A notable alum returned to Akin Gump's DC office this week. DC Circuit Judge Patricia Millett was inducted into the firm's Pro Bono & Public Service Hall of Fame for work she'd done while at the firm. She and the other new inductee, LA County Superior Court Judge Michael Small, join past honorees including Vernon Jordan and Robert Strauss. Before being appointed to the bench by President Obama in 2013, Millett had been a partner for six years and chaired the firm's Supreme Court practice. (We caught up with her not long before she was nominated and saw her at that year's firm pro bono awards.) She previously held the record for Supreme Court arguments by a female lawyer, with key victories including a case striking down an Arizona voter registration law. Above, Judge Millett with pro bono partner Steven Schulman.
This year's Partner of the Year award went to Karol Kepchar for her work on IP-related pro bono matters for World Vision International, the Marine Corps Heritage Fund and Vital Voices. Counsel Jon Goodrich got DC's Stark Ritchie Counsel award, for helping a deaf US citizen who was accused of stealing an iPad and held in Arlington County jail for six weeks with no access to a sign language interpreter. A raffle and silent auction—with items such as a poster for the movie Inside Out autographed by the director and lunch with firm chair Kim Koopersmith—raised more than $12k for the Washington Lawyers' Committee and Tahirih Justice Center.
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