-: Good afternoon, my name is Elizabeth Ennen.
It is my great honor to serve as the chair
of the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services
or the SJC Pro Bono Committee, as I tend to call it.
I'm extremely pleased to welcome all of you here today
to the 2020 Adams Award ceremony.
And I just would like to extend a special welcome
to our four award recipients, Crispin Birnbaum, Jim Rollins,
Christian Westra and Sue Finegan,
as well as professor Debbie Ramirez,
Justice Barbara Lenk and Justice Kimberly Budd
who has just been nominated by Governor Baker
for the role of chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court.
Congratulations Justice Budd.
Today's Adam's ceremony is different for two reasons.
First it's different because we are gathering together
in the middle of a global pandemic,
a pandemic that prompted us to move this ceremony
from its normal location in the beautiful Adams Courthouse
to the internet.
We are so grateful to all of you
who are joining us today via the livestream.
You are helping us carry on the important tradition
of celebrating both pro bono service
and our special award recipients.
Today's ceremony is also different
because we will be inaugurating a new award,
the Ralph D. Gants Award for Extraordinary Leadership
in Pro Bono Service.
As you all know,
we lost Chief Justice Gants earlier this fall.
Somewhere on the very, very, very long list
of reasons we have to miss the chief
is an entry about his extensive and heartfelt contributions
to the ongoing task of promoting pro bono legal services
in Massachusetts.
Later in the program,
we will hear more about the chief,
the new award named for him
and the exceptionally deserving recipient of this award,
Sue Finegan.
Why is pro bono service so very important?
In a normal year, I would generally say something now
about how legal service organizations have to turn away
the majority of eligible people who seek help.
The pandemic has no doubt
made this situation much, much worse.
The truth is that pro bono legal services are a lifeline
now more than ever for fellow residents of Massachusetts
who are struggling with evictions,
domestic violence, deportation, disability,
and other very serious issue.
The need is so great.
I hope that we will push ourselves as a community
to meet more of it.
With that in mind, I'd like to ask the question,
why are we gathered here today?
Now some of you have heard me say in the past
that the day of the Adams Award ceremony
is one of my favorite days of the year, and it's true.
That's because the event is always genuinely uplifting.
If all we do today is pay tribute to Chief Justice Gants
and to our four outstanding award recipients,
that would be more than reason enough to gather together.
But I know we will do more than that.
I know that hearing about the pro bono service
of our award recipients will inspire many of us to do more
to help individuals who need our support.
That is the not so hidden agenda of this gathering.
My job now is to tell you a little bit about
the SJC Pro Bono Committee, what we do and who we are.
The justices of the SJC created this committee in 1999
and tasked it with promoting pro bono legal services
throughout the Commonwealth.
Since that time, the committee has been chaired
by individuals whose shoes are extremely hard to fill.
Most recently, Sue Finegan and Kathy McGrath.
The committee promotes pro bono legal services
by recognizing and celebrating outstanding service,
which is what we are doing today.
Visiting all of the law schools in Massachusetts
on a rotating basis to encourage law students
to engage in pro bono service,
studying the delivery of pro bono services in Massachusetts
so that we can improve them,
supporting the pro bono efforts
of distinct groups of Massachusetts attorneys,
such as in-house counsel, and beginning this year,
organizing pro bono responses to the pandemic
and promoting racial justice in Massachusetts
through the delivery of pro bono legal services.
The members of the SJC Pro Bono Committee are appointed
by the justices of the SJC for three year terms.
It is a significant time commitment.
And I would like to recognize
and thank our committee members.
Our subcommittee chairs provide countless hours
of leadership for our various projects.
They are Ariel Clemmer, Shaneka Davis,
George Mykulak, Kim Parr,
Patrice Sabach, and Gordon Shaw.
We could not implement any of our projects
without the generous contribution
of our additional committee members,
Marissa Elkins, Felicia Ellsworth, Bill Gabovitch,
Victoria Gautney, Val Ribeiro, and Steve Russo.
Carolyn Goodwin sits ex-officio
on the SJC Pro Bono Committee
due to her role as the director
of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission.
We are very grateful for her considerable knowledge
of pro bono issues and her cheerful
and general willingness to roll up her sleeves
and help with the work of the committee.
Chip Finney is the deputy legal counsel of the SJC
and serves as the liaison between the SJC Pro Bono Committee
and the justices of the SJC.
Chip spends countless hours every week supporting
the work of this committee.
I am extremely grateful for his collegiality and support.
Working with Chip is one of the many reasons
that being associated with the pro bono committee
is a real joy for me.
The SJC Pro Bono Committee is honored
to have Justice Kimberly Budd as a member.
I don't know how she finds the time
to support the committee's work, but she always does.
She even travels with us when we visit
all of the far-flung law schools of the Commonwealth,
we are so grateful for her expertise and her time.
I would also like to take a minute
to recognize Mia Freedman and Meredith Parker.
Mia and Meredith were members of the Massachusetts Access
to Justice Task Force on COVID-19.
They co-chaired the Task Forces Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services.
As part of their task force work,
they spent months organizing, developing
and promoting pro bono projects designed
to address critical pandemic-related legal needs.
I mention them now because they have graciously agreed
to continue their work on these issues.
Now as co-chairs along with Ariel Clemmer
of the SJC Pro Bono Committee's new Sub Committee
on Pandemic Pro Bono.
We are very grateful for their time
and for their leadership.
And I would also like to thank Lee Masterie
who will be working with them on the subcommittee.
It is now my honor to introduce to you Justice Barbara Lenk.
Justice Lenk has served on the SJC since 2011,
when she was appointed to the court
by then governor Deval Patrick.
And as the SJC senior associate justice,
she has shoulder the responsibilities of chief justice
since Chief Justice Gants' passing.
Justice Barbara Lenk.
-: On behalf of the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court,
it's my great pleasure to welcome all of you
to this celebration of pro bono legal services
in the Commonwealth.
I'd like to congratulate each award recipient
and each Pro Bono Honor Roll participant
in your accomplishments.
Thank you so much for your service.
And I have a small request to make, as we all know,
the tremendous disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
have hit hardest those who can least afford it.
As a result, the need for volunteer lawyers
is greater than ever.
And the best way to encourage more attorneys
to engage in pro bono service
is to give them an example to emulate.
So the next time that you assist
as a lawyer for the day program,
provide counsel for a homeless shelter,
or interviewing (indistinct) applicants,
please consider asking one of your colleagues to join you,
even if it's only remotely and to lend a hand,
they will appreciate the opportunity
and you will have recruited one more attorney
for the ranks of pro bono counsel.
I thank you so much.
-: Thank you Justice Lenk, my name is Kim Parr.
The Supreme Judicial Court Pro Bono Honor Roll
was first established a decade ago
at the urging of then Justice, Ralph Gants
soon after he joined the Supreme Judicial Court.
As you'll hear later in the program,
it's one of many initiatives he supported
to recognize and encourage pro bono service.
Initially, the Pro Bono Honor Roll recognized law firms,
solo practitioners, and other legal organizations
who met certain criteria for average hours of pro bono work
in foreign policy supporting pro bono service.
We still recognize those organizations today,
but since then, the Honor Roll has expanded
to include two new categories, first law students,
and for the first time this year, individual attorneys.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic,
we've had an extraordinary response
to the Honor Roll this year.
