to a wide range of pro bono activities over the last dozen years, including representing more than 25 survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment in abuse prevention hearings, and representing more than 40 clients in immigration proceedings, principally unaccompanied refugee children seeking special immigrant juvenile status and legal permanent resident status.     
• Nigel Tamton, an attorney at Skadden, who dedicated over 1,400 hours of pro bono service to working with the New England Innocence Project to win reversal of Edward Wright's wrongful conviction for first-degree murder, resulting in Mr. Wright’s release from prison after being incarcerated for more than 41 years.
• The Proskauer Rose law firm, which has maintained an ongoing pro bono partnership since 2016 with the Children's Disability Project of Greater Boston Legal Services, helping children and their families appeal wrongful denials of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
• Omar Hajajra, a 2025 graduate of Suffolk University Law School, who completed nearly 500 hours of pro bono service during law school, focusing on human rights and international legal research, including contributions to American Bar Association initiatives and to a global accountability project investigating war crimes in Ukraine.
• Deepti Sailappan, a 2025 graduate of Boston College Law School, who completed over 500 hours of pro bono service during law school, working on a wide variety of projects with the school’s Civil Rights Clinic, with Greater Boston Legal Services, and with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

The SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services works to promote volunteer legal service to assist 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 traditionally recognized as Pro Bono Month in Massachusetts and across the country. The American Bar Association has called for a National Celebration of Pro Bono during the week of October 19-25, 2025.

WHEN:

Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:

The program will be presented in person in the Supreme Judicial Court's Seven Justice Courtroom at the John Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Square, Boston, MA 02108.

The program will also be available live online at https://boston.suffolk.edu/sjc/, the same Suffolk University Law School webpage that is used to present oral arguments before the Supreme Judicial Court.