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City Bar Justice Center Presents Fourth Annual Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Pro Bono Service

by CBJC Staff October 23, 2012

On Monday, October 22nd, the City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar Association, presented the fourth annual Jeremy G. Epstein Awards for Outstanding Pro Bono Service. Honoring volunteer attorneys for exceptional work on Justice Center projects, the awards were presented at a Celebration of Service reception, as part of National Pro Bono Week. This year’s winners are:

Pictured from Left to Right
Russ Bleemer, International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Daphnie Stock, Ernst & Young/Kaplan
Lee J. Potter, Jr., Duane Morris LP
Sheila Tendy, Tendy Law Office LLC
Edmund M. O’Toole, Venable LLP
Ross L. Hirsch, Herrick Feinstein LLP
Marc Montgomery, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Wendy J. Luftig, NYU School of Medicine, Office of Clinical Trials
Michael R. Flynn, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
Christopher M. Desiderio, Nixon Peabody LLP
Jane Hopwood, Hunton & Williams LLP (not pictured)

Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, delivered a keynote address in which he called the evening “a celebration of several wonderful things: the life of Jeremy Epstein in whose memory these awards are named; the awardees and their outstanding pro bono accomplishments; and The City Bar Justice Center, whose vital support provides the resources and expertise to enable this work to be done.” On the topic of pro bono, he said, “A lawyer’ obligation to perform pro bono service dates back to the fifteenth century and certainly should not be subject to debate today. And the moral obligation to do pro bono, and society’s need for such service, should be self evident.”

Jay Holtmeier, City Bar Fund Board Chair, presented the awards. City Bar President Carey R. Dunne provided introductory remarks.

Jeremy G. Epstein, who passed away in 2009, was a partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP and a board member at the City Bar Justice Center, The Legal Aid Society and the Fund for Modern Courts. He logged over 5,000 hours of pro bono and public service over two decades.

The City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar, increases access to justice by leveraging the resources of the New York City legal community. Justice Center projects are focused on three areas: immigrant justice, economic justice and Access to Justice Innovations. The Justice Center also operates the city’s busiest legal hotline and special projects. The Justice Center annually provides direct legal representation, information and advocacy to over 25,000 poor and vulnerable New Yorkers.

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