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NLADA sponsors 13 awards honoring the distinguished men and women whose outstanding service and achievements advance
the cause of equal access to justice. The awards are:
If you would like more information about NLADA awards, please contact info@nlada.org.
Harrison Tweed Award (annual)
NLADA and the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid jointly sponsor the annual Harrison Tweed Award, which honors state
and local bar associations that develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal
services or indigent defense services. Harrison Tweed served as the president of the New York Legal Aid Society and
was a national leader of legal aid during the 1940's and 1950's.
Past recipients include:
- 2002 - Atlanta Bar Association, Association of the Bar of the City of New York and State Bar of Texas
- 2001 - Brooklyn (NY) Bar Association, State Bar of California and Oregon State Bar
- 2000 - The Alameda County Bar Association in Oakland, CA., and the Delaware State Bar Association in
Wilmington, Del.
- 1999 - The Saginaw County Bar Association in Saginaw, Mich., and the Washington State Bar Association in
Seattle
- 1998 - The State Bar of Michigan, the Forsyth County (N.C.) Bar Association and the Dallas Bar Association
- 1997 - Bar Association of San Francisco, Gaston County Bar Association in North Carolina and the King
County Bar Association in Washington
- 1996 - The Jacksonville, Florida Bar Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, New York State Bar
Association
- 1995 - Harrisonburg/Rockingham (VA) Bar Association,
- 1994 - York County Bar Association and the Asian-American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley,
District of Columbia Bar, Minnesota State Bar Association
- 1993 - Ohio State Bar Association
- 1992 - Florida Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Association
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Kutak-Dodds Prize (annual)
Established in 1989 and presented each year at NLADA's Annual Dinner in Washington, DC, the Kutak-Dodds Prize honors
an equal justice advocate "who, through the practice of law, has contributed in a
significant way to the
enhancement of the human dignity and quality of life of those persons unable to afford legal
representation." The
award is jointly sponsored by NLADA and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation and carries a cash
prize of $10,000. Beginning in 2001, two prizes are given each year, one for exceptional
work in civil legal aid and the other for outstanding service in public defense. The
Kutak-Dodds Prize is named for the Late Robert J. Kutak, a member of the first Legal Services Corporation Board and
the late Kenneth R. Dodds, former partners in the Omaha office of Kutak Rock. Bob Kutak dedicated his career to public
service and legal education, and Ken Dodds was well known for his life-long interest in providing legal services to the
disadvantaged.
For nomination information, click here.
Past recipients include:
- 2007 - William C. McNeill, Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center
Dennis R. Murphy, Legal Aid Society, New York, NY
- 2006 - Sharon Dietrich, Managing Attorney for Public Benefits and Employment for Community Legal Services, Inc.
Melinda Pendergraph, Appellate Attorney, Missouri Public Defender System
- 2005 - William Grimm, Senior Attorney, National Center for Youth Law
Brownlow Speer, Chief Appellate Attorney, Committee for Public Counsel Services, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- 2004 - William J. Brennan, Jr., Director of the Home Defense Project of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society
Roberto Nájera, Deputy Public Defender in the Alternate Defender Office of the Office of the Public
Defender of Contra Costa County
- 2003 - Lois Wood, managing attorney, of the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation
Stephen L. Richards, deputy defender of the Death Penalty Trial Assistance Division, of
the Office of the Illinois State Appellate Defender
- 2002 - Harry J. Fulton, Chief of the Mental Health Division of the Public Defender
Service for the District of Columbia
Fred Fuchs, Attorney with Legal Aid of Central Texas
- 2001 - Christine B. Hastedt, Public Policy Specialist, Maine Equal Justice Partners, Inc.
