OLAF | Pro Bono Award

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OLAF Presidential Award for Pro Bono Service

The Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation Presidential Award for Pro Bono Service is presented annually by the President of the OLAF Board of Trustees to an individual, firm, or organization that has provided outstanding leadership in the delivery of pro bono legal services in the State of Ohio.

Recipients of the OLAF Presidential Award include:

The Honorable Robert P. Ringland -- 2009 Recipient

		“Judge Ringland’s leadership has been an inspiration and guide for foreclosure programs in other counties,” said Mary Asbury, executive director for the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, who nominated Judge Ringland for this award. She also noted that “his willingness to stand up for pro bono and use the power of his office to not only encourage attorneys to do pro bono work, but to also help create a program to facilitate that work, is extraordinary.” View our press release for this event. Also view our Spring 2008 Just Dealings newsletter, which highlights Judge Ringland.

Ulmer & Berne -- 2008 Recipient

		“Ulmer & Berne has demonstrated vividly that commitment to pro bono service, and support of legal aid programs, are vital parts of its firm culture,” said Julie A. Davis, Executive Vice President and General Counsel to Retail Ventures, Inc., in Columbus, and the Foundation’s Board President, in presenting the award to Ulmer & Berne. View our press release for this event. Also view our Spring 2008 Just Dealings newsletter, which highlights Ulmer & Berne.
Recieving the Award on behalf of Ulmer & Berne, Alexander M. "Alec" Andrews, Partner-In-Charge of the Columbus Office (center), with OLAF Board President Julie Davis (right) and Executive Director Robert Clyde (left).

Richard W. Pogue -- 2007 Recipient

2007 OLAF Presidential Award Recipient

2007 OLAF Presidential Award Recipient Dick Pogue with OLAF Board President David Weiner (right).

Watch the presentation of this year's award at the OSBA Convention (Courtesy of the Ohio State Bar Association).

Richard W. Pogue chaired the committee responsible for developing the Foundation’s recommendations to the Supreme Court of Ohio regarding adoption of aspirational goals to increase voluntary pro bono participation by all attorneys in Ohio. The Foundation’s Pro Bono Committee, led by Attorney Pogue, met for more than nine months to study the issue. Under his careful and thoughtful guidance, the Committee crafted a resolution that was ultimately adopted, with only minor changes, by the Supreme Court’s Task Force on Indigent and Pro Se Litigants, the Ohio State Bar Association Council of Delegates, and five of Ohio’s seven metropolitan bar associations. Attorney Pogue continued to serve as a strong advocate for adoption of the aspirational guidelines for pro bono service throughout 2006 and into 2007, providing considerable leadership before the Court when it met in conference to consider the recommendation of its Task Force, and working with Justices individually to answer questions. Dick Pogue undertook this work, so critical to increasing access to justice for Ohioans of limited means, with the vigor and attention to detail that distinguishes his legal career.

Click the following link to view the 2007 OLAF Presidential Award brochure (PDF format) or press release.

The Honorable W. Scott Oelslager -- 2006 Recipient

2006 OLAF Presidential Award Recipient

2006 OLAF Presidential Award Recipient The Honorable W. Scott Oelslager.

Representative Oelslager championed inclusion of the 2005 legal aid filing fee surcharge increase in the Governor's budget and defended it in the legislature. In addition to the more routine legislative management, he facilitated resolution of issues involving: interpretation of proposed language; controversy regarding application of the surcharge to certain new case areas; and, the Ohio Public Defender's last-minute and unanticipated amendment to add an additional $1 to the proposed increase. Without his leadership, we would not have achieved this filing fee increase or the additional resources that will be generated to support Ohio's legal aid delivery system. We are very fortunate to have such a good friend of legal aid services in Representative Oelslager. For these reasons, Representative W. Scott Oelslager is the Foundation's 2006 Presidential Award recipient.

Click the following link to view the 2006 OLAF Presidential Award brochure (PDF format) or press release.

David A. Kutik and The Honorable Walter Herbert Rice -- 2005 Recipients

2005 Award Recipients

2005 OLAF Presidential Award Recipients Judge Rice (left) and Mr. Kutik (right)
with OLAF Board President David Weiner (center).

Mr. Kutik, of the Jones Day firm, has been a champion of pro bono during his term as President of the Cleveland Bar Association. Well aware of the great need for civil legal assistance in a city with one of the highest poverty rates in the country, Mr. Kutik initiated 'Our Commitment to Our Community' -- an unprecedented drive to enlist local attorneys in an effort to provide low-income individuals and non-profit groups in the Cleveland area with quality legal representation. He envisions the project becoming an annual bar association event, in the mold of a United Way campaign.

In its first year, 'Our Commitment to Our Community' has collected pledges from 35 law firms and legal departments representing 2,000 lawyers who have promised to donate more than 70,000 hours of volunteer service. Each volunteer has been asked to participate in a specific pro bono project, and many have chosen to staff the 36 free clinics that the Cleveland Bar Association and the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland are co-sponsoring in 2005.

Judge Rice has served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio since 1980, and was the Court's Chief Judge from 1996-2003. He is being recognized for his ongoing efforts to guide and promote the OLAF Presidential Award-winning Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project.

