News  Supreme Judicial Court to Present Pro Bono Committee Awards to Three Attorneys

WHAT:
On October 26, 2021, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Elspeth Cypher will present awards to three attorneys selected by the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for their exceptional dedication to providing volunteer legal services for persons who cannot afford an attorney for their essential legal needs. 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 Cypher will present the annual Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards, named in honor of John Adams and John Quincy Adams, to the following attorneys 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.

WHEN:
Tuesday, October 26, 2021, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:
The program will be presented 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.