Attorneys and Staff from All Three Offices Recognized for Dedication to Public Service

On November 17, 2011, Arent Fox LLP announced the recipients of the firm’s annual Albert E. Arent and Marc L. Fleischaker Pro Bono Awards.

The Albert E. Arent and the Marc L. Fleischaker Awards are presented annually to partners, associates and legal professionals who demonstrate “outstanding contributions to public service.”

A reception was held November 17 in all three Arent Fox offices (Washington, DC, New York, and Los Angeles) and telecast internally to announce this year’s recipients.

Arent Fox chairman Mark M. Katz, chairman emeritus Marc Fleischaker, managing partner of the New York office Michael S. Blass, and Deanne M. Ottaviano, chair of the Arent Fox Pro Bono Committee, spoke at the event and made the presentations to this year’s honorees.

The recipients of the 2011 Marc L. Fleischaker Award for Partners and Counselare:

• Robert C. O’Brien, Partner, for his work as co-chair of the US State Department’s Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan
• Jonathan E. Canis, Partner, for his work on behalf of the Oglala Sioux Tribe

The recipients of the Albert E. Arent Award for Associates and Legal Professionals are:

• Shawanna L. Johnson,  Associate, for her work representing the Harlem School for the Arts, and spearheading Arent Fox’s New York Family Court Services project. 
• Katie A. Lane, Associate, for her outstanding commitment to pro bono work for her immigrant clients
• Alvin Thurman, Paralegal, and Mary “Terri” LaBounty, Paralegal,for their efforts tocreate and support a veterans legal intake center at the Veterans Medical Center in Washington, DC, as part of the citywide Senior Attorney Initiative for Legal Services (SAILS), which is chaired by Chair Emeritus Marc Fleischaker

To read detailed descriptions of each of the honorees’ pro bono efforts, please click on the respective links above.

###