43 Above & Beyond 2011 Award Winners The Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services selected Mintz Levin as a recipient of the 2011 Adams Pro Bono Publico Award. With special recognition to a team of attorneys including Larry Schoen, Martha Koster, Noah Shaw, Andy Nathanson, Mandy Carozza, and Yalonda Howze, the firm was honored for its work on behalf of low-income residents of Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, most notably its contribution to obtaining a $132 million financial settlement for victims whose homes had been destroyed by the storm. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court presented Mintz Levin with a Pro Bono Certificate of Recognition for the firm’s 2010 pro bono hours and pro bono policies. The Boston Business Journal awarded Mintz Levin the Corporate Charitable Contributor award in recognition of the firm’s exemplary corporate citizenship. The Connecticut Bar Association named Mintz Levin to the organization’s 2010 Pro Bono Honor Roll. The Legal Aid Society honored Christophe Difo with the society’s 2011 Pro Bono Publico Award in recognition of outstanding service to the Legal Aid Society of New York and its clients. Boston College Law School awarded Sue Finegan the Curtin Center for Public Interest Pro Bono Service Award in recognition of her extensive work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Dartmouth College awarded Sue Finegan the Dartmouth College Alumni Award, given annually to a handful of alumni who have demonstrated extraordinary service to Dartmouth and civic organizations in addition to career accomplishment. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights presented Katy Ward with the Civil Rights Pro Bono Recognition Award, citing her extensive and wide-ranging pro bono and community service work. The Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus presented Steve Weiner with a Good Guys Award in recognition of his ongoing commitment and partnership in achieving equality for women. Mintz Levin awarded Marisa Howe the 2011 Mintz Levin/ Richard Mintz Annual Pro Bono Award for her exceptional pro bono work over the past seven years in successfully obtaining political asylum for a Guinean woman who had been subjected to gender-based violence in her home country. This journal would be incomplete without mentioning the key role Sue Finegan, Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, has assumed in mobilizing the Massachusetts legal community around the staggering need for free legal services among the poor. This past year, the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts appointed Sue to chair its Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, which is charged with encouraging pro bono throughout the state. These efforts include overseeing recognition of pro bono attorneys and expanding pro bono participation by groups who are generally not active in pro bono, such as government attorneys, in-house counsel, and stay-at-home parents. Also in 2011, Sue was also appointed to the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, where she is overseeing its pro bono initiatives. One of her accomplishments was organizing an In-House Counsel Pro Bono Forum at the Supreme Judicial Court, convening in-house counsel to discuss the best strategies for initiating and sustaining pro bono initiatives in corporate legal departments. In addition, she and a group of attorneys, including Martha Koster, are working on a new program for lawyers transitioning to retirement. The Access to Justice Fellows program is a pilot project that encourages such lawyers to commit to a year of pro bono service in partnership with legal services providers and nonprofits.