As a founding member of the Project's Board of Trustees, Judge Rice has given countless presentations at Dayton Bar Association gatherings and at continuing legal education seminars to advertise the program to Dayton-area attorneys. He has personally hosted a number of luncheons for managing partners of Dayton law firms to solidify their commitment to the Project. One-hundred letters are mailed to non-participating attorneys each month, and Judge Rice continues to sign these letters by hand. His dedication to pro bono provides an example that other members of the judiciary would do well to emulate.

Click here to view the 2005 OLAF Presidential Award brochure.

Diana Thimmig -- 2004

Ms. Thimmig, a partner with Roetzel & Andress in Cleveland, merited this recognition for her leadership and hard work as a volunteer with the Cuyahoga County-based Bankruptcy Pro Bono Project.

"Diana said, 'I'll get 25 attorneys to volunteer to take pro bono bankruptcy cases, and I'll get the court to buy-in by scheduling pro bono cases first on the docket.' She had us rolling in the aisles! We really didn't think it could be done. But what she's done -- literally all by herself -- is just astounding," said Barbara Greenberg, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Bar Association.

Thanks largely to Ms. Thimmig's efforts, the Bankruptcy Pro Bono Project handled more than 200 cases during its first year. Client demand is so great that the Project's primary goal for the following year was to increase the number of volunteer attorneys. Central to the success and popularity of this program is the direct involvement of the local bar association, the judiciary, the Office of the U.S. Trustee, the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and volunteer attorneys like Ms. Thimmig.

Click here to view the 2004 OLAF Presidential Award brochure.

Richard A. Cordray -- 2003

2003 Awardee

Richard A. Cordray, flanked by OLAF Executive Director Robert M. Clyde (left) and past OLAF Board President Frederick L. Oremus (right).

On a pro bono basis and over a period of several years, Mr. Cordray submitted a series of amicus curiae briefs defending the constitutionality of interest on lawyers' trust accounts (IOLTA) programs. IOLTA is an important source of funding for legal aid providers in Ohio and across the country.

In March 2003, Mr. Cordray's efforts were rewarded with a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of IOLTA (Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington). The value of Mr. Cordray's pro bono contribution on behalf of Ohio's low-income citizens is enormous. Each year, the statutorily-created Ohio IOLTA program generates $8-9 million to support the work of ten regionally-based legal aid societies. These legal aid societies together serve over 148,000 households annually.

Mr. Cordray currently serves as Franklin County Treasurer.

Click here to view the 2003 OLAF Presidential Award brochure.

Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor Foundation of Greater Cincinnati; Licking County Magistrate Stephanie Clark -- 2002

From left: Magistrate Stephanie Clark; Judge Teresa Liston, former OLAF Board President; Barbara Howard and Roger Gates, who accepted the award on behalf of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

2002 Awardees

The Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor Foundation of Greater Cincinnati was recognized for its Volunteer Lawyers Project -- a dynamic partnership among numerous bar associations, law firms, and attorneys in and around Cincinnati.

Magistrate Clark was honored for her leadership in the development of the Interfaith Legal Services program in Licking County.

Click here to view the 2002 OLAF Presidential Award brochure.

Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery -- 2001

Ms. Montgomery and her staff were lauded for their efforts to provide simple wills, powers of attorney, living wills, and durable powers of attorney -- free of charge -- to low-income senior citizens.

Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project -- 2000

2000 Awardee

Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project Executive Director Helenka Marculewicz (left) and Board President Arvin Miller (middle) accept the award from past OLAF Board President Frederick L. Oremus.

The Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project attracts widespread support and participation from members of the bench and bar in Montgomery County. The Project's Executive Director, Helenka Marculewicz, has been a resource person for pro bono programs throughout the state and nation.

Sternberg Newman Shifrin & Associates of Akron; Barkan & Neff of Columbus; Gilliam & Ireland of Dayton -- 1999

Three Ohio firms were honored for their exemplary participation in OLAF's SSI Kids Project -- a statewide pro bono initiative that assisted disabled children who were facing the termination of federal benefits.

Denis Murphy -- 1998

Mr. Murphy, OLAF's founding Board President, consistently pushed for the statewide expansion of legal aid resources. The award that OLAF presents each year to an outstanding advocate within the Ohio legal services system is named for Mr. Murphy. He was a longtime partner with the Columbus firm of Carlile Patchen & Murphy, and at the time of his passing in 2005, he was serving as the Executive Director of Civil Justice, Inc. of Baltimore and as an adjunct law professor at the University of Maryland.

Bill Weisenberg -- 1997

As the Ohio State Bar Association's Assistant Executive Director for Public Affairs, Mr. Weisenberg has worked tirelessly -- at both the state and federal levels -- to improve access to justice for indigent Ohioans.

Vorys Sater Seymour & Pease of Columbus -- 1996

Vorys Sater Seymour & Pease of Columbus was the only Ohio firm to take part in the American Bar Association's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge. Vorys joined with major firms across the country in pledging to donate at least three percent of its billable hours to pro bono projects.

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