Nine law firms, solo practitioners
and other legal organizations have qualified
for the Pro Bono Honor Roll for legal organizations.
To obtain this recognition, these organizations certified
that they treat pro bono hours
the same as billable time or its equivalent.
And that in calendar year 2019,
their Massachusetts attorneys provided an average
of 50 hours of pro bono service per attorney,
or that 75% of their attorneys provided
at least 25 pro bono hours each.
More than 125 law students have qualified
for the Pro Bono Honor Roll for law students
by providing at least 50 hours
of law-related pro bono service
over the course of their law school careers.
Altogether, these students have provided
at least 6,250 hours of pro bono service.
In its inaugural year, the Pro Bono Honor Roll
for individual attorneys recognizes more than 550 attorneys.
More than 250 of these attorneys provided at least 50 hours
of pro bono legal services last year to qualify for honors.
More than 300 of these attorneys provided
at least 100 years, 100 years,
100 hours of pro bono legal services last year
to qualify for high honors.
100 years would be another level of achievement I'm sure.
The collective impact of their work is enormous
and exceeds 42,500 hours of pro bono service just in 2019.
Unfortunately, due to the volume
of Pro Bono Honor Roll participants,
we can't recognize each of you individually today,
but we've added your names as new honorees to a webpage
for the Pro Bono Honor Roll.
And you'll see them scrolled on screen
at the end of today's program.
Watch your mail as well because each of you
will receive a certificate in the next several weeks,
recognizing your incredible service.
The Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services
deeply appreciates the pro bono work
that all of you have done and are doing.
We understand because we're lawyers too
and we were once law students how challenging it can be
to make the time for pro bono service
when you're already juggling the demands
of your everyday work and family and other obligations,
and especially in a pandemic.
We're so grateful for your dedication and commitment
and the benefits you provide to your clients
across the Commonwealth.
It's now my great pleasure and honor
to introduce Justice Budd.
And to again, extend our warmest congratulations
for her historic nomination today.
Justice Budd is the court's representative
on the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services
and will present the awards.
-: Good afternoon.
It's so nice to see everyone here today,
well, I guess I can't really see you,
but it's so nice to be here today.
First, it's my pleasure to introduce
our first Adams Award recipient, Crispin Birnbaum.
Attorney Birnbaum has devoted her pro bono work
to addressing inequality within the Criminal Justice System
and the disproportionate impact that the system has had
on communities of color.
Although she retired from public service in 2018
after working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
for 34 years, she never retired
from being a zealous advocate,
committed to improving the lives of others.
She began her career in 1984
as an assistant district attorney
in Middlesex County and later joined
the Massachusetts Attorney General's office,
serving as a criminal and civil litigator for 11 years.
From 2006 to 2013, she was general counsel
at the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services
where she helped to implement due process reforms
to benefit detained and committed youth.
And from 2013 to 2018,
Attorney Birnbaum served as General Counsel
of the Massachusetts Probation Service.
In that role, she reframed the focus
and duties of the legal unit
to better support probation officers
in their support of probationers.
She wrote and trained on policy reforms
and worked to ensure uniform standards
and fair treatment of record holders,
including a process for the Duke independents
who were wrongfully convicted due to falsify lab results.
After retiring in 2018, attorney Birnbaum joined
the Access to Justice Fellows Program,
which engages retired lawyers and judges
to provide pro bono service.
And as an access to justice fellow, she used her expertise,
especially in dealing in criminal records
to benefit her many pro bono clients.
She began volunteering with the Lawyers Clearinghouse
legal clinic for the Homeless Program,
staffing almost all the programs in-person,
free legal clinics in the Boston area homeless shelters,
twice per month.
Those clients present unique challenges
due to their homelessness,
often complicated by chronic medical
and mental health challenges.
Attorney Birnbaum recognized that the existence
of a criminal record was a contributing factor
to homelessness and one of the greatest barriers
affecting many clients' ability
to secure basic rights to employment, housing and benefits.
She quickly became the Lawyers Clearinghouse's
official expert on criminal offender record information,
commonly known by the acronym, CORI.
And trained and mentor 50 pro bono attorneys
as well as direct care staff
at each of the participating shelters.
But why stop there?
Attorney Birnbaum proposed adding standalone CORI clinics
in underserved neighborhoods of Boston.
In January 2019, she began developing several contacts
at the city of Boston and approach them
about co-sponsoring free criminal records,
sealing clinics in their community centers,
rotating to a different neighborhood each clinic.
After several months of writing proposals,
creating presentations,
attending community and city hall meetings,
training and recruiting pro bono attorneys,
making telephone calls and writing emails,
her idea became a reality.
On November 26, 2019, Lawyers Clearinghouse
and attorney Birnbaum piloted their first standalone
free CORI clinics and have never stopped.
Undaunted by a pandemic, she quickly re-designed
the in-person clinics to become virtual clinics.
Attorney Birnbaum and the 95 pro bono attorneys
that she trained and supervises continue
to conduct weekly clinics that helped numerous clients seal
or expunge their records.
Attorney Birnbaum also helped Lawyers Clearinghouse
formulate written testimony
in support of emergency CORI regulations
by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services
during the pandemic and has volunteered
over 300 hours of legal services work
to Lawyers Clearinghouse.
Lawyers Clearinghouse was not
the only organization benefiting
from attorney Birnbaum's pro bono commitment.
Since November 2018, attorney Birnbaum
has also volunteered 130 hours with Veterans Legal Services
at weekly clinics at the New England Center
and Home for Veterans in Austin and a monthly legal clinic
at the Veterans Administration Healthcare Center in Bedford.
She also helped the Harvard Law School Legal Services Center
add a monthly CORI clinic that she also helped staff.
And she has provided training programs
to dozens of other shelters, youth programs,
community organizations, government services,
and law schools.
All told as of this past August,
she had conducted 82 trainings
on criminal records correction, sealing,
and expungement for more than 1600 people.
What an extraordinary impact?
Margaret Mead said to never doubt
that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Attorney Birnbaum is one such citizen.
On behalf of the SJC Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services,
I would like to thank attorney Birnbaum
for her extraordinary service and congratulate her
on being one of our 2020 Adams Award recipients.
-: Good afternoon, everyone.
And thank you so much for that introduction,
Chief Justice Budd and congratulations to you.
What a wonderful honor to be introduced by you.
I'm honored to be here in the company
of the other Adams Award winners and past winners.
Thank you for nominating and selecting me.
This is one of the most meaningful moments in my career.
It is slightly ironic though,
for me to receive anything from the SJC.
When I was in the Attorney General's office,
I tried to give away my only ever SJC oral argument.
I left my brief with my supervisor and I said,
you do the oral argument, I am way too nervous.
He ended up giving the folder back to me.
Two years ago, Veterans Legal Services
and Lawyers Clearinghouse graciously brought me in
to do criminal records review,
sealing and expungement work with their clients.
They also let me train
and mentor their pro bono attorneys doing this work.
One year ago, Lawyers Clearinghouse agreed to join me
in building from the ground up
a new criminal records clinic,
expanding free legal services in this field.
We've been going strong ever since.
In fact, we have a clinic tomorrow.
