Awards

• At the International Senior Lawyers Project’s 10th anniversary luncheon honoring key supporters and volunteers in December, Hogan Lovells was honored as a Global Pro Bono Visionary Law Firm in recognition of our pivotal work and commitment to international pro bono.
  
  
• Hogan Lovells was honored by the Washington Council of Lawyers (WCL) at WCL’s Fortieth Anniversary Celebration in November 2011. WCL’s Law Firm Contribution Award to the firm celebrated the sustained history of support for WCL. WCL is the only voluntary bar association in the District of Columbia committed to pro bono service and the public interest practice of law.
  
  
• In October 2011 New York associate Hugh Hill received the Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Pro Bono Service for his work with the City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar. This award is given annually to recognize one volunteer from each of the Justice Center’s projects who stands out for leadership, quality of work, support for pro bono, and commitment to clients.
  
  
• Hogan Lovells received an Outstanding Law Firm Award from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless at their annual Volunteer Appreciation Reception in October 2011. The Legal Clinic honored Hogan Lovells with this award for providing pro bono representation leading to a favorable settlement for three tenants in a long-running building conditions case and eviction lawsuit. Washington, D.C. partner Jonathan Abram, who played a lead role in this representation, was also honored at the event with an award for his ten years of dedicated service to the Legal Clinic.
  
  
• In October 2011 Washington, D.C. partner Howard Rosenstock was honored by Life Pieces To Masterpieces (LPTM) with a Strong Men...STRONGER Award for his pro bono service to LPTM. LPTM provides young African-American men in Washington, D.C. with an arts-based development program that engages them in creative processes as a foundation for academic success.
  
  
• In July, Hogan Lovells earned a top spot as one of Law360’s Pro Bono Firms of 2011 for dedicating a robust number of lawyer hours and securing significant wins in pro bono matters during the past calendar year. The firm profile featured litigation victories in matters involving wrongfully convicted individuals, tenants seeking redress for deplorable conditions, and campaign finance, among others. 
  
  
• We were honored in June 2011 with an Outstanding Achievement Award by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs for our work over the last 20 years in administering the Washington Lawyers' Committee's "Introduction to Legal Reasoning Program," a special training program for entering Washington-area law school students who are members of groups traditionally disadvantaged or under-represented in the practice of law. The Legal Reasoning Program has provided six-week tutorial sessions to over 2,000 students and enlisted the pro bono support of more than 1,000 lawyers from firms across the city.
  
  
• We were presented with the Stephen Mather Visionary Award by Save Hetch Hetchy in San Francisco in May 2011. The Stephen Mather Visionary Award is named for the founding Director of the National Park Service and is awarded annually to private firms working in support of the campaign to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley, a glacial valley in Yosemite Park that currently is flooded by the O'Shaughnessy Dam.
  
  
• In May 2011 New York partner Robin Keller and Hogan Lovells were presented with the Friends and Benefactor Award by the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP) in appreciation of our pro bono support and assistance. GRASP is an organization that advocates for adults and teens on the autism spectrum.
  
  
• The Foundation for Criminal Justice honored Hogan Lovells in May 2011 for its recent pro bono work representing the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as an amicus curiae before the United States Supreme Court. 
  
  
• In May 2011 our Miami office received the 2011 Outstanding Large Law Firm Pro Bono Award from Put Something Back, a joint pro bono project of the Dade County Bar Association and the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
  
  
• For the sixth consecutive year, our Washington, D.C. office was distinguished in 2011 by the Pro Bono Committee of the District of Columbia’s federal courts for its 2010 performance as a ‘40 at 50’ office, in which 40 percent of lawyers perform 50 or more hours of pro bono work. For the first time, our 2010 pro bono performance by partners in Washington, D.C. qualified for recognition as well. Forty percent of our Washington, D.C. partners spent 50 or more hours on pro bono work during 2010. We are one of only three Washington, D.C. offices recognized for that level of performance at the partner level.
  
  
• Fair Chance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth in Washington, D.C., recognized us and partner David Winter as the 2011 Community Champion of the Year at Fair Chance's annual Graduation Ceremony in March 2011.
  
