Chesterfield Smith Award

The Chesterfield Smith Award recognizes extraordinary courage and commitment to pro bono by a legal leader. It honors the memory of the late Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Holland & Knight, Chesterfield Smith, who believed, passionately and completely, in equal justice for all, while standing firm in his conviction that public service and pro bono are absolutely essential elements in the lives of lawyers and in the work of great law firms. The award is not given annually; rather only when warranted by outstanding achievement. PBI presents this award at the PBI Annual Conference

2020
John J. Conroy, Jr.
Principal, Baker & McKenzie LLP

An accomplished international banking and finance lawyer, Conroy has demonstrated a career-long commitment to initiatives that address critical societal issues, including access to justice, human rights, diversity, and environmental stewardship. He has served on the boards of numerous civic, educational, and charitable organizations, including Pro Bono Institute’s Board of Directors since 2011. Other organizations for which John has donated his time and talents are the Law Board of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the U.N.-affiliated International Organization for Migration Business Advisory Board, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Trust Women Advisory Board, the Midtown Educational Foundation’s Board of Directors, and After School Matters® Board of Directors, a nonprofit organization that provides life-changing after-school and summer program opportunities to nearly 19,000 Chicago high school teens each year.

2013
Judge Jonathan Lippman
Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals

Robert E. Juceam
Of Counsel, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

2011
The Honorable Robert A. Katzmann
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

2010
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General of the United States

2007
Thomas A. Gottschalk
Executive Vice President Law and Public Policy, General Motors

2005
John D. Hamilton, Jr.
Of Counsel, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP Co-Chair