Honors and Awards

Pepper lawyers have been honored many times for outstanding pro bono and community service. Recent awards include:

Chancellor's Award presented to Pepper Hamilton LLP by the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP) for providing outstanding pro bono service in 2009 to VIP and its clients (2010)
Wachovia Fidelity Award presented to special counsel Joseph A. Sullivan for extraordinary leadership and commitment to the legal profession and to the administration of justice (2009)
F. Sean Peretta Service Award presented to Maria A. Feeley by the Philadelphia Bar Association (2008)
Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Award presented to Pepper Hamilton by the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP) for accepting the greatest number of referrals in 2007 and providing extraordinary service to VIP and its clients; the Brennan Award is VIP’s highest honor (2008)
The VIPeoples’ Choice Award presented to Thomas E. Zemaitis by the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program for his long-standing support of the organization as an attorney, fundraiser, and the 2004 to 2006 president of the VIP board of directors (2008)
First Judicial District of Pennsylvania 2007 Pro Bono Publico Award presented to special counsel Joseph A. Sullivan by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for his commitment to improving the administration of landlord-tenant proceedings, including landlord-tenant appeals (2008)
White Hat Award presented to Paul J. Kennedy by the Legal Clinic for the Disabled, Inc. (2007)
Beacon of Justice Award presented to Pepper Hamilton by the National Legal Aid & Defender Association in honor of the firm’s commitment to pro bono services on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay (2007)
Distinguished Young Lawyer Award presented to Kassem L. Lucas by the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia (2007)
J. Austin Norris Award presented to A. Michael Pratt by the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia (2007)
Champion of Justice Award presented to Barbara T. Sicalides by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (2006)
Distinguished Advocate Award presented to Deborah F. Cohen by the Support Center for Child Advocates (2006)
Pro Bono Awards presented to Eric Rothschild and Stephen G. Harvey by the Pennsylvania Bar Association in recognition of their extraordinary commitment as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the landmark “intelligent design” case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (2006)
Civil Libertarian of the Year Award presented to the Pepper team representing the plaintiff parents in the “intelligent design” case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (2006)
Burton Award for Legal Achievement for Excellence in Legal Writing presented to Jeremy D. Frey by the Burton Foundation for his article entitled “Exhibit A of a Disparate Sentencing System” (2006)
Craig M. Perry Service Award presented to Kassem L. Lucas by the Philadelphia Bar Association (2006)
Citizens Bank Pro Bono Award presented to Pepper Hamilton by Citizens Bank, the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Foundation in recognition of the firm’s distinguished pro bono service (2006). The firm was nominated by Community Legal Services, the Pennsylvania Health Law Project, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program.

Pepper also recognizes its lawyers and staff with awards internally. Recent recipients of the firm's William R. Klaus Community Service Award are partner James P. Thomas (2007), office coordinator Diane DiFulvio (2008) and legal secretary Jeanette Stephens-El (2009). The William R. Klaus Pro Bono Award was recently presented to of counsel Thomas B. Schmidt III (2007), associate alumnus Joseph M. Preis (2008) and partner Barbara M. Sicalides (2009). The awards are named for William R. Klaus, a chairman emeritus of Pepper who died in 2005. Mr. Klaus, a tireless advocate for the underserved, was one of the founders and early board chairs of Philadelphia's Community Legal Services and a former chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

Also in honor of Mr. Klaus, in 2007, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia established the “William R. Klaus, Esq., Chair in Public Interest Law.” The Chair, which memorializes Mr. Klaus’ commitment and contributions to providing legal services for low-income residents in Philadelphia, is the first such chair at CLS and one of the first at any legal services organization in the country. It is to be awarded to a rising, dedicated attorney engaged in the practice of public interest law at CLS for less than 10 years.

Many Pepper lawyers also serve in leadership positions in bar associations and other organizations focusing on professionalism and public service. For example:

Edward W. Madeira, Jr. serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Justice Initiatives
David Richman is co-founder and board chair of the recently-created Pennsylvania Innocence Project
A. Michael Pratt served as chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2008
Michael H. Reed was president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 2004-2005.

Back to main Pro Bono page.