(Falls Church, VA - March 14, 2005)  The Fairfax Bar Association has awarded the Falls Church office of Reed Smith LLP its Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award. 

In the past year, Reed Smith attorneys have provided critically important legal services to a wide array of community and non-profit organizations such as United Community Ministries, the Kingsview Community Center, The Women's Center in Vienna and the Christian Legal Society.  The firm handled uncontested divorces and contested custody cases referred by the Fairfax Bar Association.

Reed Smith has represented several agencies that work to provide affordable housing in the county including the Fellowship Square Foundation and the Robert Pierre Johnson Housing Development Corporation.  In addition, the firm assists Homestretch, an organization that provides transitional housing and jobs skills training to families in crisis.

“At Reed Smith, we like to say ‘It’s not just business, it’s personal.’  The tremendous pro bono efforts of our talented attorneys and dedicated staff in Falls Church is testament to the firm’s commitment to be a part of the wider community, reaching out to those in need and identifying underserved areas,” said Ira S. Lefton, Head of Pro Bono Services firm-wide for Reed Smith.

The award was presented on Thursday, January 27th at the Country Club of Fairfax to Reed Smith attorneys active in pro bono cases, Karen Fagelson, Reed Smith Managing Partner for Virginia and R. Mark Dare, who oversees pro bono activity for Reed Smith’s Falls Church office.  Dare is a past president of the Fairfax Bar Association.

Reed Smith, a leading global law firm with nearly 1,000 lawyers located in 16 U.S. and two U.K. cities, represents Fortune 100 as well as mid-market and emerging companies.  Clients include technology companies and entrepreneurs, financial services firms, life sciences companies and health care providers and insurers, communications companies, manufacturers, universities, non-profit organizations, real estate developers, and municipalities throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and in 40 other countries.  For more information, please visit reedsmith.com.