(laughs)
I would like to share now with you
if you would let me a few influences,
which have led me to devote my fellowship
to criminal records work.
From a very young age, my father instilled
in me democratic ideals and that's with a small d.
He is no doubt responsible for my having chosen
a public sector legal career.
As a law student, I volunteered for two years
at a storefront legal aid office in downtown Detroit.
I represented and heard the stories of people
whose backgrounds and faces were different from mine.
We were attorneys, attorneys, of last resort
whose benefits were cut off, excuse me.
We were attorneys of last resort for people
whose benefits were cut off, who faced disabilities,
domestic violence and other dire circumstances.
And from that experience, I saw people left
to live their lives with almost nothing.
As a young nervous ADA in a Middlesex County
superior courtroom, I stood and turned
to face the incoming jury pool.
The defendant, however, tried to catch my eye.
He was a tall, intelligent,
24-year-old charged with armed robbery.
I mention that he was black
because he silently mouthed just to me, jury of my peers?
We were about to impanel a typically monochromatic
Middlesex jury in an identification case
in 1986 with a photo array,
having been shown to white witnesses
in a town that was 93% Caucasian.
I found it hard to breathe.
As general counsel at the Massachusetts Department
of Youth Services, I often visited our locked units
and I was shocked to match the serious charges
with the young faces of who our system was depriving
of family, community, and regular school
for long, long periods of time.
This was my first work inside of an offender serving agency.
And the monochromatic factor here was the residence.
As general counsel for the Massachusetts Probation Service,
my second offender serving agency,
I gained an insider's view of the Keri system,
which begins a Massachusetts criminal record for someone.
Each of my four jobs for the Commonwealth gave me insight
into what it means to return to
and navigate our community with a criminal record.
I now have done more than 100
free criminal records trainings across the Commonwealth,
because the more knowledge people have,
the more people they will refer for help.
Many people have told me that they've never before
been offered a criminal records training.
In the clinics, the client stories are often heartbreaking.
Our record system produces a report
of criminal case activity, not a record of convictions,
employers and landlords can see pending,
pending criminal cases despite our presumption of innocence.
Some entities can access non convictions
such as a dismissal or a not guilty.
Some entities can obtain a record with no time limitations.
That means that a criminal charge
from 40 years ago can be held against an applicant.
We punish people twice,
once in the criminal justice system and long after.
Our criminal record system causes hardship
for anyone with a record.
But for people of color,
the impact is deeply disproportionate.
Chief Justice Gants, who left us in mid-stride
and way before we were ready to say goodbye,
commissioned a Harvard Law School study
on racial disparities
in the Massachusetts Criminal Justice System.
Published in September of 2020, data showed
for complex reasons of discrimination and prejudice
that our system is unfair.
More reforms are needed
to take better care of our neighbors.
I tip my hat to those who are doing criminal records work
before me.
Hopefully the SJC's recognition today will shed more light
on the need for criminal records work
and the restoration It provides individuals
and their families.
There is much more to a human being
than what is on their record.
I hope to contribute as long as it is needed.
It is life affirming.
It gives back much more than I put in.
I'm very fortunate though to be doing this work
in this place and time.
Thank you so much for your support.
Thank you for this early birthday present.
And my father would have gotten
a real kick out of this event
and I share this award with him.
-: Our next award will go to James Rollins.
As one of his partners at Nelson Mullins observed,
attorney Jim Rollins believes in a notion of justice
that lives up to all those ideals
that first attracted us to the law.
His three decade career exemplifies extraordinary dedication
to pro bono service, particularly
to the cause of prisoner's rights.
Attorney Rollins is the former chair
of Nelson Mullins Pro Bono Committee,
director of the Prisoners Legal Services of Massachusetts
and a member of the Advisory Board
of Lawyers Without Borders.
We honor attorney Rollins today for all of his service,
but we are especially inspired and moved
by his work on the case of Walter Ogrod.
Walter Ogrod is an innocent man who walked away
from a Pennsylvania prison this past June,
after more than 23 years on death row
as a direct result of attorney Rollins' tireless efforts
over the last 16 years and across three different firms.
Mr. Ogrod's case was problematic from the start,
the highly publicized murder of four-year-old girl
in North Philadelphia in 1988 was unsolved
for a number of years until Mr. Ogrod
who had no criminal record was arrested in 1992
after detectives coerced a false confession,
he was tried twice.
In 1992, he was one juror away from being acquitted
but the judge declared a mistrial.
The second time in 1996,
based on the testimony of a jailhouse informant,
Mr. Ogrod was convicted and sentenced to death.
In 2005, as appeals were exhausted, attorney Rollins,
who was then at the Boston office of Bingham McCutchen,
volunteered with a team of lawyers
to seek post-conviction relief.
That effort included a massive re-investigation,
witness interviews, expert analysis,
and countless other tasks.
Along the way, attorney Rollins also made many trips
to visit Mr. Ogrod at his places of confinement
in Western Pennsylvania and then near Philadelphia.
Attorney Rollins remained deeply involved
as a leader of the post-conviction team,
even after he left Bingham for another firm.
And then again, when he joined Nelson Mullins in 2009.
Indeed, attorney Rollins was the only attorney
who remained on Mr. Ogrod's case the entire time
from 2005 until Mr. Ogrod's release in June of 2020.
While attorney Rollins' commitment
to Mr. Ogrod was unfaltering,
there were many more downs than ups along the way.
We (indistinct) promises of DNA testing,
murder of the informant who testified against Mr. Ogrod,
denial of discovery, judicial pushback,
and countless delays.
The case took a turn for the better
when it became widely publicized.
In 2018, author Thomas Lowenstein published his book,
The Trials of Walter Ogrod.
And later that same year,
CNN devoted a segment of its series,
Death Row Stories to the case.
Dealing with the media and managing the case narrative
became a crucial task handled primarily by attorney Rollins.
Mr. Ogrod's case eventually caught the attention
of the Conviction Integrity Unit
in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.
Attorney Rollins and his colleagues worked
with the Conviction Integrity Unit
on the case for two years.
In January, 2020, the Conviction Integrity Unit
filed a brief in the post-conviction relief proceedings,
advising that after a thorough review
involving witness interviews,
fresh expert analysis and other work,
Mr. Ogrod was likely innocent of the murder
and sexual assault for which he had been condemned.
But the final months were not easy.
The judge refused to hold a hearing
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And then, Mr. Ogrod likely became infected
with COVID in prison.
Finally on June 5th, 2020, after listening
to the Conviction Integrity Unit apologize to the court,
the victim's family, and to Mr. Ogrod
for the wrongful conviction,
the judge vacated Mr. Ogrod's conviction
and death sentence based on prosecutorial misconduct
and newly discovered evidence.
In addition, the victim's mother filed
a friend of the court brief with the court
expressing her belief in Mr. Ogrod's innocence
and urging his release.
Absent attorney Rollins' nearly 15 years
of total dedication to his case,
it is unlikely that Mr. Ogrod would be a free man today.
Even after Mr. Ogrod's release,
attorney Rollins has remained a constant in his life,
helping him acclimate after 28 years in prison.
To quote one of his nominators for this award,
Jim's diligence, perseverance and leadership
on the Walter Ogrod matter are in keeping
with the highest traditions of the SJC
and the Massachusetts Bar.
