The Legal Aid Society's motto is "making justice real," and every year it honors the lawyers who do so.
At the 26th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner this week, Wade Henderson and Phil Horton were the honorees, adding their names to a celebrated group of lawyers. We snapped Wade, right, the CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, next to his wife, FDA Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health Marsha Henderson, and DC Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton presented Wade with his award.
The Legal Aid dinner at the JW Marriott raised more than $1M for the nonprofit, which is the oldest and largest civil legal services program in DC. Phil Horton, center, is a longtime chair of Arnold & Porter's pro bono program and a former Legal Aid Society president. He's flanked by Legal Aid board member and Pillsbury partner Deborah Baum and DC Access to Justice Commission executive director Jess Rosenbaum.
We spotted Legal Aid executive director Eric Angel bookended by two DC Superior Court judges: Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo and Judge Anthony Epstein. A third award, the Klepper Prize for Volunteer Excellence, went to McKenna Long litigation partner Daniel Russell and was presented by Arlene Klepper.
Just after they stepped down from the podium, we snapped dinner co-chair and Mintz Levin partner Dionne Lomax with Legal Aid board of trustees president and McKenna Long partner Daniel Jarcho. Last year, lawyers donated pro bono legal work to Legal Aid worth more than $17M. We heard that this year, Latham partner and former White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler has agreed to be the honorary chair for the Generous Associates Campaign, an annual fundraising drive run by DC associates.
Legal Services Corp president Jim Sandman, second from right, presented the Servant of Justice Award to Phil Horton. Jim worked at Arnold & Porter for 30 years—including 10 as firm managing partner—before becoming GC for DC Public Schools and then joining LSC. His son, Joe, is soon graduating from law school and starting at Skadden. They're with Legal Aid board members Deanne Ottaviano (Arent Fox) and Alon Vogel (ADG Strategy).
Two well-known former Servant of Justice honorees flank DC Judicial Nomination Commission executive director Katia Garrett: Georgetown Law prof Peter Edelman and Covington senior counsel Tony Herman.
We spotted Wiley Rein managing partner and Legal Aid board member Peter Shields, standing second from right, and snapped a picture of him with the table from Wiley Rein.
DC Superior Court Judge Jeanette Clark, center, brought her two clerks, Anitha Vemury and Crinesha Brooks. Judge Clark tells us she tries to get her clerks involved because this is important work. Legal Aid's own supervising attorney, Julie Becker, was nominated to the DC Superior Court by President Obama last week.