  
• A team of Denver lawyers received Law Week Colorado’s 2010 Pro Bono Award for their work on behalf of the Clyfford Still Museum. Partners Craig Umbaugh, Nancy Clodfelter, Scott Reisch, and Robert Mintz, and associates Tony Ryan, Jenny McClister, and Seaton Thedinger were involved in all aspects of this significant project. The award was announced in January 2011.
  
  
• Hogan Lovells International LLP Pro Bono Manager Yasmin Waljee was awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours List in December 2010. The award recognizes Waljee for her service to the Muslim community, her significant contribution to pro bono legal services, and in particular, her work with Mosaic. Through Mosaic, Waljee helps successful British Muslims give back to the community by serving as mentors and role models to young Muslims living in disadvantaged communities. Waljee is a member of the Mosaic UK Advisory Board, Co-Chair of the London Region of Mosaic, and is on the Hogan Lovells Citizenship panel.
  
  
• At a presentation in November 2010 by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, London associate Anna Mills received a commendation from the City of London Law Society for her pro bono work in the case of Hunt v AB. Anna set a legal precedent which helps protect victims of rape accused of malicious prosecution by their alleged attackers. The case was appealed at every stage by Hunt and was eventually dismissed by the UK's Supreme Court earlier this year, ending a 12 year ordeal endured by our client AB.
  
  
• Los Angeles partner Neil O’Hanlon was honored as Public Counsel’s Volunteer of the Year at its 11th annual Volunteer Gala in November 2010. Public Counsel is the nation’s largest pro bono law office, and Neil was recognized for his work on the Early Care & Education Project.
  
  
• Common Cause of Connecticut honored New York partner Ira Feinberg with its John Gardner Award for Extraordinary Leadership at its 40th Anniversary Celebration in October 2010. The award recognizes Feinberg for his efforts in leading the legal effort to defend of the constitutionality of Connecticut's Campaign Finance Reform Act and the system of public financing of state election campaigns that it established. Hogan Lovells legal professionals devoted more than 4,700 hours of time to this matter over the last several years.
  
  
• The District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce presented Hogan Lovells US LLP with its Chamber's Choice Award in appreciation for our pro bono service to the Chamber and the District of Columbia community. Alethia Nancoo, who leads the pro bono effort for the Chamber, accepted the award at a black tie gala in October 2010.
  
  
• The Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) of Philadelphia recognized David Newmann and the Philadelphia office "In Recognition of Outstanding Service as Coordinator in the Homeless Advocacy Project's Adopt-A-Shelter Program" at an event in October 2010. A team from the Philadelphia office staffs a clinic for HAP at the Ridge Avenue Shelter, and has assisted Shelter clients on individual matters.
  
  
• Washington, D.C. partner Joe Bell was named a “Lifetime Achiever” by The American Lawyer in the September 2010 issue. A member of the Energy practice, Bell met the "standards for exemplary public service and outstanding professional services" by putting his civic duties and pro bono service at the core of his professional work.
  
  
• At an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., partner Robert Bennett was recognized as one of the Legal Times' 2010 "champions": a lawyer who has "upheld the profession's core values through public service, pro bono efforts, and advocacy for civil liberties." The Legal Times highlighted Bennett's seven-month pro bono investigation into allegations of corruption by Washington, D.C. Council member Marion Barry on behalf of the D.C. City Council.
  
  
• The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project honored a Hogan Lovells team led by Des Hogan with its 2010 Defender of Justice Award for our work that led to the release of pro bono client Derek Tice from prison in Virginia for a rape and murder that DNA and other evidence show that he did not commit.
  
  
• Law Works recognized Philip Watkins and Alex McPherson as runners up in the category of best individual contribution to pro bono for their work during 2009.
  
  
• The Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights recognized the firm at its 2010 Wiley A. Branton Awards Luncheon for outstanding contribution to fair housing, for the settlement of a case in which an individual was denied the opportunity to rent a residence in Montgomery County, Maryland on grounds that his means of payment was a federal housing voucher, in violation of local human rights protections.
  