John Adams would be proud of Jim's efforts, and so are we.
On behalf of the Standing Committee,
the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services,
I would like to thank attorney Rollins
for his extraordinary service and to congratulate him
on being one of our 2020 Adams Award recipients.
-: Thank you, Justice Budd.
And thank you to the Supreme Judicial Court staff
and the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services.
I also would like to congratulate all the fellow honorees.
We are in a very privileged position as attorneys
and can make an immeasurable difference
to those who cannot afford
or otherwise access legal services,
but have a very real need.
Walter Ogrod is one of those people.
Mr. Ogrod lives in Philadelphia.
On April five, 1992,
he responded to a seemingly routine request
by Philadelphia Homicide Detectives
to come down to the station to answer some questions
related to a cold case from his old neighborhood.
Mr. Ogrod did not emerge from custody for over 28 years.
By that time he had spent over half his life
in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Mr. Ogrod's first trial in 1993 ended an amidst trial
after the jury could not reach a verdict.
11 to one in favor of acquittal, Mr. Ogrod had testified.
Mr. Ogrod was convicted and sentenced to death
at a second trial on October, 1996
for the murder of four-year-old Barbara Jean Horn.
On June five, 2020, Mr. Ogrod was released from death row.
The exoneration followed the nearly 16-year representation
of Mr. Ogrod by our council team,
which ultimately led to a reinvestigation of the case
by the Conviction Integrity Unit
of the Philadelphia DA's office.
The over 30-year history of the Horn murder investigation
and wrongful prosecution, conviction
and incarceration of Mr. Ogrod
is replete with a coerced and false confession orchestrated
by detectives now known to have extracted false confessions
from multiple defendants, testimony of notorious snitches
who concocted stories for favorable treatment
and the repeated failure of the DA's office
to provide defense counsel exculpatory information.
After exhausting direct appeals,
a team of lawyers from the Federal Defender's Office
in Philadelphia and pro bono attorneys
from my former firm, Bingham McCutchen,
brought a state law post-conviction relief act petition.
After litigating in the Philadelphia Court
of Common Pleas for 13 years, while simultaneously,
exhaustedly reinvestigating Mr. Ogrod's case,
our team convinced the Philadelphia County DA's office
Conviction Integrity Unit to review the case.
The CIU turned over the prosecution's file,
tens of thousands of pages most of which we had never seen.
Two years later in February, 2020, the CIU asked
that Mr. Ogrod's conviction be vacated.
In part the CIU stated at trial Ogrod found himself adrift
in a perfect storm of unreliable scientific evidence,
prosecutorial misconduct, Brady violations,
and false testimony.
On June five, 2020, released Mr. Ogrod on bond
and subsequently dismissed the case.
At the hearing, the CIU apologized,
I am sorry it took 28 years for us to listen
to what Barbara Jean was trying to tell us
that you are innocent.
That the words on that statement
came from detectives and not you,
and that we not only stole 28 years of your life,
but that we threatened to execute you based on falsehoods.
One would like to believe that Mr. Ogrod's case
is extraordinary, but it is not.
What is different about it is that he had a team
of attorneys working at no cost to him
for over 15 years to right or wrong.
If only he had had those resources before he was convicted.
The National Registry of Exonerations
has tracked exonerations since 1989.
In that time, it has identified 2,683 exonerations,
including 169 from death row.
Mr. Ogrod was deserving of his counsel
but he was also lucky.
Fellow inmates advocated for him telling him,
telling anyone who would listen that Walter was innocent.
He also caught the attention of (indistinct), a journalist,
Tom Lowenstein wrote about Mr. Ogrod's case.
It was Mr. Lowenstein's journalism
that drew the attention to the ABA Death Penalty Project
and the placement of his case
with my former firm, Bingham McCutchen.
I joined Nelson as time passed, case developed,
counsel on the team moved to new firms.
I joined Nelson Mullins over a decade ago,
others on the team moved to Morgan Lewis.
Throughout the representation, what did not change
was our firm's commitment to pro bono representation
of a client in need.
Not every case requires this devotion of resources,
but there are numerous deserving individuals
who would benefit immeasurably from pro bono counsel
if we will take the time to listen to them.
I'd like to thank Mr. Ogrod's entire council team,
we all contributed to his release.
Over the representation, there were dozens of attorneys
and other professionals from Nelson Mullins,
Morgan Lewis, WolfBlock, Bingham McCutchen,
and of course the Philadelphia Federal Defenders
who contributed to the case.
I will not name all of them here
but I do wanna thank particularly Sam Angel,
Tracy Alstyne and Lauren Stewart
from the Federal Defender's office in Philadelphia,
Andrew Gala, Bob McDonald, Tracy Kirk, and Mary Christiansen
from Morgan Lewis, formerly Bingham,
and also Joe Thornton, Bob Duran and Marshall White,
who re-investigated the case.
We have a duty as a society to those in our care
that includes those in the Criminal Justice System,
as well as the victims of crime.
Mr. Ogrod's case is one example
of how we can collectively right a wrong.
In closing I would like to thank my mentors
who have supported me in this kind of work.
In particular, over 30 years ago, I had met,
and worked with an attorney, Steve Rosenfield.
I'm breaking up a little because Steve for almost 50 years
has devoted half of his practice
to representing prisoners on death row for free.
And the other half of his practice,
he tries to pay for the free part of his practice.
Steve remains as an example to me in my practice though,
mine is far less generous.
I also wanna thank my family, Cynthia and Hannah
for sharing me with Mr. Ogrod and my other clients.
They're very tolerant.
Hannah who's grown up with Mr. Ograd case
when she was five years old, she started asking me
what I had done that day for the man in the cage.
(indistinct) some of the best unfiltered light on us.
Thank you.
-: Over the years, many of our Adams Award recipients
have been litigators who fought for the rights
of their pro bono clients in the courtroom.
Our final Adams Award recipient today,
Christian J. Westra is a little different.
A partner at Ropes and Gray
who works in the firm's private equity transactions group,
attorney Westra offers a wonderful example
of how business lawyers can also be pro bono leaders
by volunteering their expertise and transactional skills
to serve people in organizations
who could never otherwise afford legal counsel.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck,
many nonprofits and small businesses
faced unprecedented financial challenges.
To address this issue in the greater Boston area,
attorney Westra launched the COVID Relief Coalition,
a private and public sector partnership
that is helping thousands of vulnerable non-profits
and small businesses access emergency loans,
and other sources of relief.
The coalition, which has served as a model
for similar relief organizations
in other parts of the country
has taken on more than 235 pro bono representations
and 65% of Ropes and Grays' pro bono representations
through the coalition have been for organizations led
by women or people of color.
Attorney Westra was instrumental
in bringing together various partners for this initiative.
The coalition includes law firms,
nonprofits and government agencies, and is co-led
by the Ropes and Grays' longstanding pro bono partners,
Lawyers for Civil Rights and Lawyers Clearinghouse.
In addition, attorney Westra worked with the United Way
to organize a webinar early in the pandemic
that was attended by more than 250 participants
from the region's nonprofit community.
The presentation outlined key issues affecting
the region's nonprofits and small businesses
and identified emergency relief resources available to them.
