(New Orleans, LA / May 2, 2011) For the second consecutive year, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, and one of its New Orleans attorneys will be recognized by the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) for outstanding pro bono accomplishments. The law firm and Caroline McSherry "Sherry" Dolan are among the recipients of the 2011 LSBA Pro Bono Public & Children's Law Awards.
Baker Donelson is being honored with the LSBA's Pro Bono Publico Award, which recognizes attorneys and law firms providing outstanding pro bono legal services to Louisiana citizens, including providing an exceptional number of hours dedicated to such services. Baker Donelson attorneys across the firm contributed more than 13,000 hours of pro bono work to those in need during the last fiscal year. The Louisiana offices have contributed more than 700 hours to the New Orleans Pro Bono Project, and many more hours to other pro bono causes.
Ms. Dolan is a recipient of the Friend of Pro Bono Award, which recognizes individuals, law firms or other organizations making major contributions to the enhancement and promotion of pro bono legal services to the poor. Ms. Dolan, who serves as pro bono liaison for Baker Donelson's Louisiana offices, was instrumental in organizing and managing the New Orleans Homeless Court, which provides a more streamlined system for addressing and resolving legal barriers that prevent homeless individuals from re-establishing themselves as productive citizens.
Ms. Dolan and Baker Donelson will be among the honorees recognized during an awards ceremony on May 24, 2011, at the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans. First conducted in 1986, the Pro Bono Awards Ceremony honors attorneys and other public-interest legal professionals who provided exceptional pro bono services to Louisiana's indigent, a population who may not otherwise have received adequate representation or access to the legal system.
"Our attorneys are dedicated to ensuring our justice system is accessible to the underserved in our community," said Roy C. Cheatwood, managing shareholder of Baker Donelson's Louisiana offices. "We're grateful for the continued recognition of the Louisiana State Bar Association and are particularly proud of Sherry Dolan. Her leadership and exceptional commitment have resulted in significant and lasting contributions to the enhancement of Louisiana's pro bono legal services."
These recognitions mark the latest honors Baker Donelson and Ms. Dolan have received for their pro bono efforts. In addition to the Firm and Ms. Dolan both being honored with the LSBA's Pro Bono Publico Award in 2010, Ms. Dolan also received the 2010 Pro Bono Century Award, which recognizes attorneys who have shown consummate pro bono leadership by completing 100 hours of service. And in December 2010, Baker Donelson was named the New Orleans Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year by the New Orleans Pro Bono Project, the second consecutive year the law firm received this honor.
Through its commitment to pro bono representation, Baker Donelson provides legal services to groups and individuals likely to be marginalized in the legal system due to economic barriers. Over the years, the Firm's attorneys have provided a variety of counsel to many populations, including immigrants, refugees, the elderly and the impoverished. Baker Donelson's efforts include work on a wide range of matters, such as advocating for the homeless and organizations that serve the homeless, death penalty litigation, providing corporate legal services to non-profit organizations, and much more.
Attorneys in Baker Donelson's New Orleans office are actively involved in the Homeless Experience Legal Protection (HELP) program, regularly working at the program's homeless shelter clinics. HELP, which provide free basic legal representation to the city's homeless, was launched in New Orleans in 2004 by Judge Jay Zainey, and has since spread to more than 15 cities across the country. Baker Donelson's New Orleans attorneys also are very active in working with Louisiana Appleseed, which seeks to uncover and correct injustices and barriers to opportunity through legal, legislative and market-based structural reform, and in representing individuals seeking legal help through the Pro Bono Project of New Orleans.
Additional information on Baker Donelson's Pro Bono efforts is available at
http://www.bakerdonelson.com/pro-bono/.