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Our dedication to serving the public good traces its roots to the founding of the Firm in 1935. We continue that commitment today with our pro bono efforts on behalf of individuals who could not otherwise afford legal representation and for a wide spectrum of local, regional and national public interest law centers and nonprofit organizations.
In 1997, in support and recognition of those individuals in the Firm dedicated to maintaining this tradition of public service, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP established the Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award, an annual award in honor of one of its founding partners.
In his home city of Philadelphia, Earl G. Harrison was recognized for his great professional abilities as well as his unfailing responsiveness to the needs of the community. He served as vice president of the University of Pennsylvania in charge of law and as dean of its Law School. He was an officer and director of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and general campaign chairman of the Philadelphia United War Chest, a predecessor of the United Way. Mr. Harrison also served as director of the Philadelphia Area Council of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP. He was a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, of the University of Pennsylvania and of the Philadelphia (Bok) Award (of which he was also a chairman).
Earl G. Harrison is also widely remembered for his inspection tour of former Nazi concentration camps at the end of World War II and his forthright recommendation to President Truman that the displaced persons who then occupied those camps be permitted to resettle in Palestine if they so chose. Harrison's report has been credited by some historians as a crucial step in the development of United States support for the Republic of Israel.
The Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award is presented each year to a current Firm attorney or employee who has a distinguished record of pro bono service. The Firm annually selects an honoree with a demonstrated record of service that consists of a single outstanding achievement of enduring value to the public good; a leading role in inspiring and sustaining pro bono service by other Firm personnel; a sustained record of personal pro bono service over a number of years; or some combination of these and other factors.
Winners of the Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award are:
| 2007 | Stephen A. Fogdall During his time at Schnader, from September 2001, Steve has devoted 1,000 hours to pro bono matters, despite a busy case load, with great skill and conviction. Steve has left his mark on approximately a dozen pro bono matters, but two cases stand out. In 2006, Steve reached an impressive settlement in a prisoner civil rights case, in which Steve alleged that the prison employees deliberately promulgated and enforced a policy within the Department of Corrections of not informing inmates when they test positive for hepatitis. And in July 2007, Steve argued in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in another prisoner rights case, also involving inadequate medical care. These are only examples of the superior work Steve has been doing on his pro bono cases. |
| 2006 | Nancy Winkelman On the 10th Anniversary of the Earl G. Harrison Award, it was fitting to present the award to someone who has demonstrated a career-long dedication to pro bono service- Nancy Winkelman. Over the last ten years, Nancy has tirelessly represented her pro bono clients, mainly in the areas of prisoner civil rights and, more recently, immigration. Nancy has also lent her expertise in supervising pro bono matters in numerous other Third Circuit pro bono appeals. Along with her own pro bono practice, Nancy has served for the past ten years as Co-Chair of Schnader’s Pro Bono Committee, where Nancy provides her advice and guidance to help our pro bono program run successfully. Outside of Schnader, Nancy has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Disabilities Law Project for more than a decade and currently serves as president of the Board. |
| 2005 | Mark Momjian Mr. Momjian has for many years dedicated not only his own time to pro bono cases, but has inspired and sustained pro bono service by other attorneys by helping identify pro bono opportunities and mentoring associates doing pro bono work. He has teamed up with many leading organizations in the city-- including the Women’s Law Project, The Center for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights, the AIDS Law Project, the Senior Law Center and the Homeless Advocacy Project, to name a few—to provide top-rate legal services on cases that have significant impact on the law in Pennsylvania and across the country. Mark also has handled or supervised many direct-impact cases over the years. And, as chair of the firm’s 70th Anniversary Committee he recommended we designate a large portion of the funds available to commemorate this milestone by establishing five summer fellowships at public interest law centers in cities where we maintain offices. |
| 2004 | Joseph A. Sullivan Mr. Sullivan, a Schnader alumnus and the Firm's first Pro Bono Director, was recognized for his many accomplishments in cementing and institutionalizing Schnader's pro bono program. With his trademark enthusiasm and energy, Mr. Sullivan initiated many practices throughout the Firm and inspired Schnader lawyers to increase their amount of pro bono work. He founded Schnader's partnership with Caton Village, a shelter for women recovering from substance abuse and for their children. He began Schnader's Pro Bono Newsletter and instituted the Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award in 1997 as a way for the Firm to acknowledge and honor the contributions by individuals at the Firm to public service. Mr. Sullivan also serves on the boards of many community and public interest legal organizations and has been recognized for his contributions by the Pennsylvania Bar Association with its Louis J. Goffman award, the highest honor given for pro bono service, as well as with its Pro Bono Award for Philadelphia Country. |
| 2003 | Paul H. Titus Mr. Titus, a partner in our Pittsburgh office, was recognized for his distinguished pro bono service encompassing such diverse matters as the death penalty, the First Amendment and employment discrimination. His achievements include integral roles in the reversal of several death penalty convictions, continued service to the Pennsylvania Civil Rules of Procedure Committee, participation in the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) Special Registration Project involving immigrants and the INS (now part of the Department of Homeland Security), ongoing contribution to the Firm's representation of a Pittsburgh police officer in a First Amendment case, and efforts as a teacher of civics and law at a school in an economically depressed area of Pittsburgh. |
| 2002 |
Kevin C. McCullough |
| 2001 | Carl K. King Mr. King, a Schnader alumnus, was a partner who began his public service to the Greater Boston community more than 30 years ago as a volunteer lawyer for the ACLU. He served as chairman of his town's Zoning Board of Appeals and sat on the board of directors at My Brother's Table, a soup kitchen in Lynn, MA. For more than 10 years, Mr. King organized teams to race in the annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, the single largest weekend fund-raising event in the nation. |
| 2000 | Samuel W. Silver Mr. Silver is a partner in our Philadelphia office with a distinguished record of pro bono service. His substantial pro bono services have centered in the area of capital punishment, handling numerous difficult cases on the trial and appellate level. Mr. Silver has served as co-coordinator of the Prisoner Civil Rights Panel of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Silver was recognized specifically for his successful efforts in averting the reimposition of the death penalty in a complex capital homicide case and for his ongoing work in other capital cases. |
| 1999 | Mindy J. Shreve Ms. Shreve, a Schnader alumna from our Pittsburgh office, was recognized for her key role in two important programs in the Pittsburgh area: P.O.W.E.R. (Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery) and the Inner City Junior Development Program. |
| 1998 | William H. Brown III Mr. Brown, of our Philadelphia office, has achievements in pro bono and public service that span more than 40 years and include a wide range of civil rights and civil liberties issues. From his service as the first chairman of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to his recognition in 2002 as a "Living Legend" among minority pioneers in the profession, Mr. Brown has been one of the most widely respected leaders in the legal and business communities in the nation. In 1998, the Firm also recognized four individuals associated with the Firm for their outstanding achievements in pro bono and community service: Kathleen M. Leimkuhler, Joseph P. Lukens, Ralph S. Snyder and Jacqueline Swann. |
| 1997 |
James D. Crawford |
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