A key pandemic-related resource
for nonprofits and small businesses
has been the small business administration's
Paycheck Protection Program known as the PPP program,
which provides fully forgivable loans
to small businesses and nonprofits.
But the PPP loan application process
and the general economic recovery plan put forth
by the U.S. Congress have been notoriously difficult
to understand.
To help small businesses and nonprofits
navigate this terrain, attorney Westra provided
the leadership required to launch a comprehensive website
that supports the coalition's mission
by enabling small businesses and nonprofits
to learn about sources of relief
and obtain real-time updates on application procedures.
The coalition's website has had
more than 12,500 unique visitors.
The centers can also use the coalition's website
to obtain pro bono legal support.
In addition, the COVID Relief Coalition
has provided individualized guidance
for nonprofits and small businesses.
The coalition helps organizations
identify sources of relief relevant
to their specific circumstances
and advises on critical issues,
such as reopening challenges, rent abatement,
and unemployment coverage for individuals.
Significantly, the COVID Relief Coalition
has provided much needed assistance
to many businesses owned by people of color
across the region.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had
a disproportionately negative impact
on minority-owned small businesses and nonprofits.
The Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights
recognized attorney Westra
and the coalition earlier this year
for providing critical resources and services
to minority-owned and women-owned
small businesses during the pandemic.
Attorney Westra is deeply committed to public service.
In addition to providing leadership
for the COVID Relief Coalition, he has helped
to lead Ropes and Grays pan mass challenge team.
He's also a member of the board of directors
of the Norman B Leventhal Map Center
at the Boston Public Library and a member
of the Community Impact Committee of the United Way
of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.
The nominator for attorney Westra notes that he is,
"A leader in his personal, professional and civic life."
We are pleased to honor him for his outstanding commitment
to public service and pro bono legal services.
And we thank you for working so tirelessly
during the pandemic to build the COVID Relief Coalition,
a new organization that serves as a national model
of how to connect vulnerable organizations
to the key legal and financial resources
that they need during these difficult days.
On behalf of the SJC Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services,
I would like to thank attorney Westra
for his extraordinary service and congratulate him
on being one of our 2020 Adam's Award recipients.
-: Thank you very much Justice Budd.
And congratulations on your nomination
as chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court.
It's a great honor to be here today
as a recipient of an Adam's Pro Bono Publico Award
and to be in such a Gus company.
I'd like to congratulate the other Adams Award recipients,
Crispin and Jim as well as Sue Finegan
who will be receiving this year's inaugural
Ralph D. Gants Award.
I would also like to thank the Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services for this recognition.
As someone with a keen interest in history,
it's particularly humbling to receive an award named
for John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
My father-in-law who is British wondered
if the first Pro Bono Publico Award
had been given to John Adams for his defense
of the British following the Boston massacre.
Do I have to assume that is not the case.
When the world was turning upside down in March
as it was becoming increasingly clear
that things would not be going back to normal anytime soon,
like many people, I wanted to do something to help.
Living in Boston with my wife, Sophie
and our two sons, Jack and George,
it was deeply distressing to me
to see so many boarded up businesses in our neighborhood
and realized how many in our community
were suffering greatly not only
from the public health crisis,
but from the economic devastation resulting from it.
I also have the privilege of serving
as a member of the board of directors of the United Way
and recognize the uncertain future faced by many
of the nonprofits that serve our most vulnerable neighbors.
Working with colleagues at Ropes and Gray,
including my partner, Jenny Rikoski
who co-chairs the firm's pro bono committee and Roz Nasdor,
our director of pro bono legal services,
I started reaching out to other organizations
in the city of Austin to see how we could partner
to help small businesses and nonprofits.
Before long, we had launched the COVID Relief Coalition,
a coalition of law firms, nonprofits,
and governmental agencies,
joining forces to help small businesses and non-profits
in the greater Boston area access emergency loans
and other sources of relief.
Among our more than 25 partners are the Commonwealth,
the city of Boston, the United Way
and the Boston foundation.
In short, order we developed a website,
covidreliefcoalition.com synthesize in one place
all of the various evolving sources of economic relief
available to small businesses nonprofits.
We provided a simple way for people to get pro bono help
at the click of a button on our website
and work closely in coordination with our longtime partners,
Lawyers for Civil Rights and Lawyers Clearinghouse
to roll out a seamless referral system.
Before long, we had hundreds of small businesses
and nonprofits reaching out and looking for help.
Today Ropes and Gray has taken
over 235 pro bono representations
through the COVID Relief Coalition.
We are particularly proud that, as Justice Budd noted,
approximately 65% of the pro bono representations
Ropes and Gray has taken through the coalition have been
for organizations led by women or people of color.
In total, Ropes' lawyers have spent over 2,650 hours
on COVID related matters.
We've helped organizations ranging from restaurants
to yoga studios, daycare centers to antique stores,
contractors to pet shops,
local schools to recreational centers,
navigate the ins and outs of the Paycheck Protection Program
and other sources of funding.
we've advised countless pro bono clients on how to seek
and successfully negotiate rent abatement arrangements
with their landlords.
We've also advised many clients on reopening considerations,
including how to protect themselves
from potential COVID-related liability.
Our clients are hardworking people who epitomise
the values of entrepreneurs and innovation
that we celebrate as a society in America.
But in many cases,
they're seeing their lives were in jeopardy.
The public health toll, the pandemic has been tragic,
but the economic toll is also devastating.
It is often being born by the members of our community
who are the most vulnerable.
Ropes and Gray is honored to play a part
in providing help to those who need it most.
I'm extremely grateful to the firm
for all the support I've received.
And I'm also incredibly grateful
to my colleagues for their support.
Our associates in particular have done
a truly outstanding job counseling
and providing actual advice that has directly help
the lives of hundreds of people and their families.
At a time of incredible fractiousness
and atomization within our society,
it's deeply gratifying to be a part of a shared enterprise
that has given so many people
such a shared sense of purpose and hope.
In closing, I would like to thank the Supreme Judicial Court
for this truly humbling recognition
which is more than anything,
a recognition of the great work done
by the hundreds of lawyers at Ropes and Gray and elsewhere
who've made the COVID Relief Coalition such a success.
Thank you very much.
-: I wanna, again, just congratulate
and thank our 2020 Adams Award recipients.
I'm sure you'll agree that each
are well-deserving of the committee's recognition.
And before turning to our last award named
in honor of our late Chief Justice, Ralph Gants,
I wanna just take a moment to speak about the chief
and his devotion to supporting pro bono legal services.
Since his sudden passing in September,
Chief Justice Gants has been celebrated
for his many wonderful attributes,
his brilliance, his boundless energy and enthusiasm,
his gregarious good nature, his endless curiosity,
and perhaps most of all, his empathy.
Though he sat at the pinnacle of the court system,
he knew what it could look like from the outside
for a person who cannot afford an attorney.
He understood what it feels like to be facing
a life-changing litigation involving your home, your family,
or your finances without a lawyer to guide you.
And that is why he was so committed to encouraging lawyers
and law students to volunteer their services
to assist those who cannot afford an attorney
for their essential legal needs.
In addition to co-chairing the Access to Justice Commission
for most of the last decade,
he served as the courts representative
on the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services
from 2011 until 2014 when he was appointed chief justice.
