OLAF | Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease named OLAF¹s First Presidential Award Winner

Press Release

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease named OLAF's First Presidential Award Winner

May 15, 1996

The Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation today presented its first Presidential Award to the Columbus law firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in recognition of the firm's outstanding commitment to providing pro bono legal services.

Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation (OLAF) Board President Denis Murphy presented the award in Cincinnati at the annual meeting of the Ohio State Bar Association. "The Vorys firm certainly sets a high standard for the rest of us within the legal community. The firm has made a public commitment to upholding its professional responsibilities to ensure access to justice for the poor, " Murphy said.

Vorys is the only Ohio law firm to sign on to the American Bar Association's (ABA) Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge. More than 170 large law firms throughout the country have signed on to the ABA challenge, pledging to devote a certain percentage of their revenues to pro bono, or volunteer legal services.

"OLAF is committed to improving access to justice for Ohio's poor. Vorys' efforts in providing free legal services to the poor helps protect the integrity of the legal system by ensuring that those who cannot afford to hire lawyers can experience justice. We hope that other firms and lawyers throughout the state will take note and attempt to follow the fine example set by the Vorys firm," Murphy said.

The Vorys firm is headquartered in Columbus, but also has offices in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Washington D.C. The firm was founded in 1909 and has grown from four lawyers to more than 285 lawyers.

Thomas M. Taggart, a Vorys partner, accepted the OLAF award. "We are proud to receive this award. Our firm is indeed highly committed to the professional obligations we have as lawyers to ensure that the poor have access to justice. We all should help narrow the gap on the unmet legal needs of the poor," Taggart said.

Participation in the ABA Law Firm Pro Bono Project demonstrates Vorys' commitment to pro bono services as an institutional obligation for the firm, as well as for the individual lawyers, Taggart said.

Taggart said that the lawyers at Vorys find their pro bono work to be highly rewarding, as well as legally challenging. Vorys lawyers are involved in a number of pro bono programs and provide representation in a wide range of legal areas including landlord-tenant, employment problems, property damage, bankruptcy and incorporation issues for charitable organizations. The firm is also involved in providing representation to a Georgia prisoner on death row.

"Many lawyers in Ohio are involved in pro bono service. For those who are, we would say to keep it up. To those who aren't, they should get involved," Taggart said.

"Despite the financially tight situations many law firms are experiencing, Vorys has continued its tradition of honoring its professional obligations to provide pro bono services. It is our hope that other firms will recommit themselves to pro bono in some manner, " Murphy said.

OLAF is a legislatively-created non-profit organization charged with administering state funds for Ohio's legal aid societies. OLAF was created in 1994 after the release of a statewide study that indicated only 17 percent of the legal needs of Ohio's poor receive attention. In addition to resource development issues, OLAF is also working on the enhancement of pro bono opportunities for Ohio's lawyers.

For more information about civil legal services and the unmet legal needs of Ohio's poor, please contact Beth Short at OLAF at 1-800-877-9772.

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