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Pro Bono Institute (PBI) hosted its 2016 Annual Dinner, themed “Celebrate Achievements in Pro Bono,” on November 3 at Gotham Hall in New York City. Special thanks to our co-chairs Michael D. Fricklas, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Viacom Inc.**; Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer, Microsoft Corporation**; and Laura Stein, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Affairs, The Clorox Company**. Click here for more information about the co-chairs.
View photos from the 2016 Annual Dinner here.
Download the 2016 Annual Dinner program here.
Charles C. Platt, partner-in-charge, New York Office, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr*†, presented PBI’s 2016 John H. Pickering Award, which is given in conjunction with the firm and the Pickering family, to White & Case*† for continually demonstrating Mr. Pickering’s and the firm’s core values: a meaningful commitment to pro bono from a firm’s most senior lawyers and associates alike. Hugh Verrier, Chairman, White & Case, accepted the award.
Alexandru Cujba and his 9-year-old son, Sasha, pro bono clients of White & Case, spoke about their experience negotiating, in Alexandru’s words, the “complex and stormy bureaucratic waters” of the New York public school system to secure educational accommodations for Sasha. Alexandru shared Sasha’s lifelong struggle with childhood apraxia of speech, a rare syndrome that without proper intervention can prevent a child from learning to speak. White & Case took the Cujbas’ case, and after many years in court, Sasha was enrolled in a private school when the public school system could not or would not make the proper placement for him. Sasha addressed dinner guests saying he hopes to be like journalist and author Anderson Cooper and to have his own show in 20 years.
Stein recognized the 10th Anniversary of the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® initiative and introduced a special presentation of its history and achievements. Launched when formalized in-house pro bono programs were still a rarity, the CPBO Challenge®initiative set an aspirational goal that encouraged in-house legal departments to engage in pro bono legal services and benchmark their performance annually. Read quotes from CLO supporters about the Challenge.
Veta Richardson, President and CEO, Association of Corporate Counsel**, and William J. Perlstein, Senior Deputy General Counsel, BNY Mellon**, presented the 2016 CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award to Entergy Corporation** in partnership with the Louisiana Civil Justice Center and Orleans Parish Civil District Court for their efficient delivery model and sustained partnership that has served more than 10,000 clients with critical, civil legal issues. Entergy Executive Vice President and General Counsel Marcus Brown accepted the award.
Meet the 2016 Dinner Co-Chairs |
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 Michael FricklasExecutive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Viacom Inc. Spotlight |
 Brad SmithPresident and Chief Legal Officer Microsoft Corporation Spotlight |
 Laura SteinSenior Vice President – General Counsel The Clorox Company Spotlight |
PBI’s 2016 Awardees
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2016 John H. Pickering Awardee: White & Case
Click here to read the press release. -
2016 CPBO Pro Bono Partner Awardees: Entergy Corporation in partnership with Louisiana Civil Justice Center and Orleans Parish Civil District Court
Click here to read the press release.
2016 PBI Annual Dinner Benefit Committee |
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| Jon Abramczyk Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell |
Suzan A. Miller Intel Corporation |
| Peter Atkins Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom |
Regina Pisa Goodwin Procter |
| Wendy Atrokhov Latham & Watkins |
Charlie Platt WilmerHale |
| W. Toliver Besson Paul Hastings |
Andrew Pride Ford Motor Company |
| Evan Chesler Cravath, Swaine & Moore |
Charlotte Rushton Thomson Reuters Corporation |
| Leslie Gordon Fagen Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison |
Thomas Russo American International Group |
| Jeremy Feigelson Debevoise & Plimpton |
Thomas Sabatino Aetna Inc. |
| Ivan Fong 3M Company |
John Schultz Hewlett Packard Enterprise |
| Richard Hays Alston & Bird |
Craig Silliman Verizon Communications Inc. |
| Gregory Jordan The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. |
Ashley Watson Merck & Co., Inc. |
| Stasia Kelly DLA Piper |
Tony West PepsiCo, Inc. |
| Atif Khawaja Kirkland & Ellis |
David Williams Deloitte LLP |
| Jami Wintz McKeon Morgan, Lewis & Bockius |
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Special Thanks to Our Dinner Sponsors
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| Senior Partner | ||
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| Lead Counsel | |
| – 3M Company – Aetna Inc. – Alston & Bird – Baker & McKenzie – Debevoise & Plimpton – DLA Piper – Ford Motor Company – Goodwin Procter – Hewlett Packard Enterprise – Hunton & Williams – Intel Corporation – Latham & Watkins – Laura Stein – Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell |
– Paul Hastings – Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison – PepsiCo, Inc. – Pfizer Inc. – Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan – Seyfarth Shaw – The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. – Thomson Reuters – Univision Communications Inc. – Williams & Connolly – WilmerHale |
| Advocate | |
| – Bank of America – BNY Mellon – Caterpillar – Comcast Corporation – Deere & Company – Elliott Greenleaf – Eve Runyon – Gibson Dunn & Crutcher – IBM – McCarter & English – Faegre Baker Daniels – Foley & Lardner – Jenner & Block – Kendall Brill & Kelly – King & Spalding – Lowenstein Sandler – McDonald’s Corporation |
– McGuireWoods – O’Melveny & Myers – Prudential Insurance Company of America – Quarles & Brady – Sidley Austin – State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company – Susan Hackett, Legal Executive Leadership, LLC – TM Financial – United Continental Holdings, Inc. – The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. |
| Donor | |
| – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld – Antoinette Bush – Covington & Burling – Gordon & Rees – JPMorgan Chase & Co. – Littler Mendelson – Lockheed Martin |
– Major Lindsey & Africa – Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo – Office Depot – Robins Kaplan – Salesforce – United Parcel Service |