And the list of pro bono initiatives
in which he was involved is long.
In 2010 and 2011, he led the creation
of the SJC Pro Bono Honor Roll that you heard about
and helped to draft standards.
And I know that if he were here today,
he would be so proud of all of you
that qualified for a spot on that Honor Roll.
In 2011, as co-chair of the Access to Justice Commission,
he spearheaded a major event to encourage pro bono service
by in-house corporate counsel.
And later he helped draft an amendment
to the Supreme Judicial Court rules
to enable in-house corporate counsel,
admitted to practice in another jurisdiction
to provide pro bono services in Massachusetts.
In 2012, he supported the launch
of the Access to Justice Fellows Program,
which recruits retired lawyers and judges
to provide a year of pro bono service
to nonprofit organizations, courts,
and other public service entities.
And he enthusiastically reached out
to his retired colleagues and friends
to encourage them to participate.
In 2014, he convened a committee of bar leaders,
legal services lawyers, and appellate judges and clerks
to consider establishing an appellate pro bono clinic,
which eventually resulted in the creation
of the Civil Appeals Pro Bono Clinic.
And even after he stepped down from the pro bono committee
due to his responsibilities as chief justice,
he remained deeply invested in supporting pro bono work.
He continued to encourage members of the pro bono committee
to pursue new initiatives such as
the new Pro Bono Honor Roll for individual attorneys.
Each year he spoke at numerous events
to inspire and encourage lawyers
to volunteer their service to people in need.
And this year, especially, he was involved
in major efforts to recruit attorneys
to provide pro bono assistance
for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,
especially those facing eviction
due to unemployment caused by the pandemic.
As a member of the National Conference of Chief Justices
and of its Access and Fairness Committee,
Chief Justice Gants played a leading role
in pushing for the adoption and implementation
of 100% access to effective assistance
for essential civil legal needs
as a crucial goal for our legal system.
Although he was realistic about many of the barriers
that must be overcome to reach that goal,
he was tireless in pursuing it.
And he believed that while volunteer lawyers alone
cannot solve the problem of inadequate access
to legal assistance, they're a critical part
of the solution.
We no longer have Chief Justice Gants
to lead us in the struggle to improve access to justice,
but we can each in our own way continue his work.
Your continuing commitment to pro bono service
is one of the greatest ways that you can honor his legacy.
There's a beautiful poem by Maya Angelou
called When Great Trees Fall that powerfully describes
the tremendous sense of loss
that strikes us when great souls die.
Our reality bound to them takes leave of us,
our souls dependent upon their nurture now shrink, wizened.
Our minds formed and informed by their radiance fall away.
But at the end, the poem also points out a path
toward recovery from grief as we gain inspiration
to go forward from the example of those great souls.
The poem tells us that after a period piece blooms
and our senses restored never to be the same whisper to us,
they existed, they existed.
We can be, be and be better for they existed.
Let us all commit ourselves to be better
in honor of the chief and to carry on his mission
to improve access to justice.
And now I would like to invite Chief Justice Gants' wife,
professor Deborah Ramirez
of the Northeastern University School of Law
to share a few words with us about her husband.
-: Good afternoon everyone.
Thank you for allowing me to be part of this presentation.
This was something that Ralph looked forward to every year
because he knew how important
the work of individual lawyers was to creating a rich
and vibrant legal community here in Boston
and to addressing the needs of those who were unrepresented,
those who could not afford a lawyer, but needed one.
If he were here, he would be so moved
and so proud of the work done by this year's recipients.
And he would focus in this moment on their work
and on the awards that were given today.
He thought this ceremony was critical and important
because it honored the people who had spent
so many hours representing the indigent,
representing the marginalized,
representing the disenfranchised.
So I want to begin with the special award
that's about to be given to Sue Finegan.
Sue, if he were here, he would say,
you have been the heart and soul
of the Access to Justice initiatives and commission.
I have a story to tell about Ralph
and how much he valued Sue's access to justice assistance.
I went to ask him for advice
because I was starting a criminal justice task force
to focus on the criminal justice issues
that he had been addressing on the civil side.
And I said, I needed to know how he made
the Access to Justice Commission work, what was the secret?
And of course he said, the secret is Sue Finegan.
He said it works like this.
She makes suggestions about what we need to do.
And I say, that sounds great, Sue, why don't you do that?
And she does.
And he knew that she spent nearly 20 hours a week,
every week running the Access to Justice Commission.
And here's Sue secret about how she made it work.
She worked hard every day to implement a broad
and bold strategy for Access to Justice.
She never asked for credit or recognition,
whether Ralph called her on Saturday,
Sunday or Monday morning, she took the call
and cheerfully agreed to do whatever needed to be done.
I asked Ralph, how do I find a Sue Finegan?
And he said, oh, you're not gonna like the answer.
He said, there's only one Sue Finegan.
And finding her was like finding a rare treasure.
There is no other Sue Finegan.
This was sad news for me.
And so when Sue was nominated for a pro bono award,
the committee looked at her incredible contributions
in Access to Justice and basically decided,
we need a whole nother special award
for her because she's truly extraordinary.
If Ralph were here, he would be beaming with pride.
He would be so happy to see Sue recognized
for the truly singular and extraordinary work she has done
to improve access to justice in the Commonwealth.
(speaks in foreign language) Sue.
If Ralph were here, this is what he would say
to the 2020 award recipients.
Your work has been critical to the Commonwealth.
The work that you do with those
who have no one else to turn to, it matters.
And he was, and would be so grateful to you
for the extraordinary contributions
that we have learned about today.
Attorney Birnbaum, your work helping those
who have come out of prison or jail
is critical to our commitment
to developing in the Commonwealth,
a vibrant re-entry network.
Everybody deserves a second chance.
And Ralph was very proud that the legislature last August
created a statewide state funded re-entry network
for every person coming out of prison or jail,
regardless of their parole or probation status.
And that re-entry network is through
the Offices of Community Corrections.
And he was working with them on how to develop
the full strength of this statewide re-entry network,
which would include some of the work that you're doing
in helping people seal their records.
Attorney Rollins, your work with prisoners
and the Ograd case brought me to tears.
It makes all of us proud
to be part of the Boston legal community.
You represent what is best in all of us.
How did you find the courage and resilience
to soldier on for all those years?
Your work is a testament to your devotion to justice.
Thank you for it.
Attorney Westra and Ropes and Gray during a pandemic,
your work in creating a coalition
to support our region's nonprofits and small businesses,
so it was all of us, how one attorney
and one law firm can lead in a crisis.
You saw a gap and a problem, and you chose not to turn away.
You decided to address it.
You have done so, and this work is critical
to preserving our rich non-profit
and small business communities.
Finally, they say that the strength of any community
is not in how it treats its advantaged and its wealthy.
The strength of a community
is in how it treats those who are marginalized,
those who are disenfranchised and those who do not have
the resources they need to raise their voices.
All of you have shown that your work focuses
on the needs of those people.
You inspire us to follow in your footsteps.
Congratulations to all of you.
Thank you for your extraordinary and amazing work.
-: Soon after Chief Justice Gants passed away,
the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services
decided with the enthusiastic support
of the Supreme Judicial Court
to issue a new award named in his honor,
the Ralph D. Gants Award for Extraordinary Leadership
in Pro Bono Services.