  
• Partner John "Jack" C. Keeney, Jr., received the 2010 Wiley A. Branton Award from the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. The annual award is the Committee's highest recognition, and it is presented to an individual or individuals who exemplify leadership and commitment to equal justice and civil rights.
  
  
• The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) honored us at its annual reception on Capitol Hill in 2010 for our pro bono assistance in creating the Foundation's "Know Your Rights" guide, a first-of-its-kind tool to educate all Americans – including the growing Hindu American community, and other faith communities – about their freedoms, rights, and responsibilities.
  
  
• Elizabeth Meers was presented with the Cardinal Hickey Award by the Archdiocesan Legal Network Advisory Council in 2010. His Excellency Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, presented the award, in recognition of Meers' steadfast support of the pro bono legal work of the Advisory Council.
  
  
• Meredith Maller of the Baltimore office was recognized by the Homeless Persons Representation Project in 2010 as its Paralegal Volunteer of the Year. Maller, who works with the Project Finance Group, assisted a client in the process of reconsideration of his veterans benefits.
  
  
• The American Jewish Committee (AJC) presented us with the 2010 Pro Bono Law Firm Award in recognition of the firm’s outstanding commitment to pro bono legal work.
  
  
• For the fifth consecutive year, our Washington, D.C. office was distinguished in 2009 by the Pro Bono Committee of the District of Columbia’s federal courts as a ‘40 at 50’ office, in which 40 percent of lawyers perform 50 or more hours of pro bono work.
  
  
• Our London office won the ‘CSR Programme of the Year’ category in the Legal Business Awards 2010 for its continued commitment to pro bono work and for its environmental initiatives.
  
  
• The firm was awarded the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ prize in 2010 by the Pro Bono Partnership, a New York-based non-profit that provides legal business advice to other non-profits by recruiting lawyers from major corporations and law firms to assist its clients.
  
  
• For the third consecutive year, the New York office was recognized in 2009 by the New York State Bar Association’s Empire State Counsel program as having ten or more lawyers who each provided 50 hours or more of pro bono legal services. Thirty-five of our lawyers were deemed ‘Empire State Counsel’ for work done in 2009.
  
  
• We won the ‘CSR Initiative of the Year’ category in the British Legal Awards 2009 for pro bono work with the Royal British Legion. The team, lead by Hugh Lyons and Natasha Gunney, represented two wounded servicemen in a Court of Appeal challenge brought by the Ministry of Defence to cut their compensation. 
  
  
• Yasmin Waljee was commended by the Law Society’s Association of Women Solicitors as the ‘Best Woman Solicitor Managing a Large Practice’.
  
  
• Anna Mills was shortlisted in the ‘Young Solicitor of the Year’ category in the British Legal Awards 2009 for her work providing pro bono advice to a rape complainant facing a malicious prosecution claim in the Court of Appeal.
  
  
• Dori Hanswirth, Katie Lachter, and Collin Peng-Sue received The Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico 2009 awards for outstanding service to The Legal Aid Society and its clients.
  
  
• Our Pro Bono practice was presented with a Heroes Award in 2009 by the Montgomery County, Maryland affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
  
  
• John Smolen received the 2009 Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Homeless Persons Representation Project.
  
  
• Jonathan Grossman was named William K. Anderson Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2009 by the Employment Justice Center.
  
  
• We received the Distinguished Pro Bono Achievement Award from the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council in 2009.
  
  
• We were shortlisted in the ‘Pro Bono Team of the Year’ category in The Lawyer Awards 2009 for pro bono work in support of ParalympicsGB that involved lawyers from London, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
  
  
• We received the Thurgood Marshall Academy Champion Award in 2009 for scheduling a series of educational visits to the firm by school students.
  
  
• The Moscow office was chosen as one of three shortlisted for a 2009 Pro Bono Award by the Public Interest Law Institute (PILI) and Corporate Lawyer.
  
  
• We were awarded the ‘Pro Bono Firm of the Year’ prize in the International Financial Law Review Europe 2009 awards for groundbreaking pro bono work in social entrepreneurship led by the offices in Germany and London.
  
