Lawyers Alliance for New York is set to honor Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker and Seyfarth Shaw as well as eight individual attorneys with 2009 Cornerstone Awards this evening at the Pfizer Conference Center on East 42nd Street. The award recognizes pro bono legal aid to nonprofit groups working to improve low-income neighborhoods in New York City.
The individual lawyers to be honored include Peter L. Curry, Farrell Fritz; Keith E. Danish, Hiscock & Barclay; Jessica A. Gary, Goodwin Procter; Joseph A. Guay, Holland & Knight; Andrew B. Latack, Creative Artists Agency (formerly of Proskauer Rose); Doreen E. Lilienfeld, Shearman & Sterling; Jason T. Polevoy, McDermott Will & Emery; and Rona G. Shamoon, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
"Lawyers Alliance for New York applauds the individual recipients of the 2009 Cornerstone Awards for extending their talents and commitment to dynamic organizations that bring opportunities and services to New York neighborhoods and residents most in need," Sean Delany, the group's executive director, said in a statement.
Lawyers Alliance connects its 14 staff attorneys and more than 1,400 volunteer lawyers with nonprofit groups to develop affordable housing, stimulate economic development and operate programs for children and young people in low-income communities.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan was presented the Future of America Award by D.A.R.E. America at the group's Care Gala on Oct. 15 at The Metropolitan Club.
Ms. Brennan, the first woman to head the Office of the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor, was appointed to the position in 1998. As head of the office, she established the financial crimes unit to focus on money laundering crimes. She also established the gang unit to concentrate resources on violent drug gangs.
Before attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she earned a J.D. in 1983, Ms. Brennan served for a year as head of public information for Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau. In 1983, she returned to the office to handle felony cases ranging from sex crimes to homicides.
Ms. Brennan joined the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor in 1992 as deputy chief of the special investigations bureau, and became chief of the bureau one year later. In 1995, she was named the chief assistant in the office.
D.A.R.E.—Drug Abuse Resistance Education—is a national non-profit group that aims to give children the life skills needed to avoid drugs, gangs and violence.
Three attorneys were among 19 senior business leaders chosen earlier this month as David Rockefeller Fellows by the Partnership for New York City. The fellows will meet with city leaders and the driving forces behind the city's businesses and help create a leadership network in New York.
Leslie Gordon Fagen is a senior partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he has handled an array of civil litigation matters during his 30 years at the firm. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and also serves as an adjunct lecturer at Columbia Law School and an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School. He is a director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Maimonides Medical Center.
Daniel L. Kurtz is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he heads the exempt organizations practice. He was the assistant attorney general-in-charge of the charities bureau in the New York State Attorney General's Office from 1979 to 1985.
Lori E. Lesser is a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. As co-head of the firm's East Coast intellectual property transactional practice, she advises on all aspects of IP and technology law.
The Partnership for New York is a network of business leaders working to enhance the city's economy and maintain its position as the center of world commerce and finance. Modeled after the partnership's founder, David Rockefeller, the fellowship program has trained more than 250 executives since its inception in 1989.
The law firms of McDermott Will & Emery and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison were honored earlier this month with Pro Bono Champion Awards at the Third Annual Raising the Bar event hosted by The Door. The New York City youth development agency presents the award to law firms providing pro bono services to disadvantaged New York City youth.
The Door's Legal Services Center, established in 1992, provides a broad range of counsel and advocacy aid in civil matters to young people, and provides services such as legal education workshops and acting as informants in public policy discussions.
The Legal Project last week recognized individuals and groups providing pro bono service to its various programs as the group celebrated its 14th anniversary at a reception held at the New York State Museum in Albany.
The event recognized attorneys from the Capital District who volunteer their time to provide free civil legal services to the working poor.
Honorees included state Senator Neil D. Breslin, D-Albany, Legal Project Champion Award; Nancy Delain, Kurt Clobridge Memorial Award for Pro Bono Service; Denise Resta-Tobin, Brigid Nolan Memorial Award for Pro Bono Service to Victims of Domestic Violence; Linda Berkowitz, Stanley A. Rosen Memorial Award for Pro Bono Service; Hiscock & Barclay, Barry A. Gold Law Firm Leadership Award; and The New York Bar Foundation, The Swyer Companies Corporate Leadership Award
The Legal Project, a private, non-profit organization founded by the Capital District Women's Bar Association in 1995, provides free and low-cost legal services to the working poor, victims of domestic violence and other under-served individuals in and around Albany.
???The Jewish Lawyer Association of Nassau County presented Justice Leonard B. Austin, of the Appellate Division, Second Department, with its Neil T. Shayne Distinguished Service Award at its annual installation dinner yesterday at the East Meadow Jewish Center. Presiding Justice A. Gail Prudenti presented the award.
Justice Austin was named to the Appellate Division earlier this year after serving on the Supreme Court bench since 1999.
The group's annual installation dinner serves to give recognition to members of the Jewish legal community for their accomplishments.
@|Accolades reports on special recognition given to attorneys at law firms, in government and at social agencies. Submit items to jlauredan@alm.com.
