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New Yorkers Honored for Pro Bono Work

New York Lawyer
December 2, 2005

By Thomas Adcock
New York Law Journal

For outstanding pro bono business counsel given to nonprofit organizations, the Lawyers Alliance for New York presented its annual Cornerstone Awards to Proskauer Rose and Shearman & Sterling, nine individual attorneys and a Columbia Law School professor during a reception last month at the Colgate-Palmolive headquarters on Park Avenue.

Individual awards went to Phillip Azzollini of Schulte, Roth & Zabel; Carolina A. Fornos of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman; Marc Hurel of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary; Stephen D. Millas of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Sheree Reinbach and Miriam McKibben of Arent Fox; Melissa G. Rosenberg of Goodwin Procter; Rita Tendolkar of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Michelle Vago of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

Barbara A. Schatz, former executive director of the Lawyers Alliance and now a professor with Columbia Law's Nonprofit Organizations/Small Business Clinic, was also honored.

inMotion Honors Externs

The seventh annual awards ceremony for pro bono attorneys with inMotion, the New York agency that advocates for women and children who are victims of domestic violence, was held Tuesday at the Dahesh Museum of Art, with former Eastern District U.S. Attorney Zachary W. Carter, now a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, serving as guest of honor and keynote speaker.

For ongoing support of inMotion, Greenberg Traurig was given the agency's Commitment to Justice Award.

Externs from White & Case were honored with a special team award: Meghan M. Beakman, Justin M. Brown, Sheryl L. Dickey, Paul E. Godinez, Averie K. Hason, Melonie S. Jurgens, Sharan E. Lieberman, Meghan McCurdy, Grace M. McSorley, Victoria L. Oswald, Ally Rich, Louis S. Silvestri, Philip B. Sineneng and Gregory M. Starner.

Associate awards were given to Joshua A. Brook of Arnold & Porter; William F. Clarke Jr., of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Jeffrey J. Federman and Christopher K. Kiplok of Hughes Hubbard & Reed; and Margo G. Ferrandino of Kaye Scholer.

Solo practitioner awards were presented to Jose L. Massas, Andrea L. Rodriguez, Karen Eagan Shelton and Bernadette A. Smith.

In-house counsel awards went to Lynn Czaporowski and Anna Glodek.

Also honored were Jae H. Song, a graduate student in psychology at New York University; Carol Lynn "Cookie" Vazquez of C.L.V. Art Services; and Wendy B. Reilly, an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton.

Sager Goes to Arnold & Porter

The New York Offices of Arnold & Porter was presented last month with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association's 2005 Thomas L. Sager Award for its efforts to improve the recruitment, retention and promotion of women and minority lawyers. Mr. Sager, namesake of the award, is vice president and assistant general counsel for DuPont Legal.

"The Sager award symbolizes values that are very important to us as a firm," said partner Michael W. Oshima, head of the diversity committee in New York, where the current associate roster is 27 percent minority and 58 percent female.

The new associate class, he added, is 20 percent minority and 47 percent female.

Katrina Relief Efforts Cited

Chadbourne & Parke was included among the corporate donors and volunteers cited by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Nov. 22 for contributions to New York Disaster Interfaith Services.

The firm donated $20,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, and has since donated an additional $25,000 to Interfaith Services, as well as $50,000 to other Katrina relief organizations.

Partner Noted for Leadership

During A black-tie benefit dinner at Manhattanville College on Wednesday night, Maureen Scannell Bateman, a partner in the New York and Boston offices of Holland & Knight, was given the school's Women's Leadership Award.

Previous winners of the award, which recognizes Manhattanville alumni who have served as role models for students, include U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and TV journalists Cokie Roberts and Paula Zahn.