  
• Dan Brenner received the 2009 CableFAX Community Service Award for volunteer community service to public schools in the District of Columbia.
  
  
• We were awarded the ‘Pro Bono Firm of the Year’ prize at the International Financial Law Review Asia awards in 2008 for charitable and pro bono work in Hong Kong and China, which included corporate governance work for Save the Children and Christian Aid.
  
  
• Gib Walton won the Anti-Defamation League’s Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award in 2009.
  
  
• We were highly commended in the ‘Best Corporate Responsibility Initiative’ category in The Lawyer HR Awards for corporate social responsibility work that included representations for the National Centre for Domestic Violence and in securing compensation for the families of 30 victims of London’s 7 July 2005 bombings.
  
  
• Timothy Lyden was named in the ‘Legal Elite’ in 2008 by Virginia Business for his pro bono work.
  
  
• We were recognized for outstanding commitment and service to the Haitian American community and received the Haitian Heritage Museum’s Corporate Partner Award in 2009.
  
  
• Parker Thomson was chosen by the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews (MCCJ) to receive the Silver Medallion Award in 2009 for humanitarian efforts benefiting greater Miami.
  
  
• Parker Thomson, Alvin Lindsay, Julie Nevins, and Matthew Bray from the Miami office were runners-up in 2009 in the ‘Most Effective Lawyers - Pro Bono’ category in the Daily Business Review awards for their litigation efforts on behalf of the Public Defender in Miami-Dade County.
  
  
• We were nominated by Calvary Women's Services for the Acacia Federal Savings Bank's Nice Guys Award 2008 based on the firm's “hard work and high standards” and for “helping others.”
  
  
• We received a ‘Special Projects’ award in 2008 from The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless in recognition of the firm’s work on a ‘right to organize’ case and for its ongoing work in helping with the implementation of the Homeless Services Reform Act.
  
  
• Emma Higgs was nominated as Young Solicitor of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2008 for her role in coordinating representation of victims of domestic violence and for delivering advice to those clients personally.
  
  
• We received the 2008 Pro Bono Counsel Award from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty for significant pro bono work throughout the year.
  
  
• Gulley Shimeld was named Junior Lawyer of the Year at the 2008 Law Society Excellence Awards for his work advising ParalympicsGB alongside Richard Welfare.
  
  
• The Miami office was unanimously selected as one of the recipients of the Most Valuable Protector (MVP) Award for 2008 by Voices for Children Foundation, Inc.
  
  
• The London Pro Bono team’s advisory work to stop the trafficking of people was highly commended by the Law Society in its Excellence Awards in the ‘Social Responsibility’ category.
  
  
• Steve Edwards was distinguished in 2008 for 15 years’ service as president of the board of Nazareth Housing, a non-profit group which provides transitional shelter, homelessness prevention services, self-sufficiency education, supportive housing, and youth programming to some 1,300 New York households.
  
  
• John O’Sullivan received the 11th Judicial Circuit Award as Community Advocate of the Year 2008 for his work on behalf of the Florida Guardian ad Litem Program, which included the resolution of a politically charged case over custody of a five-year-old Cuban girl.
  
  
• We received the 2008 Herbert S. Garten Special Project Award from the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland for our work on the Kinship Care Resource Manual published by the Department of Social Services in Baltimore County, Maryland.
  
  
• Joseph Bell received the Service Impact Award from the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance in 2008 for his work on behalf of the International Senior Lawyers Project.
  
  
• Yasmin Waljee was named as Inspirational Woman of the Year 2008 by London’s Daily Mail. 
  
  
• We received the Don Quixote Pro-Bono Attorney award in 2008 from the Guardian ad Litem program for our efforts in representing a guardian ad litem.
  
  
• The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia presented Melissa Bianchi with the first Klepper Prize for Volunteer Excellence in 2008 for her role in coordinating Medicare Part D clinics for low-income elderly individuals in Washington, D.C.
  
  
• We won the first Pro Bono Contribution Award in prizes sponsored by Russian journal Corporate Lawyer and the Public Interest Law Institute (PILI).