Fred B. Last, Wayne E. Natale & P. Jeffrey Wintner, Gloucester County Regional Office, New Jersey Office of the Public Defender
- 2000 - Robin Steinberg, Founder and Executive Director of Bronx Public Defenders
- 1999 - Steve Fredrickson, Staff Attorney, Columbia Legal Services
- 1998 - John M. Bouman, Co-Founder and Director of the Poverty Law Project, a public-interest law office of the National Clearinghouse for Legal Services in Chicago
- 1997 - Cheryl Rafert, Attorney, Death Row Defender, St. Louis, MO
- 1996 - Tanya Neiman, Executive Director, Volunteer Legal Services Program, San Francisco, CA
- 1995 - Ellen Hines Smith, Executive Director, Piedmont Legal Services, Spartanburg, SC
- 1994 - Elaine R. Jones, Director, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
- 1993 - Ralph Santiago Abascal, General Counsel, California Rural Legal Assistance, San Francisco, CA
- 1992 - Stephen Bright, Director, Southern Center for Human Rights
- 1991 - John Rosenberg, Director, Appalachian Research and Defense Fund, Inc.
- 1990 - Martha Bergmark, for her Civil Rights and Legal Services work in Mississippi
- 1989 - Florence Roisman, for her pioneering work as a national housing advocate
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National Exemplar Awards (annual)
Each year at its annual dinner, NLADA honors one or more members of the private bar or corporate community who have
demonstrated outstanding leadership in promoting and supporting equal justice.
Past recipients include:
- 2007 - Roderick A. Palmore Sara Lee Corporation
Law Firms Providing Pro Bono Representation to Detainees at Guantanamo Bay -- 2007 Beacon of Justice Award
- 2006 - William B. Lytton, Tyco International
Mark J. MacDougall, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLC
- 2005 - Jeffrey B. Kindler, Pfizer Inc
- 2004 - Benjamin W. Heineman, Jr., General Electric
- 2003 - José de Lasa, Abbott Laboratories
Frank S. Moseley, Davis Polk & Wardwell
- 2002 - Thomas A. Gottschalk, General Motors Corporation
Esther F. Lardent, The Pro Bono Institute
- 2001 - John H. Pickering, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
James J. Johnson, The Procter & Gamble Company
- 2000 - Mary M. McDonald, Merck & Co., Inc.
Martha W. Barnett, Holland & Knight LLP
- 1999 - Andrew D. Hendry, Colgate-Palmolive Company
Robert N. Weiner, Arnold & Porter
- 1998 - Joseph E. Mullaney, The Gillette Company
John Payton, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
- 1997 - John Martin, Jr., Ford Motor Company
- 1996 - Benjamin Civiletti, Venable, Baetjet, Howard and Civiletti LLP
- 1995 - Sara-Ann Determan, Hogan & Hartson
Jack W. Londen, Morrison & Foerster
William O. Whitehurst, Whitehurst, Harkness, Watson, Loudon, Ozmun & Galow
- 1994 - Hon. Dennis Archer, Mayor, Detroit, MI
David S. Tatel, Hogan & Hartsen
Alfred Charles Kammer, S.J., Catholic Charities USA
- 1993 - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Legal Services Advocate and First Lady
Marna Tucker, Feldesman, Tucker, Leifer, Fidell & Bank
F. Wm. McCalpin, former NLADA president, retired partner, Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, L.C.
- 1992 - Hon. Elliot L. Richardson, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Brooksley Born, Arnold & Porter
- 1991 - Congressman Robert W. Kasenmeier, Wisconsin
David B. Isbell, Civil Rights Advocate
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NLADA Innovations in Technology Award (annual)
This award is presented at the annual NLADA/ABA Equal Justice Conference and honors an individual who has made
outstanding career contributions to creativity and innovation in the delivery of legal service to poor people.
Past recipients include:
- 2007 - Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (NTAP)
- 2006 - I-CAN! Legal
- 2005 - Alison Paul, Montana Legal Services
- 2004 - Gwen Daniels, Sarjeant Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
- 2003 - Practising Law Institute
- 2002 - Pro Bono Net, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York,
Legal Services for New York City, and the Legal Aid Society of New York
- 2001 - Ann Crawley, Maryland Legal Assistance Network
- 2000 - Hugh Calkins, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Maine
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Reginald Heber Smith Award (annual)
The Reginald Heber Smith Award is presented at NLADA's National Conference, and recognizes the dedicated services and
outstanding achievements of civil or indigent defense attorneys while employed by organizations supporting such
services. The award may be given up to two years after the attorney's termination of employment with the organization.