And there could be no more appropriate
and deserving recipient of this award
than attorney Sue Finegan,
who worked so closely with Chief Justice Gants
to increase pro bono engagement
and to improve access to justice while she served first,
as the chair of the committee on pro bono legal services,
and then as his co-chair
at the Access to Justice Commission.
Their partnership began when Chief Justice Gants
as the new co-chair of the Access to Justice Commission,
asked attorney Finegan for her assistance
and encouraging pro bono service by the private bar.
The collaboration led to many of the initiatives
that I had described earlier,
such as the Pro Bono Honor Roll
and the Civil Appeals Pro Bono Clinic.
One of their projects,
the Access to Justice Fellows Program,
deserves particular mention.
Attorney Finegan had been talking with her men's colleague,
Martha Coster about how they might engage the talents
and expertise of senior lawyers
and retired judges for pro bono service to the community.
They developed a plan and shared it
with the Chief Justice Gants
who enthusiastically supported it and agreed to sponsor it
as a program of the Access to Justice Commission.
Later, they engaged the support
of the Lawyers Clearinghouse to administer the program.
Since its launch in 2012,
the Access to Justice Program has supported 139 fellows
who have provided over 110,000 hours of pro bono service
to more than 80 different legal services organizations
and other nonprofit and court entities.
You've already heard today about how much one access
to justice fellow Christian Birnbaum has accomplished.
Now imagine the impact of 138 more fellows like her.
Just yesterday, attorney Finegan spoke at a kickoff event,
welcoming 14 new Access to Justice fellows.
And beyond that, the program has now become a national model
for similar programs in other States.
The Access to Justice Fellows Program
is but one example of the many pro bono
and access to justice initiatives
in which attorney Finegan has successfully inspired
and encourage others to join in a collective enterprise
that like the impact of a pebble dropped in a pond
ripples outward to engage and help more and more people.
Another example is the Civil Legal Aid to victims of crime.
Attorney Finegan collaborated with the Massachusetts Office
of Victim Assistance to channel federal funding
from the victims of crime act
to support legal services attorneys
who worked directly with crime victims
under a program that is administered
by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
and the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation.
Since fiscal year 2018,
the program has provided more than $18 million to fund
as many as three dozen legal services attorneys
who assist crime victims with their civil legal needs.
And yet another example
is the Access to Justice Commissions COVID-19 Task Force
which attorney Finegan formed and chaired in the spring
to bring together representatives from the courts,
legal services, social services, bar associations
and law schools to develop coordinated responses
to the many access to justice challenges presented
by the pandemic.
Among other activities,
the task force worked with court leaders
to address new barriers faced by self-represented litigants
as the courts moved their proceedings online,
it promoted development and distribution of information
to social service advocates and self-represented litigants
on pandemic-related law and legal procedures
and developed and launched the COVID-19 Pro Bono Portal,
a collaborative tool connecting attorneys and law students
to pandemic-related pro bono opportunities
that serve low income residents.
Attorney Finegan's extraordinary record of accomplishments
such as these is all the more remarkable
because she has done it while simultaneously overseeing
approximately 300 pro bono cases annually
amidst as the chair of its pro bono committee
and personally serving as lead counsel
on many high profile pro bono matters.
Among other cases,
she has achieved a groundbreaking victory
for detained immigrants and a federal class action suit
that held the government's bond hearings
to be unconstitutional.
She successfully argued before the Supreme Judicial Court
for a civil right to counsel for individual parents
in certain guardianship matters.
She co-authored an Amicus brief
in support of transgender rights
for the United States Supreme Court.
And one of the cases consolidated
as Bostock versus Clayton County,
which held that title seven of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
protects employees against discrimination
because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
And she's represented numerous asylum (indistinct)
and victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
The commitment and care that attorney Finegan brings
to these cases is evidenced in a letter
from one of her clients whom she saved from deportation.
The client writes, from the moment we talked,
Sue showed great care for my well-being.
She is patient, she is generous with her personal time,
she treats me with dignity and respect,
she made me feel safe, protected, and valued,
she visited me in jail, cried with me, brought me my things,
comforted me to the best of her ability.
She cared for me like I was a member of her family,
not just a client.
Her motivation is driven by love,
kindness and equality for all.
I would not be here today to write this letter
if it were not for her.
She has given me another chance to be with my family
in my country that I call home.
How can one person do so much?
People often ask the same question
about Chief Justice Gants.
And the answer is the same in this case as well.
Like Chief Justice Gants, attorney Finegan seems
to possess an inexhaustible energy
that is fueled by her intense desire to right every wrong.
Like him, she is a prodigious multi-tasker
with an uncanny ability to keep track
of an endless number of details on countless projects.
But also like Chief Justice Gants,
attorney Finegan would be the first to tell you
that she has been able to accomplish so much
because she has been helped by so many other people.
And it is here that we find their most
significant commentary.
Like Chief Justice Gants, attorney Finegan inspires others
through the depth of their own caring and commitment
to join her and give their utmost
to help others who are less fortunate.
And so it is with great appreciation
for a career filled with amazing achievements
that the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services is pleased
to bestow the inaugural Ralph D. Gants Award
for Extraordinary Leadership in Pro Bono Service
on attorney Sue Finegan.
-: Good evening, everyone.
Thank you so much, Debbie, for your incredibly moving words.
And thank you, Justice Budd,
for that wonderful introduction.
Receiving an award at the Adams Award ceremony
is the most meaningful pro bono honor
any Massachusetts attorney can achieve.
But to receive the inaugural Ralph D. Gants Award
for Extraordinary Leadership in Pro Bono
is truly overwhelming and is so bittersweet.
Is a special honor
for me to receive this award from you, Justice Budd.
Some of you may know we started our careers together
as litigation associates at Mintz Levin many decades ago
and have remained friends ever since.
And what an honor to celebrate the chief's namesake award
with you on the day of your nomination
to fill the chief's seat.
News about which he would be extremely pleased.
He's smiling on us both.
It is also particularly fitting
because it was at Justice Budd's swearing in ceremony
to the Superior Court in June, 2010,
where the chief first approached me
to give me his thoughts on pro bono,
as he had just become the co-chair
of the Access to Justice Commission.
The lengthy memo that I produced
as a followup began our decade together
as partners in access to justice.
I have attended this award ceremony for the last 10 years,
privileged to be seated by the chief's side.
And as Debbie mentioned,
he loved this ceremony so much because to him,
it was so inspirational for all of us to hear
what lawyers can accomplish through pro bono work.
And so I thought I'd spend a few few minutes with you today
to share some insights as to why I do this work.
To answer this question, I will speak of three Cs,
clients, community and commitment.
First and foremost, I do this work
because of the incredible courage of my clients.
My typical client has experienced
some sort of devastating loss and as their lawyer,
my job is to help them with their legal problems
that result from that loss.
The loss of housing for a single mother
pregnant with her 10th child,
the loss of a limb in the Boston Marathon Bombing,
the profound loss of a daughter
who was senselessly murdered by her enraged boyfriend
or the loss of a homeland for a political asylum client.
The challenges these clients face every day
are unimaginable to most of us,
but despite this loss or perhaps because of it,
they manage to demonstrate such courage and strength.
