(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Reed Smith's pro bono litigation efforts at the Appellate level were honored this month by the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA).
The award was presented at the NLADA Exemplar Award Dinner December 6 at Union Station in Washington, D.C. to Reed Smith and 13 other law firms in the United States in honor of each firm’s “innovative public-private partnerships that, through appellate litigation, protect equal justice for all.” Washington partner and member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, Gary Thompson, accepted the award on behalf of the firm.
Each year NLADA focuses on a different area of pro bono law for its Beacon of Justice Awards. By focusing on Appellate this year, NLADA seeks to address the profound and growing gap between low-income people’s need for legal representation and our nation’s ability to provide it. The gap exists at all levels of the system—it is perhaps greatest at the appellate level. Public-private partnerships that address this need are critical.
“When individuals do not have access to counsel to navigate the complex appeals process, the results are serious, life-altering consequences for countless individuals and their families. Moreover, it represents a breakdown of our justice system, which is predicated on a system of checks and balances,” said Jo-Ann Wallace, president and CEO of NLADA.
“These 14 firms have showed a true commitment to justice by stepping up to represent issues and people that would otherwise be forced to navigate the appellate process without any guidance. The outcomes in these cases have been true victories not only for the parties to the case, but for the greater justice system. NLADA is deeply grateful to these firms for their contributions to the quest for access to justice for all.”
Reed Smith was specifically honored for its five-year pro bono representation of Stanmore Cooper in FAA v. Cooper, a Call Emotional Injury as Harm under the Privacy Act, which firm Appellate leader Ray Cardozo argued before the U.S. Supreme Court November 30, 2011. The issue before the Court is whether a plaintiff who alleges only mental and emotional injuries can establish "actual damages" within the meaning of the civil remedies provision of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(4)(A).
Reed Smith’s amicus brief in re USA v. Mahmoud Reza Banki, the firm’s pro bono representation of the American Diabetes Association in a case currently in the California Supreme Court, and its many pro bono asylum- and death row-related cases at the appellate level, were also noted.
Also honored at this year’s Exemplar Award Dinner were Brad Smith, General Counsel and Executive Vice President at Microsoft with the 2011 NLADA Exemplar Award; John Grisham, renown author, with the NLADA Centennial Award for Justice through Literature; and Wendy Pollack of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and Sam Dalton, founding chairman of the Jefferson Parish Indigent Defender Board in Louisiana, with the 2011 Kutak-Dodds Prizes.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,600 lawyers in 23 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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