The "Reggie" is named for the author of the first definitive examination of the unfair administration of justice and
its effect on the poor, Justice and the Poor, which was published in 1919.
Past recipients include:
- 2007 - Mona Tawatao, regional counsel with Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC)
- 2006 - Shelley Davis, Farmworker Justice, and Lawrence Sullivan, Public Defender of the State of Delaware
- 2004 - Gregory Schell, Florida Legal Services
- 2003 - Charles Gessler, retired from the Los Angeles County Public Defender and "Dean of the Death Penalty" in California; and
Herbert Semmel, director of the Federal Rights Program, for the National Senior Citizens Law Center in Los Angeles
- 2002 - Webb Brewer, litigation director for Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc., of Tennessee; and
David Feige, Trial Chief with The Bronx Defenders, New York
- 2001 - Mary Ann Tally, Director of the Trial Assistance Unit at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation
- 2000 - E. Clinton Bamberger, Jr., Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Maryland
- 1999 - Jacqueline A. Nash, Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, LA
- 1998 - The late Robert C. Ericson, New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty
- 1997 - George Castelle, Chief Public Defender, Kanawha County, WV
Jane Perkins, National Health Law Program in Chapel Hill, NC.
- 1996 - Larry A. Landis, Indiana Public Defender Council
- 1995 -Andrea Lyon, Illinois Capital Resource Center in Chicago, IL.
- 1994 - David Williams, New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation
Robert Schwartz, Juvenile Law Center, Philadelphia, PA
- 1993 - Alice Bussiere, Children's Advocate in California and throughout the country
James Neuhard, for his nationally recognized opposition to the death penalty
- 1992 - Jonathan Stein and Richard Weisenaupt, counsel in Sullivan v. Zebley, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court found that the eligibility requirements for Social Security Income disability benefits for children were tougher than those for adults.
Theodore Gottfried, Director of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, Springfield, IL
- 1991 - Overton Pollard, Public Defender Commission of Virginia
Pauline Gee, California Rural Legal Assistance
- 1990 - Robert Carran
Brian Paddock
- 1989 - Craig Barnard
Gordon Bonnyman
Richard Goos
Allan Rodgers
- 1988 - Alex Landon
- 1987 - Robert Boruchowitz
Melvin D. Miller
Alex Landon
- 1986 - Robert Cullen
Terence F. MacCarthy
- 1985 - Douglas Hall
Eileen P. Sweeney
- 1984 - Leroy Cordova
Michael Millman
- 1983 - Jonathan Asher
Willie E. Cook, Jr.
Sheldon Portman
- 1982 - Charles Dorsey
Clinton Lyons
- 1981 - Henry A. Freedman
Ashley T. Wiltshire
- 1980 - Gary Myers
Valerie Vanaman
- 1979 - Geraldine Moses
Myzell Sowell
- 1978 - Marshall Hartman
- 1971 - Brook Hart
- 1969 - Robert E. Jagger
- 1965 - George Nye
- 1961 - H. Sol Clark
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Robert F. Kennedy Award
The Robert F. Kennedy award, sponsored by the American Council of Chief Defenders and first
awarded in 2000, recognizes a criminal justice system leader other than a defender, whose
work acknowledges the critical role the public defense function plays in ensuring fair
justice systems. The award is named for former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in
honor of his support for quality public defense systems, including shepherding through to
passage the nation’s first indigent defense statute, the federal Criminal Justice Act, in
1963, the year that Gideon v. Wainwright was handed down.
Recipients:
- 2001 - Hon. Janet Reno, Former United States Attorney General
- 2000 - Nancy Gist, U.S. Department of Justice, Director of Bureau of Justice Assistance
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Mary Ellen Hamilton Award (biennial)
Honors a client who, on a compensated or volunteer basis, has provided extraordinary service or support to the delivery
of legal services to the poor. The award honors one of the founders of the National Clients Council and the Alliance
for Legal Rights. Mary Ellen Hamilton served on NLADA's Board of Directors and remained an active member of the
Alliance until her death in 1985.
