Pro Bono Institute (PBI) hosted its 2017 Annual Dinner, themed “Strengthening Access to Justice,” on September 28 at Gotham Hall in New York City. Special thanks to our co-chairs Laureen E. Seeger, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, American Express Company; Tony West, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, PepsiCo, Inc.**; and David Zapolsky, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, Amazon.com, Inc.**. Click here for more information about the co-chairs.

Click here to see photos from the evening’s celebration.

David S. Williams, National Principal Policy, Government Relations, and Citizenship, Deloitte** welcomed guests to Gotham Hall and co-chair David Zapolsky gave remarks before introducing the John H. Pickering Award presentation.

Craig Goldblatt, Partner, WilmerHale*† presented the Pickering Award in recognition of Kirkland & Ellis*† 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.  Thomas D. Yannucci, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, accepted the award. One pro bono client of the firm’s, Charles Johnson, was in attendance and spoke to guests.

In 1995, Charles Johnson was wrongfully convicted, along with three other men, of a double murder at a used-car dealership in Chicago. Despite the absence of any physical or forensic evidence linking him to the crime, he served 20 years of a mandatory life sentence. When Kirkland & Ellis and lawyers from Project Innocence took his case, he had already spent over 10 years in prison.

Co-chair Laureen E. Seeger addressed guests and introduced a musical performance by Diverse Concert Artists – another pro bono client of Kirkland & Ellis. Co-chair Tony West spoke to guests and introduced the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Awards.

Veta Richardson, President and CEO, Association of Corporate Counsel**, and Laura Stein, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, The Clorox Company** presented the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award: Large Law to Marianne Short, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UHG)** who accepted on behalf UHG in partnership with Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) for their “Review-A-Rama” project, which assists eligible veterans pursuing disability compensation.

Marcus Brown, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Entergy Corporation** presented the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award: Small Law to Max Laun, Vice President and General Counsel, Arconic Inc., who accepted on behalf of Arconic Inc. and Alcoa Corporation, in partnership with Meyer, Unkovic & Scott. Together they provide low-income Pittsburgh-area residents with a voice in their own security and access to fair legal counsel.

PBI President and CEO Eve Runyon closed the evening’s festivities by revealing a new logo for PBI and thanking guests.

2017 Awardees

• John H. Pickering Awardee: Kirkland & Ellis
  Click here to read the press release.
• CPBO Pro Bono Partner Awardee: Large Law UnitedHealth Group Incorporated in partnership with Connecticut Veterans Legal Center
  Click here to read the press release.
• CPBO Pro Bono Partner Awardee: Small Law Alcoa Corporation and Arconic Inc. in partnership with Meyer, Unkovic & Scott
  Click here to read the press release.

Meet the 2017 Dinner Co-Chairs
Laureen E. Seeger Executive Vice President and General Counsel American Express Company Spotlight on American Express	Tony West Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary PepsiCo, Inc. Spotlight on PepsiCo	David Zapolsky Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary Amazon.com, Inc. Spotlight on Amazon