And that strength manifests in different ways.
It could be by turning your life around
after long incarceration,
by working with gang involved youth
so you can lead them down a different path
or gathering the strength after many surgeries
to get yourself up every morning
and try to learn to walk again or taking the time
and the traumatic aftermath of a devastating sexual assault
to hand knit to your lawyer mittens
to keep her safe from the cold,
to thank her for her work
and keeping you safe from your abuser.
My clients remind me every day why I do this work
and helping them is what sustains me as a lawyer.
As far as community goes,
my work in pro bono and access to justice has introduced me
to so many committed advocates throughout the state.
It has quite honestly been one of the most unexpected
and uplifting parts of doing this work.
Getting to know the community of awe inspiring people
who are trying to do the right thing every day
to make things better for low-income people,
legal services lawyers, law firm pro bono professionals,
access to justice commissioners, nonprofit leaders,
access to justice fellows
and dedicated court staff and judges to name a few.
Indeed, during the many times
when I have felt overwhelmed in the past eight months,
trying to advocate for access to court systems
for self-represented litigants during the pandemic,
deeply troubled over the systemic racism
that plagues our country or worried about the thousands
of families across the state who faced eviction.
I have been heartened by the tremendous response
by so many in our community
who have stepped forward to help.
I share this award with all of you.
And the last thing I'll mention stands for commitment.
And by that, I mean commitment to the ideals
of what it means to be part of the legal profession.
In my personal statement in applying to law school,
my younger self wrote about the need for lawyers to advocate
for those whose lives were set on a different course
in large part due to income disparity or disability.
And when I got to law school,
I had the profound experience
of assisting practicing lawyers in Boston
with their political asylum cases
through an immigration class at Boston College Law School.
And thus began my own personal pro bono journey
for the next three decades,
working with individual pro bono clients
and also trying to promote systemic change
in the legal system.
As the chief and I would often discuss,
pro bono work is a lifelong activity starting in law school
and continuing on through retirement.
To paraphrase from one of the chief's favorite quotes
from Martin Luther King jr.
The arc of pro bono commitment is long,
spanning decades, but it bends towards justice.
I went to law school with the idealistic notion of believing
in the transformative power of the law
to make things better for those in need.
And now almost 30 years later,
I still believe in that transformative power.
And last, my thanks as Justice Budd noted,
you can't do this work alone.
My first thanks go to my family.
And while I didn't grow up in a family of lawyers,
I learned the importance of love and kindness
as well as public service and volunteering
from my two wonderful parents.
And I am so thankful to my husband and my sons
who have patiently allowed me to pursue this work,
even though it may have at times,
decrease the time I spend with them.
They understand how important this work is to me
and I'm grateful for that.
Next, my Mintz family, thank you to the attorneys and staff,
past and present for decades of friendship.
Thank you for welcoming me back to the firm 13 years ago
by creating this role of pro bono partner,
thank you for the steadfast support
of the wide ranging work we've been able to take on
and of my efforts with the Access to Justice Commission.
And to the justices of this court and to this committee
for bestowing on me this inaugural award.
Working on the Access to Justice Commission
and on the Pro Bono Committee for the court
with the chief has honestly been the honor of a lifetime.
And this volunteer work has connected me back
to where I began my legal career almost 30 years ago
as a law clerk to one of my first mentors,
the wise and warm-hearted, Justice Frank O'Connor.
And last thanks go to my dear friend, Ralph.
It is hard to put into words what the chief meant
to the justice system and to me personally,
so I won't attempt to hear.
So much has been said about all his accomplishments
and all that he did for so many.
All of that is true.
And I had the amazingly good fortune
of experiencing that up close every day.
But if the chief were here, he would ask us,
dare I say, implore us.
And perhaps by order of the court require us
to please stop talking about him and to roll up our sleeves
and to get back to work.
He would say as he did just a few months ago
and what was likely his last speech as chief
that pro bono work has never been more important
because there is so much to be done.
And as you heard in the ceremony today, he was right.
There is so much to be done.
Those with criminal records need help
with the restorative sealing and expungement process,
vulnerable nonprofits and businesses need help
with COVID-related legal issues
so they can continue to thrive
and innocent persons deserve to be freed.
I'll close by letting you all in on a secret.
While clients, commitment and community
do play a large role in why we do this work,
the real answer to the question,
why do you do this work question?
Or as my family or the Gants family might ask,
why do you do this work seven days a week?
The answer is simple because in fact it isn't work at all,
but a labor of love.
And so I would ask all of us to re-dedicate ourselves
in this great sorrow due to the loss of our beloved chief,
but also in this great time of need
throughout the Commonwealth
to be courageous like our clients,
to be committed to our profession's ideals,
and to continue to gain support
from this incredible legal community.
Please join me in honor of the chief in this labor of love.
Thank you.
-: I am truly humbled and inspired
by all of our award recipients.
On behalf of the SJC Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services,
thank you all for your exemplary pro bono service.
A few additional thank you's.
Submitting an Adams Award nomination
requires significant time and work.
The committee is very grateful to all of our nominators
for their willingness to help us identify,
recognize and celebrate exceptional pro bono service.
I'd also like to thank the people
whose hard work made this event possible.
SJC executive director, Carol Lev,
and administrator and program director Blanca Tosado
for their help with planning today's ceremony.
Erica Gully Santiago, Kathleen Capstick,
and Vanessa Scott of the SJC Public Information Office
for their extensive assistant with web content
and communications related to this event
and the Pro Bono Honor Roll.
Kevin Buckley, senior web manager for the trial court
for creating new online forms for the Pro Bono Honor Roll,
Chrissy Lamont, web manager for the trial court
for designing our award certificates,
Ellen O'Connor, Donna Greco,
Emily Karavisis and Kate Dulit, excuse me,
of the trial court's judicial institute,
SJC information officer Jeff Travers
and Chris Dwyer of Suffolk University
for their help with producing
and presenting today's ceremony online.
Diana Stroud, former law clerk to justice Kafker
for permitting us to use her beautifully evocative sketch
of Chief Justice Gants.
If you have been inspired by what you heard today,
I urge you to seek out opportunities
for providing pro bono legal services
for the many residents of Massachusetts
who need your help now more than ever.
You can find a list of opportunities for pro bono service
on a special website, massprobono.org.
That's M-A-S-S-P-R-O-B-O-N-O.org, no spaces,
massprobono.org.
There you will find a wide range of opportunities
in areas such as consumer law, disability law,
family law, housing law, immigration law,
public benefits law, and more.
If you are particularly interested in the eviction crisis,
please find out how you can help
by calling the Volunteers Lawyers Project,
that's the Volunteer Lawyers Project,
or any of the regional legal services organizations
in Massachusetts.
We invite you to stay on the livestream
for a few additional moments so that you can see the names
of all of the individual attorneys, legal organizations
and law students who have qualified
for the SJC Pro Bono Honor Roll this year.
Congratulations to all of these new members
of the Honor Roll and congratulations
to our award recipients, Crispin Birnbaum, Jim Rollins,
Christian Westra and Sue Finegan.
On behalf of the SJC Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services,
thank you all very much for joining us today.
(soft music)
Woman: Thank you all, this concludes our program.