Past recipients include:
- 2007 - Amelia Nieto, California
- 2007 - Peggy Santos, Massachussetts
- 2001 - Gladys Barnes (posthumously), Alabama
- 1999 - Phyllis A. Carr, Indiana
- 1998 - Norah Cooney Rogers
- 1997 - Lillie J. Winn, Georgia
- 1996 - Virginia Rojo Holland, Texas
Ronald E. Miles, Kansas
- 1995 - Veda McKnight, Georgia
- 1994 - Ann Bailey
- 1993 - Rosie Newsome, Indiana
- 1991 - Mary Ellen Beaver, Pennsylvania
- 1990 - Lucymae Echols
- 1989 - Jo Ann Smith
Louise Brookins
- 1987 - Romie Campbell
- 1986 - Virginia Montford
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Charles Dorsey Award (biennial)
The Charles Dorsey Award is given biennially to an individual who has provided extraordinary and dedicated service to
the equal justice community and to organizations that promote expanding and improving access to justice for low-income
people. To be eligible to receive this award, an individual must have demonstrated a commitment to equal justice for
all through service as an officer, board or committee member of a national or statewide organization devoted to
fulfilling the promise of equal justice.
Past recipients include:
- 2007 - Stuart Andrews, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, South Carolina
- 2003 - Alex Gulotta, director of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, Virginia
- 2001 - Robert Spangenberg, president of The Spangenberg Group in Newton, Massachusetts
- 1999 - Laurie D. Zelon, a partner at the Los Angeles law firm of Morrison and Foerster, co-founder of Californians for Legal Aid and chair of the California Commission on Access to Justice
- 1997 - Lillian O. Johnson, Director of Community Legal Services, Phoenix, AZ
- 1995 - Joseph R. Bartylak, Executive Director of Land of Lincoln Legal Aid Foundation, Alton, IL
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Clara Shortridge Foltz Award (biennial)
Commends a public defender program or defense delivery system for outstanding achievement in the provision of indigent
defense services. The achievement may be the result of an effort by the entire program, a division or branch or a
special project. This award is co-sponsored by NLADA and the American Bar Association Standing committee on Legal Aid
and Indigent Defendants. Established in 1985, this award was named for the founder of the nation's public defender
system. Foltz, California's first woman lawyer introduced the "Foltz Defender Bill" at the Congress of Jurisprudence
and Law Reform in Chicago in 1893.
Past recipients include:
- 2007 - Public Defender’s Office of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida (PD-11)
- 2003 - Louisville-Metro Public Defender's Office, Kentucky
- 2001 - Youth Advocacy Project (YAP) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services
- 1999 - The San Diego County Alternate Public Defender's (APD) Dependency Program
- 1998 - The Capital Defense and Trial Services Unit, Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services
- 1997 - Washington Defender Association
- 1995 - Minnesota State Board of Public Defender
- 1993 - The Office of the Public Defender for the State of Maryland
- 1991 - Lake County Illinois Public Defender Office
- 1987 - The Defender Association of Philadelphia
- 1986 - Illinois State Appellate Defender
- 1985 - Los Angeles County Public Defender
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Pierce-Hickerson Award
Honoring outstanding contributions to the advancement or preservation of Native American
rights, the Pierce-Hickerson Award was created in 2003 by advocates in civil legal
assistance programs to pay homage to the legacies of Julian Pierce and Robert Hickerson for
their outstanding advocacy in pursuit of justice for Native Americans. Pierce was a Lumbee
Indian who served as executive director of Lumbee River Legal Services in Pembroke, North
Carolina, from 1978 until 1988. Hickerson served as director of Alaska Legal Services
Corporation for 20 years, and prior to that was director of the Oklahoma Legal Services
Center.
- 2006 - Raylene Frazier, Dakota Plains Legal Services
- 2003 - Peterson Zah, legendary activist on
issues affecting Native Americans.
Denison Ray Award (biennial)
The "Denny" award honors persons who have provided at least five years of service to the legal services
community in staff, client or volunteer capacities. Dennison Ray, who dedicated his professional life to equal justice
for the poor, is the former director of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Legal Services of North
Carolina, and other programs.
Past recipients include:
- 2006 - Catherine Carr, Executive Director of Community Legal Services, Inc., Philadelphia
- 2004 - Sister Marjorie Shelvy, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
- 2002 - Ira Newman, Directing Attorney of the Appalachian Research & Defense Fund of Kentucky, Inc. (Appalred)
- 2000 - Patrick McClintock, Legal Services Corporation of Iowa
- 1998 - Sharon Bourassa, Legal Aid Services of Broward County, Florida
- 1996 - Shirley Bergert, Connecticut Legal Services
- 1994 - Robert C. Lyman, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
Trini Gamez, Texas Rural Legal Assistance
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Arthur von Briesen Award (biennial)
The Author von Briesen award honors an attorney not employed by a legal services or defender program, who has made
substantial volunteer contributions in support of the delivery of legal services and/or indigent defense representation.
The award celebrates the achievements of the first president of NLADA.
Past recipients include:
- 2006 Phyllis Mann, Law Office of Phyllis E. Mann
- 2004 Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., partner, Jenner & Block
- 2002 - Private Attorney Carl Quintal of Massachusetts
- 2000 - Former Kentucky State Representative Michael D. Bowling
- 1998 - Kentucky State Senator Gerald A. Neal
- 1997 - Robert C. Ewald of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, Louisville, KY
- 1996 - Jeffrey D. Colman, Jenner & Block, Chicago, IL
- 1995 - Barry McDonald Staples, founder and director of Community Outreach, Carrollton, GA
- 1994 - George Wittgraf, Chair of the LSC Board from 1990-1994
- 1993 - Howard Dana, LSC board member during the Reagan and Bush administrations
- 1991 - A. James Elliott, Atlanta
- 1990 - Edward J. Duggan
Gary M. Schweickart
- 1989 - George Cauthan
- 1988 - Richard Blumenthal
David Golub
Thomas Smegal
- 1986 - L. Jonathan Ross
- 1985 - Parker D. Thompson
- 1984 - Richard Cotton
- 1983 - Frank Eaman
- 1982 - Shelvin Singer
- 1981 - F. William McCalpin
- 1980 - William Reece Smith
- 1979 - John G. Brooks
- 1978 - Justice Sam D. Johnston
- 1977 - Jerome Shestack
- 1976 - Anthony Amsterdam
- 1975 - John F. Irving
- 1974 - William Ide, III
Chesterfield Smith
- 1973 - William Claus
Robert Meserve
- 1972 - Anthony Amsterdam
- 1971 - John Robb
- 1970 - H. Sol Clark
Bernard Segal
- 1969 - James W. Baker
Honorable Oscar Knuston
- 1968 - Benjamin Boyer
Maynard Toll
- 1967 - Murray Seasongood
Whitney North Seymour
Howard Westwood
- 1966 - John Cummisky
- 1965 - William Gossett
- 1964 - William Avery
Wilas Swan
- 1963 - Francis Allen
Cecil Burney
Eustice Seligman
- 1962 - Herbert Clark
E. Smythe Gambrell
Honorable Raymond Wilkins
- 1961 - Charles Evans Hughes
Orison Marden
William Howard Taft
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Emery A. Brownell Media Award (biennial)
Affords national recognition to newspapers, films, radio, and television stations that have informed the public of the
crucial role played by civil or defender organizations in ensuring equal justice for poor people. This award commemorates Emery Brownell, who began his legal career with the Legal Aid Society of
Rochester, N.Y. in 1925 and served as NLADA's Executive Director from 1940 to 1961.
Past recipients include:
- 2002 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- 2000 - Chicago Tribune
- 1998 - Times of Northwest Indiana
The Lexington, Kentucky Herald-Leader
- 1996 - The New Yorker
- 1994 - City Limits in New York, NY.
- 1992 - The New York Times
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